Image credit: Microsoft
Windows 11 brings a fresh new look to Microsoft’s operating system, but if you’re missing the old vibe, you can still make it feel pretty familiar! Microsoft seems to think they know how we want Windows to look, and with Windows 11, they’ve shaken things up a lot—sometimes making it trickier to tweak things ourselves. That’s why some of us at PC runner find ourselves longing for Windows 10, even with the cool upgrades in the new version. Since Windows 10 will reach its end in October 2025, it’s time to switch over, but you can still adjust Windows 11 to suit your taste.
You can’t completely turn Windows 11 into Windows 10’s look—especially with Microsoft’s current take on customization—but there are some handy tweaks to help you feel at home.
Move the Start Menu Back
The biggest change in Windows 11 is moving the Start menu from the left side of the taskbar to the center. Luckily, fixing this is a breeze! Open the Start menu, go to Settings, then head to Personalization, and click Taskbar. Look for Taskbar behaviors, and you’ll see a drop-down menu labeled Taskbar alignment. Switch it from Center to Left, and it changes right away!
Ditch the New Icons
While you’re in the Taskbar settings, let’s turn off those new Windows 11 icons. Under “Taskbar items,” you’ll find options like Search, Task view, Widgets, and Chat. Just flip the toggles to off for all of them. A heads-up about Search: turning it off removes the clickable field or icon, but you can still use the Windows + S shortcut to find it.
Customize the Start Menu
Microsoft lets you move the Start menu and remove icons easily, but the menu itself needs a little extra help. You’ll need a third-party tool for this. A free option is Open-Shell (once called Classic Shell), an open-source program. Download and install it, but skip Classic Explorer and Classic IE during setup to avoid messing with Windows Explorer’s look. After installing, open Open-Shell Menu Settings, pick the Windows 7 style, and go to the Skin tab. I used the Fluent-Metro skin for this—it’s more like a Windows 7 menu with a Windows 10 twist, the closest match I found. It’s not perfect, though—it can’t fully replace the Start menu or bring back all Windows 10 features.
For an easier choice, try Start11 from Stardock. It avoids Open-Shell’s icon issues and gives you a nice Metro-style menu without extra files. It costs $5, so you’ll need to decide if it’s worth it. We’ve tested Start11 and another $5 option, StartAllBack, and both are great for making Windows 11 feel more like Windows 10 while dodging some taskbar headaches.
Change the Taskbar and File Explorer
If Windows 11’s new taskbar isn’t your thing, check out the awesome (and free) Explorer Patcher. It brings back a lot of older features without losing Windows 11’s perks. Setup takes just a few minutes and offers tons of options to improve your workflow. Start with the “Taskbar” section, set the Taskbar Style to “Windows 10,” and explore the choices. You can even switch your clock to a Windows 7 analog style if you’re feeling nostalgic!
Change Your Icons
Windows 11’s taskbar icons are pretty similar to Windows 10’s, so you might not need to change them. But other icons around the system look quite different. Grab a Windows 10 icon pack online—I used one from Build 10125. Save the icons in an easy-to-find folder.
For desktop icons, go to Settings, pick Personalization, then Themes, and click Desktop Icons. You’ll see the usual five icons. Click one you want to change, hit Change icon, find your icon pack, pick your choice, and hit Open. I swapped out the Recycle Bin icons in the screenshot below. You can also right-click folders or shortcuts, go to Properties, hit the Customize tab, and use the Change Icon button to pick a new one.
Sadly, Windows 11 won’t let you change some icons, like those for drives or user folders in Explorer. You can use Drive Icon Changer to fix drive icons, though.
Get Rid of Rounded Corners
Those rounded corners are a big part of Windows 11’s new style, but not everyone’s a fan. The bad news? You can’t adjust them through Windows 11 or a third-party tool yet. One option is to turn off hardware graphics acceleration, which also ditches rounded corners and transparency effects. To do this, open Device Manager, expand Display Adapters, right-click your display adapter, and select Disable Device. Your screen might flicker, but the corners will go square when it’s back.
I wouldn’t recommend this, though—it slows down the Windows interface and stops 3D apps or games until you re-enable it.
Bring Back the Windows 10 Wallpaper
Finally, you can restore the classic Windows 10 wallpaper. It’s not included in Windows 11, but you can find it online—like this 4K version on Imgur. Download it, right-click, and choose Set as desktop background. It’ll change right away!
Enjoy Your Windows 11 with a Windows 10 Feel
There you go—enjoy your tweaks! It’s not a perfect Windows 10 replica, but at least the Start menu’s back where you like it. While you’re at it, check out five Windows 11 settings you should change right away.
What do you think about giving Windows 11 this makeover? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Source: PCWorld
