Windows 7 is the most popular and widely used version of Windows. Even after Microsoft released windows 8/8.1 and 10, many people didn’t want to upgrade to the latest version because they were already used to Windows 7. Getting used to new interfaces and layouts takes time; therefore, many users prefer sacrificing all the new features offered by newer versions of Windows and continue using the easy-to-use windows 7.
A few years ago, things started changing when Microsoft Corporation decided to drop support for Windows 7. That means that users had to upgrade to Windows 10, a move that they didn’t like. The new look opened avenues for developers to start creating applications that will change not only the operating system, but also the theme and the look of everything.
You can use applications to change the look of your Windows and one of these applications is Classic Shell. If you use this application and apply a few more tricks, you can give Windows 10 the look and feel of Windows 7 without losing its features.
How to make windows 10 look like windows 7
- Download Classic Shell to your computer. You need make sure that you are downloading the software from the developer’s website and make sure that it is the latest version
- Install the software. If you are a hardcore fan of Windows 7, you can allow the classic internet explorer and classic explorer to be installed. You can otherwise disable them
- Once the installation is complete, you will need to make changes on the settings. To do that, right click on Windows logo and click “Settings”
- After the settings Windows has opened, you will need to do three things. Tick the “Show all settings” box, select the “Windows 7 style” in the middle and tick the “Replace start button”.
- Then click “Select Skin…” under Windows 7 style. Another way to go about this is to click on “Skin”
- Select “Windows Aero” as the skin in this tab
- Below that, you have been provided with skin option that you can either enable or disable. These options include: small icons, reduce glass color, show user picture, white sub-menus and large font. You have the freedom to set these anyhow you want.
- The next step is changing the start icon. To do this, simply navigate the “Start Button” tab
- Then select “custom button”
- Under button image, select the image that you want to use. You will find lots of images in the Classic Shell forums that you can choose from. Get the logo by downloading from there
- Click the three small dots next to “Button Image” and find the image you have downloaded. NOTE: Unless you using small task bar, you will want to download bigger icons.
- For those who are using Windows 10, there is the cortana bar on the taskbar which is enabled by default. If you want to remove this bar from your taskbar, simply right click on the bar, go to the Cortana menu and click “hidden”
- Another feature that cannot be found on Windows 7 is the action or notification center. You can actually disable it if you don’t need it. To do this, right click on a blank space on the taskbar and click “Taskbar Settings”
- Then find “Turn system icons on or off” on the same window and click it
- Select the off option where there is “Action center”
- The lock screen is another different thing in Windows 10. That means that you have to disable it.
- Lastly, you will need to do a few changes on color settings. Right click anywhere on the empty space on the desktop and select the “Personalize” option
- Go to “Colors” from the left menu
- Remove the tick on “Automatically pick an accent color from my background”
- Select a blue color you like
- Enable “Transparency effects”
- Tick the “start taskbar and action center” and “Title Bars” boxes respectively
- You can go to “Background” on your personalized menu and click “Browse” to upload an image you’ve already downloaded for your Windows background. You can actually download images from Google.
- The last thing that we have to talk about in this guide is the default icons that appear on the desktop with Windows 7. Under the personalized menu, go to “Themes”
- Click “Desktop icon settings”
- You can then choose items that want to be displayed on your desktop
- When you are done, click “Apply”
Frequently asked Questions
Q: Can I revert back to Windows 10?
A: Yes, it is possible. You simply need to uninstall the Class Shell software and change settings back to the previous ones.
Q: Where do I get Class Shell?
A: It is recommended that you download this software from the developer’s official website. This is important in ensuring that you get the real software.