Argh, having to go W11 :-(

WIAWSNB

With 10 about to lose support, and old PC beginning to creak, I've had to jump.
New PC is, of course, W11. Even my old PC was insufferable with W10, so I had Classic Shell installed to make the interface like '7'.
There's a way to make the 11 more like 7, isn't there? What have folk used?
Ta.

MattMattMattUK

I am not sure anyone would want to make W11 more like W7, W7 was fairly awful. Use W11 as is.

JGB1955

I still have Classic Shell, having recently 'up-graded' to W11. 

Vitor

Start11- Another Start Menu Replacement - YouTube

Neil49

I use Open Shell which is an updated take on Classic Shell

B0bbyEwing

MattMattMattUK said:

I am not sure anyone would want to make W11 more like W7, W7 was fairly awful. Use W11 as is.

Well that was a helpful response.

Neil_Jones

WIAWSNB said:

With 10 about to lose support, and old PC beginning to creak, I've had to jump.
New PC is, of course, W11. Even my old PC was insufferable with W10, so I had Classic Shell installed to make the interface like '7'.
There's a way to make the 11 more like 7, isn't there? What have folk used?
Ta.

Realistically I can't see the point of things like Classic Shell and whatever else.

These are fine as long as they get updated however you may come a cropper when Windows 11 turns up for example on a work computer.  You're probably not not going to get Classic Shell on that so you might as well look at trying to work with the stock installation if you're going to potentially end up in that sort of situation.

Windows 11 is going to get some changes to the Start Menu in due course, whether its a standalone updated or through the major 25H2 update.

Details here: https://www.windowslatest.com/2025/04/04/windows-11s-start-menu-is-getting-a-big-redesign-without-recommended-feed/

Your mileage may vary.

Of course the Start Menu isn't the be all and end of launching stuff - desktop shortcuts and pinning things to the taskbar are still a thing.

HillStreetBlues

Neil_Jones said:

Realistically I can't see the point of things like Classic Shell and whatever else.

These are fine as long as they get updated however you may come a cropper when Windows 11 turns up for example on a work computer.  You're probably not not going to get Classic Shell on that so you might as well look at trying to work with the stock installation if you're going to potentially end up in that sort of situation.

It would depend if a person can handle different set ups, if they can't then would be best just to use Win 11 as is.

HillStreetBlues

MattMattMattUK said:

I am not sure anyone would want to make W11 more like W7, W7 was fairly awful. Use W11 as is.

The OP does 

forgotmyname

HillStreetBlues said:

MattMattMattUK said:

I am not sure anyone would want to make W11 more like W7, W7 was fairly awful. Use W11 as is.

The OP does 

Me also, but I got a step further and my desktop looks more like windows 98 than 7.  

I hate it when software changes for the sake of change, they move menu's and change layout and thena while
later someone decides it needs to be refreshed and some things change back to the way they were and others
just get rearranged again.

Neil_Jones

forgotmyname said:

HillStreetBlues said:

MattMattMattUK said:

I am not sure anyone would want to make W11 more like W7, W7 was fairly awful. Use W11 as is.

The OP does 

Me also, but I got a step further and my desktop looks more like windows 98 than 7.  

I hate it when software changes for the sake of change, they move menu's and change layout and thena while
later someone decides it needs to be refreshed and some things change back to the way they were and others
just get rearranged again.

But everything changes, its called evolution and revolution.  If it didn't we'd still be writing on cave walls, wandering around naked hunting animals and wondering what the frig this round thing is.

The Windows equivalent is sticking with the way it looked in Windows 1.0, which was basically DOS with a WIMP interface on it (Windows, Icons, Menus, Pointers) or GUI interface:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-SuAaYDZIk

Realistically the biggest change in Windows was probably from Windows 3.1 to 95 when the Start Menu was first introduced.  And the purists hated that, but here we are 30 years later and now we can't live without it - in hindsight it was pretty much a fuss about nothing:

https://betanews.com/2020/08/24/windows-95-is-25-today/

Personally I thought Windows 7 was the best version of Windows they ever released.  It ran on practically anything.  Used to sell computers with 7 on them, and it ran beautifully on some single core processor that we bought wholesale cheaply (brand new I must add!) and only 1Gb of RAM on the mainboard.  Well it ran beautifully for that spec but that's what they wanted so that's what they got.

People go through the whole "I hate the new Windows" thing pretty much every other version.