How to make Windows 10’s Start Menu look like Windows 7’s

by Ivan Jenic

Troubleshooting Expert

January 10, 2020

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If you want to try the Windows 10 Technical Preview, but you like your old interface (From Windows 7 or XP) more, you’re probably facing a dilemma if you should use it or not.

Since our site supports innovations, we’ll advise you to try the new OS, and we’ll show you how to make the new start menu look like start menu from Windows 7 (as much as possible).

How do I get the classic Start menu back in Windows 10?

Make The Live Tiles Disappear

The main thing that separates Windows 10 Start menu from Start menus of previous versions Windows operating systems are live tiles.

Live tiles were introduced in Windows 8 as a part of Start Screen, and now they’re relocated to start menu.

Thoughts about live tiles are separated, some people think Microsoft should remove live tiles from Windows, because they remind us of Windows 10, while some people think that live tiles are refreshment for the start menu.

But if you’re reading this article, you probably belong to the first side.

So if you want to get Windows 7-like start menu, you’ll have to get rid of the live tiles. Luckily, that is very easy, and here’s all you should do to remove live tiles from your Windows 10 start menu:

1. Go to Start Menu
2. Right click on each live tile and choose Unpin from Start

Once you’ve unpinned all live tiles from your start menu, you’ll get a nice and slim start menu, that reminds (well, as much as possible) to Windows 7.

Start Menu Disappears? Don’t panic! Fix the problem like an expert with our guide!

Remove Search And Task Buttons From The Taskbar

Now that live tiles are gone, you’ll need to customize the taskbar a bit in order to make it like Windows 7. First thing you need to do is to remove the search box or search button from your taskbar.

A lot of people find the search box annoying, but Windows 10 is constantly evolving, so there’s still room for improvement. Anyway, to remove search button/search box from your taskbar do the following:

1. Right click on the taskbar
2. Under Search, choose Disabled

Search box is now removed, and there’s only one thing left for you to do. If you really want your taskbar to look like Windows 7 as much as possible, you should also remove the Task View button, because Windows 7 start menu didn’t have it. To remove Task View button from the taskbar, do the following:

1. Right click on the taskbar
2. Uncheck  Show Task View button

I know it doesn’t look exactly like the start menu from Windows 7 of Windows XP, but you can’t do more than this.

Maybe some new builds of Windows 10 Technical Preview will bring more customization options to the start menu and taskbar, and we’ll be able to change it even more, but that’s all for now.

We’ve written extensively on Taskbar issues. Check out these guides for more information.

Software to make Windows 10 look like Windows 7

There is something else you can try in order to make your Windows 10 look like Windows 7. There are a lot of software in the market right now, but one in particular got our attention.

Start10, a program developed by Stardock, can make big differences in your Windows appearance. After installing, if you want to return to the classic Windows 7 style or just give your OS a modern makeover, it’s up to you.

However, you should know that there is a cost, around 4.99$, but you can try it for free.

Here are Start10’s main features:

• Restores the quick links to core system functionality
• Filter searches in the Start menu
• Replaces the start button and allows you to use your own
• Integrates Stardock’s “Fences” into the menu
• Maintains the “All Programs” folder metaphor
• Apply texture to the Start10 background and taskbar
• Add custom shortcuts to the right panel
• Re-arrange the right panel to fit user needs
• Configure individually how the start button and Windows key act when selected
• Adjust menu size

Learn more about Start10 tool from our review!

Classic Shell or Open Shell

Classic Shell is another third-party application that can help you bring back Windows 7 Start Menu to Windows 10. To use it, just do the following:

1. Download and install Classic Shell.
2. Once you install the application, start it.
3. Navigate to Start Menu Style tab and select Windows 7 style. If you want, you can also replace the Start button as well.
4. Head over to the Skin tab and select Windows Aero from the list.
5. Click OK to save changes.

Note: Classic Shell is no longer actively developed, so you might encounter certain bugs while using it. Open Shell is a similar application, and it’s actually based on Classic Shell. Open Shell is actively maintained by the Git community so be sure to consider it instead of Classic Shell.

There you go, we hope that you found our guide helpful and that you managed to change the look of your Start Menu in Windows 10.

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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in April 2015 and has been since updated for freshness, and accuracy.