Win 7 any edition; classic look & classic start menu, can it be done?

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videobruce

Limp Gawd
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Jan 21, 2005
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I'm sure I will get some 'flack' over this question, but is there any way to wind up with anything that looks like Windows classic look including the classic start menu with any flavor of Win7??

I really can't stand all of this artsy fartsy new look to the GUI. The classic layout including the classic start menu worked fine for 15 years, I see no need to change it. other than just another lame reason to sell more bloated software. :mad:

At least, like XP, give the user the option to revert back if he chooses! :rolleyes:
 
Well, it's not quite as simple as just "toss in a switch or option so they can keep that old plain dull shitty look" to be honest. The Start Menu as it works in Vista and Windows 7 is simply different from the core, so while you might be able to do some mods to get the look back from the "Classic" menu and layout, you're not going to ever get the exact same menu again unless you decide to run XP itself, it's really that simple.

Things change, times change, people change. If you want the XP look, stick with XP I suppose, or browse sites like DeviantArt and others that are loaded with replacement shells and themes for Vista and Windows 7. You might get lucky and find a really simplistic layout you find acceptable.

The Windows Classic theme in Vista and Windows 7 is not that far off from the old Classic layout/menu in XP, really. Some aspects are different, but again, things change. Either get on board and embrace it or fight it and be somewhat miserable, I guess. Not really sure how else to put it.
 
KISS,
If it isn't broken, don't fix it,
New isn't always better, neither is change.

The only reason I had to switch from 2k to XP was for hardware support. 2k was their best O/S AFAIC. I don't need or want some 'cute' GUI. Just something that is functional without a bunch of unnecessary bells and whistles to justify a bunch of engineers jobs and so a semi-monopoly can fill it's pockets even more.

Just a choice and option for something that worked.
 
Can't make progress if a primary focus has to be making sure all the old shit still works, it just can't happen. People said they wanted what Vista and Windows 7 bring to the table, as the saying goes. 150,000 people were surveyed in their homes face to face worldwide to help create both OSes and how they actually look and feel, so...

The true application of KISS here would be keep using XP since it gets the job done that you require. That is the simplest and most efficient answer to your query. Anything more is basically beating a dead horse... ;)

2K was very nice for what it was, but as time went by, things changed. XP was and still is a fine OS for use with older machines and brought some new stuff to the table. A single-minded focus on the GUI gets in the way of allowing the actual usefulness of the OS to get lost in the muck.

I could care less what the GUI looks like, mine still has the basic Aero theme and I adjusted the colors to more grey-style - my Firefox "persona" is a light grey one, most everything is, I have a solid dark grey background but sometimes I'll toss up a wallpaper if I find one that appeals to me. Explorer is in List view, 24/7, 'cause big freakin' icons don't appeal to me at all.

Everybody is different, and Microsoft can't write a version of Windows that will satisfy every individual.

(that's what Linux is for...) :D
 
Well, on top of the Windows Classic Theme, you can also turn off a bunch of unnecessary graphic options by telling Windows to run under best performance instead of the other two options. This disables a bunch of things.

Go to System....Advanced System Settings...Settings under Performance...then make your choices.

I have mine set to best performance and it looks pretty close to the classic as you can get.

This has been an option pretty much since Win2k.
 
With Vista and Windows 7, the amazing thing here is if you have a decent video card/GPU in your system, altering that setting to "Adjust for best performance" actually hurts more than it helps since it will typically disable all the benefits of the GPU acceleration in the GUI itself, which is a primary core component of Windows - it is a graphical user interface, yanno. :)

Every time people make a change to the OS and break the actual design of it - i.e. disabling the GUI acceleration by the GPU - is just another way of causing performance issues.

The general idea is leave it alone and will continue to be the general idea because if you actually do leave it alone, it works, and it actually improves performance of the system overall and it actually gets faster and more responsive as time goes by.

Seriously, it does.
 
Well Joe....when my system become laggy from this, I will take your advice. The OP hasn't expressed any need for a GPU acceleration within the GUI. He just asked for a classic look. Besides, adjusting for best performance is mainly disabling graphics, so would only make since that graphics acceleration may be hindered in the GUI. Best performance really never included graphic response rather over all system response. Also, don't forget the custom option to turn on individual parts rather then disable them all.

Edit: I also can't see any acceleration options with checkboxes that would allude to a system slow down under the performance section I mentioned. Care to share what would within those?
 
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I could care less what the GUI looks like,
Click to expand...
That is what makes or breaks any O/S AFAIC. If it isn't easy to navigate without needless bells & whistles (other to 'dress it up'), no matter how up to date the drivers are, it's a unnecessary problem.

All I asked for was the option. BTW, there is a program that is called "CSMenu" which I haven't tried yet.
 
I applaud the posters in this thread. A civil discussion where someone doesn't like something about Win7 and he was not ripped to shreds. Not the normal dumb-ass advice that doesn't help the OP in the least - i.e. "XP is shit, move on Dude!". I may have a look at Classicshell as well.
 
Select "Windows Classic" theme in the personalization window.
Set the taskbar to use small icons and set the taskbar buttons to "Never combine".
Enable "Quick Launch Bar" (tutorial here)
Go to the System control panel applet, click "advance system settings", click "settings" under the performance section, then click "Adjust for best performance", then click OK.
Install ClassicShell.
...and voila! A no-frills, Windows 95-esque interface.

But then why bother upgrading to Windows 7 from XP. :confused:
 
videobruce said:
KISS,
If it isn't broken, don't fix it,
Click to expand...
It WAS broken. If you install a lot of crap, the old Start Menu was awful. Search fixes that dramatically. Having the Start Menu take up the entire screen was non-intuitive and tough to navigate as well. As far as Aero.... window tearing was a huge problem. You'll notice that went away after XP. The two are related.
 
Arainach said:
It WAS broken. If you install a lot of crap, the old Start Menu was awful. Search fixes that dramatically. Having the Start Menu take up the entire screen was non-intuitive and tough to navigate as well. As far as Aero.... window tearing was a huge problem. You'll notice that went away after XP. The two are related.
Click to expand...

Except for the "tearing" (and I have no idea what "tearing" you're talking about) everything you just listed is OPINION. In his OPINION he likes the classic style, there's nothing wrong with that.
 
You might want to learn how the new start button + task bar works. They're a vast improvement over the cascading windows in XP.
 
ameoba said:
You might want to learn how the new start button + task bar works. They're a vast improvement over the cascading windows in XP.
Click to expand...
In some ways, it's a giant step backwards for me. Here's a detailed read, but basically the author of ClassicShell got me down to a T :
http://classicshell.sourceforge.net/whycsm.html

@VideoBruce : Nope, none whatsoever. I've been using it since the early alpha with Win7x64 Ultimate without any complaints.
 
So many people hate change.

i loved XP, i hates win 7 "super bar" not more task bar.. wtf... then after about 2 months, i cant imagine going back to the ancient windows xp task bar.,

I will honestly say, it seem you dont like change if you think something has worked great for years...

most people who hate vista / win 7 dont want change and think the way XP did things is the best way, but really, after 10 years of the same crap can you blame people?

i would bet if most people who love XP gave windows 7 at least 1 month of full usage.. and actually learned about new features in the OS had. and not just think it is some GUI update, they may actually like it.. i know i did.
 
eh, I don't see any use for the start menu any more. mostly I drag the icons to the task bar and lesser stuff on the desktop. works well. the start menu, well, you can open it and start typing and it will find what you are looking for.
 
GushpinBob said:
Select "Windows Classic" theme in the personalization window.
Set the taskbar to use small icons and set the taskbar buttons to "Never combine".
Enable "Quick Launch Bar" (tutorial here)
Go to the System control panel applet, click "advance system settings", click "settings" under the performance section, then click "Adjust for best performance", then click OK.
Install ClassicShell.
...and voila! A no-frills, Windows 95-esque interface.
But then why bother upgrading to Windows 7 from XP. :confused:
Click to expand...
Thanks for that, but to answer your question;
Hardware compatibility. The same unfortunate reason I had to ditch 2k (their best O/S) for XP: newer hardware (HDTV in my case). :(
 
It WAS broken. If you install a lot of crap, the old Start Menu was awful.
Click to expand...
1. It wasn't broken, or awful,
2. II never install a lot of "crap" in the first place.,
3. I delete all those extra entries like documentation, help, etc. that is available within the program itself.
4. I also combine similar programs in newly created folders limiting the column to manageable rows.

I showed the Admin Tools since it had the most entries. All the other sections had less. So, what's wrong with this?? The PC I setup from Comtrash had a column that reached to the ceiling with the default Win7 start menu.

Startmenu.jpg
 
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2. II never install a lot of "crap" in the first place.,
3. I delete all those extra entries like documentation, help, etc. that is available within the program itself.
4. I also combine similar programs in newly created folders limiting the column to manageable rows.
Click to expand...
None of those is true for most users. For the vast majority of Windows Users, the new layout is far better, especially with search. If you think Microsoft just makes random UI changes without conducting usability studies, you'd be wrong.

The fact that you had to do those things to make it usable makes it broken.

This is an awful UI - it consumes the entire screen and makes it a pain to find anything:

startmenu1.jpg
 
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