
Windows 11 may be the "latest and greatest" operating system from Microsoft, and truth be told, it is a great OS. However, as Windows evolves many of its included tools change, and in many people's eyes, they don't always change for the better.
Thankfully, the community of users and developers thrives in these changes and finds solutions that let you bring back the way things used to be. If you just want something that works, is fast, and feels familiar, there are a lot of tools that can help make Windows 11 feel like home again. If you're not sure where to start, we're here to help with a list of tools that can be brought back by third-party apps.
GadgetsRemember Windows Vista?
I know, I know, Windows Vista probably brings up a lot of traumatic memories for people. But it did have some cool ideas, and Gadgets did live un in Windows 7 before Windows 8 came around and did away with them. Thankfully, GadgetPack is a new tool that brings Gadgets back to Windows 11 (and 10), but not just with the classic style you know them as. Many of the included gadgets have been modernized at least partially to fit in a bit better on Windows 11, and it all looks pretty cool.
There are a ton more gadgets than there were before, too, including a clipboard history that arguably works even better than the built-in Windows version, a battery meter, CPU monitors with support for multiple cores, and much, much more. It makes gadgets actually interesting, and it seems like the tool is still actively supported, so we might be seeing even more get added over time.

Windows Media PlayerA classic player with modern capabilities
Microsoft recently replaced the classic Windows Media Player with a new Media Player app that looks and works very differently from before. The classic Windows Media Player is still there (now with Legacy appended to its name), but since it's no longer updated, it probably won't work with all your music and videos.
While an exact copy doesn't exist, your best bet to bring back a simple, straightforward media player that works with everything is probably going to be MPC-HC, or Media Player Classic - Home Cinema. This project aims to provide a classic-feeling media player and does exactly that, but it has incredibly robust support for modern file formats, and even some nice extra features such as the ability to get subtitles for movies.
The original MPC-HC project was discontinued back in 2017, but since it was open-source, it has been carried on by the community on GitHub.

Classic Start menuWindows 7, XP, or even 95
The Start menu is one of the most contentious parts of Windows with every iteration because it almost always gets some significant changes, and there's always someone who isn't a fan of it. There are plenty of tools for replacing the Start menu with a tweaked or improved design, but OpenShell is probably the most focused on bringing back a true classic style for the Start menu, with options for a Windows 95 style, XP style, or something a bit closer to Windows Vista or 7.
When iI reviewed OpenShell, I wasn't particularly fond of what it set out to do, but it does its job fairly well. The classic styles available in the program are pretty close to the original interpretations of the Start menu, and you have a ton of customization options to change both the looks and functionality so it works just right for your specific needs.
It's also got the benefit of being totally free, whereas options like Start11 or StartAllBack will cost you money, so it's easy to recommend anyone to at least give it a shot.

TaskbarMake it movable
The taskbar is another part of Windows that changed very significantly in Windows 11, and in many ways, it did so for the worse. The taskbar can no longer be moved to different sides of the screen and it can't be resized, for example, which makes it far less versatile than it used to be.
TaskbarX is a popular solution that used to address this issue, but it stopped working due to some big updates Microsoft made in Windows 11 version 24H2. Now, your best bet is using ExplorerPatcher, which actually does a lot more than fix the taskbar. This is an app that tries to restore a lot of removed functionality in Windows, and one of those features is the classic taskbar from Windows 10. This includes the classic design, but also features like the full context menu, the ability to resize and move the taskbar, and more.
Heck, ExplorerPatcher can even restore some of the classic taskbar flyouts, too, including the Windows 10 or Windows 7 calendar, or the Windows 10-style Wi-Fi flyout. What's more, the team behind ExplorerPatcher is even going the extra mile to implement a Windows 7-style taskbar in the future now that it created a brand-new implementation. It's only going to get better.

File ExplorerGet back the classic control menu
As we just said, ExplorerPatcher can do more than restore the taskbar, and another thing it can help bring back is the previous look of the File Explorer prior to Windows 11. Well, not all of the look, but the parts that matter are here.
That means the Windows 11 command bar can be replaced with either the Windows 10 ribbon-style menu (which has a lot more features) or the Windows 7 command bar, which is mostly focused on a few text options. ExplorerPatcher can also restore the classic context menu if you prefer it, so all the major pain points of Windows 11 are addressed.
Task switcherMiss the simple old days?
We're still not done with ExplorerPatcher because there's yet another classic feature it can bring back from the dead, and that's the classic task switcher that appears by pressing
Alt + Tab. This tool hasn't changed that much in recent years, but if you do prefer the Windows XP style, for example, it;s available here. Instead of app windows, you'll just see icons, which is much simpler.
You can also opt for the Windows 10 style, or use a custom style with Simple Window Switcher, which has a few customization options like transparency. But if you just want the classic experience, you'll want the style called
Windows NT. Sadly, the Windows NT option was broken in Windows 11 version 24H2 , though, so if you choose it,
Alt + Tab will switch between window without a visible task switcher.
Aero themeIt's not perfect, but it's pretty good
WinAero Tweaker is another app that does a lot more than what we're talking about here, but one of the cool features it does include is the ability to bring back a theme that's more reminiscent of the Aero theme of Windows 7. It's not perfect since it doesn't mirror the glass effect we used to have, but it does feel a lot closer to that style of UI.
To be clear, this Aero theme is actually still included with Windows 11; it's just hidden, and there are other ways to bring it back if you don't want to use Winaero Tweaker. Still, this makes it really handy, and the theme honestly still looks quite cool today. And you can pair it with something like OpenShell to reinforce that Windows 7 feel, too.

Windows Photo ViewerNo apps needed
Windows used to come with a separate Windows Photo Viewer that's different from the Photos app Microsoft wants to push today, but in recent versions of Windows, it's been removed, or at least hidden from most users. The Windows Photo Viewer is actually still in Windows 11, it's just hidden and it can easily be re-enabled with a registry tweak.
This is actually something Winaero Tweaker can also do, but other users have compiled the necessary registry edits in standalone files, so you can bring back the app without installing any software. You can just download the registry edits here and run the file to make the changes, then restart your PC.
It's worth noting that the Windows Photo Viewer still won't appear as an app on your PC, but when you try to open an image, it will be available as an option there.
Relive the good old days without the risksUsing an old operating system is a huge security risk today, as these old systems are not at all protected from modern security threats on the internet. Not to mention they might not be able to even work with a lot of modern software or websites. But with these tools, you can get back the feel of older versions of Windows without having to sacrifice the modern underlying core of Windows 11, and it can make the operating system much more palatable to those who don't like the changes Microsoft keeps introducing.
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