Classic Shell Works on Windows 8

[Andrea Borman]

Disabling aero and using classic on a netbook or low powered pc... :facepalm:

From what I read, using Windows Classic theme instead of Aero or Windows 7 Basic saves power on a netbook or laptop. On Windows XP you also have the Windows Classic theme option. But the default Windows XP Luna theme is not transparent like the Aero theme on Windows Vista and Windows 7 is. So if you have Windows XP set on Luna and not Classic theme it would not use more power.

Do they have the Windows Classic theme option on Windows 8? It never said anything about that on the web. Andrea Borman.

[HawkMan]

What you heard is wrong.

The only thing you accomplish by using classic is a slower UI experience.

[Andrea Borman]

What you heard is wrong.

The only thing you accomplish by using classic is a slower UI experience.

What is UI? What does UI mean?

Still you must admit it does look nicer on Windows Classic. Not with the grey taskbar and start menu and dark blue desktop, of course not. But I changed that to pink, or something else. But Windows Classic is more soothing to look at and to work with. Than that loud glaring Aero theme. And you can also add wallpaper to your Windows Classic theme. Andrea Borman.

[Colin-uk Veteran]

That's good to know.

[Andrea Borman]

Yes,you can add wallpaper to your Windows Classic theme on Windows 7. The picture is of my desktop when I had Windows 7 Starter. To change the wallpaper I used a software called Personalization Panel.Which lets you change the wallpaper in Windows 7 Starter and I used Classic Shell to get the Classic Start menu. Personalization Panel lets you change the wallpaper on Windows 7 Starter on both Aero theme mode,(Windows 7 Basic) and on Windows Classic mode. Unlike Oceanis also for Windows 7 Starter which only works on Aero theme.

But now I have upgraded the Windows 7 Starter netbook,I just right click on the image to set as desktop background on Windows Classic. And that works too. Andrea Borman.

[HawkMan]

What is UI? What does UI mean?

Still you must admit it does look nicer on Windows Classic. Not with the grey taskbar and start menu and dark blue desktop, of course not. But I changed that to pink, or something else. But Windows Classic is more soothing to look at and to work with. Than that loud glaring Aero theme. And you can also add wallpaper to your Windows Classic theme. Andrea Borman.

No, aero looks a million times better than classic, it's also the opposite of loud, where classic is big ugly and loud, aero is clean and subtle, and of can fully color it much better than classic and choose wether to have transparency or not.

On top of that, disabling aero makes the User Interface(al the windows graphics) slower and jerking and they use a lot more CPU, it also disables aero peak and other neat stuff ha makes windows much better to user. Including aero snap.

[Andrea Borman]

How about this? On Windows 7 you can make your desktop sort of look different by making your icons large as you see in the first picture. This may appeal to some people but not to me,but it is an option.

The second picture is of the icons normal size on Windows 7,used by most people including me.

The third picture is of the icons made small size on Windows 7.This is a good choice if you have a lot of desktop icons and you want more space or to make your desktop look less cluttered.

All of the pictures are from my Windows 7 netbook. So you see Windows 7 IS very flexible about themes,unlike Windows 8 which is not. Windows 8 does not seem very user friendly at all. Andrea Borman.

[wahoospa]

I Love The Classic Menu!

I can see clearly now, the strain is gone,

I can see all obstacles in my way

Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind

It’s gonna be a bright, bright

Crystal clear start menu on my desktop.

[Andrea Borman]

When you first change the theme on Windows 7 from Aero by selecting Windows Classic, it looks like the first picture above. That is the grey taskbar and start menu and dark blue desktop.

So, to change it to the color of your choice,use the color wheel in the second image above. And from there you can change the desktop and taskbar and anything else,start menu,text color,to a color of your choice.

And the third picture is the end result,pastel blue taskbar and start menu and pink desktop.

And this works on Windows XP too, when you select Windows Classic. You can then change the grey taskbar,start menu and desktop color to one of your choice on Windows XP. By using the color wheel on Windows Classic theme setting. Andrea Borman.

[Ambroos]

I'm not going into debate about what start menu (or perhaps the metro interface) is better, but anyone saying they use old stuff because they are power users is just stupid.

Power users use either a ton of keyboard shortcuts or command line. Power users don't care about minor changes to an interface they hardly use.

I personally navigate file managers on pretty much any os with ease just using the keyboard. No mouse user can ever be as fast. And if you really need advanced stuff you need command line.

Now for launching stuff the best thing that ever happened was the start menu search function. If you know what you want to launch it is always the fastest way. Type a few letters ('word') and hit enter, and there you are. Add CTRL+Shift and you run it as administrator. And that has been like that in Vista, 7, and 8 so far.

Sure you can prefer the classic start menu or explorer, I don't care. But don't say you do because you're a power user - you're not.

Now for the classic window style: it's nice from time to time. It keeps you focused on your work. For me my preference in visual style is Luna -> Vista -> Classic -> 8 (classic desktop mode) -> 7.

[Andrea Borman]

Now for the classic window style: it's nice from time to time. It keeps you focused on your work. For me my preference in visual style is Luna -> Vista -> Classic -> 8 (classic desktop mode) -> 7.

Well to get the Windows XP Luna start menu in Windows 7,you don't need to install visual styles. As Classic Shell will give you the Windows XP start menu. It is included in Classic Shell as well as some other themes. Classic Shell works on any edition of Windows 7,including Windows 7 Starter. Andrea Borman.

[Ambroos]

Well to get the Windows XP Luna start menu in Windows 7,you don't need to install visual styles. As Classic Shell will give you the Windows XP start menu. It is included in Classic Shell as well as some other themes. Classic Shell works on any edition of Windows 7,including Windows 7 Starter. Andrea Borman.

When I said window style I really meant just the color scheme, NOT the layouts and the old start menu. I absolutely adore the power of search in the new start menus. And I really don't like Luna, I just meant the square Windows 2000-style stuff.

[Andrea Borman]

Windows search in Windows 7 is very good and it finds any topic you put in the search box. I do not have Windows Vista but I was given a chance to try a Windows Vista laptop in a shop that sells reconditioned laptops recently. And Windows search in Windows Vista works just like Windows 7's.That is it finds anything. I also have got Windows XP and in Windows XP there is no search bar on the start menu. But there is a Windows search in control panel and in the taskbar. But Windows search on Windows XP does not find everything.

Actually there are two different types in Windows XP. Windows search in control panel that finds help topics. And the Windows search bar in the taskbar.Which searches for items on the desktop and your files in Windows Explorer. But the taskbar search is not the same.

On Windows 7 there is also a search bar in the taskbar which is the same as Windows XP's taskbar search.It searches the desktop and Windows Explorer files. As you can see above is a picture of Windows 7,with the search bar in the taskbar like on Windows XP. Andrea Borman.

[SharpGreen]

Well,I have got two hotmail accounts,but I use them for email and to talk to my friends on Windows Live Messenger. By the way,Windows Live Messenger for Windows XP works great on Windows 7. I have got Windows Live Messenger for Windows XP on my Windows 7,not Windows Live Messenger 2011. But Windows Live Messenger for Windows XP is really last years version, and if you read the system requirements it is for Windows 7 and Windows Vista and Windows XP.

But the version of Windows 8 you have installed is only a platform preview. What are you going to do when the real version of Windows 8 is is released? As then the preview version will stop working. Just like Windows 7 Beta did.And you won't be able to use Windows 8 platform preview anymore. I have heard you cannot uninstall Windows 8. Andrea Borman.

What will I do? Umm the same thing as any other person would do who's running the DP...I'd install the final win8. Duh? Besides the DP doesn't expire till march 2012 any way, so by then it'll be time for my "every-6months" windows reinstall anyway.

Still you must admit it does look nicer on Windows Classic. Not with the grey taskbar and start menu and dark blue desktop, of course not. But I changed that to pink, or something else. But Windows Classic is more soothing to look at and to work with. Than that loud glaring Aero theme. And you can also add wallpaper to your Windows Classic theme. Andrea Borman.

No I can't admit that, because its wrong. Like the rest of the stuff you've been posting. Windows Classic is ugly and needs to die. Good thing it did in win8.

[TruckWEB]

To all the power users : go back to using Norton Commander....

It's a dev preview and I think it's going to be nice. It's fresh and live tiles are much better than static icons. Makes the start menu much more dynamic.

[+LogicalApex MVC]

I still think Microsoft is pulling a New Coke with this Metro UI if they force it on the the desktop by default.

This strucutre of the Metro start menu is great for the tablet and phone and doesn't make a whole lot of sense on the desktop. Just the fact that it is Full Screen alone was enough to make me want to strangle it. I don't like intrusions into my workspace and a full screen start menu is a very powerful intrusion.

I have three monitors and I regularly fire up new apps while working in other apps (very easy to do when you can use the hotkeys to throw stuff onto other screens) and loosing my focus for even a few seconds would be too much annoyance for me.

They used data from the people who opt to send them usage data and came to the conclusion that this menu is better. It sounds great when you look at the numbers, but they have to take a step back and see how people really use the start menu outside of just the numbers. They should ask Coke. All of their research studies said people prefer sweeter cola, like Pepsi, when given a blind taste test. They introduced "New Coke" to cater to the desire they verified with data...

I wonder why we don't still have "New Coke" now and it is considered one of the worst product failures in history (hint, people like the taste of Coke even though they disagree if you test them blindly so the taste isn't everything)...

[Andrea Borman]

[/color]

No I can't admit that, because its wrong. Like the rest of the stuff you've been posting. Windows Classic is ugly and needs to die. Good thing it did in win8.

What? There is no option to set your theme to Windows Classic in Windows 8 like there is in Windows 7,Windows XP and Windows Vista?

My God, that's terrible.

It is bad enough that they don't even have a proper start menu and they have those horrible and confusing Metro tiles in Windows 8. But no Windows Classic theme option? If Microsoft want to turn people against Windows 8,they are doing a good job. All of those things about Windows 8-Metro tiled theme,no start menu,no Windows Classic theme setting and it being nothing like Windows and difficult to use. Not to mention that most software,won't be compatible with Windows 8. That puts you off from the start.

Yesterday,I was in a shop that sold second hand laptops and I came close to buying what would have been my third Windows XP netbook. I already have 2 Windows XP netbooks. But the netbook was cracked so I did not buy it. But when I told the man in the shop about the threat of Windows 8,he did not understand what that means. That we will be stuck with a version of Windows we cannot figure out how to use,including those metro tiles. To be honest with you,I would rather die than use and be stuck with Windows 8. And I told the man in the shop that, and I don't think he understood that either.

But if they stop selling Windows 7 and we are forced to buy Windows 8,then he,I and everyone else will have something to worry about.

A lot of people don't like Windows 8 the way they want to make it. So it is not just me. So why don't they complain to Microsoft about it and have street protest against Windows 8? Or put up a petition against Windows 8? Then maybe they will stop Windows 8 or make it like Windows 7. With a normal start menu and desktop. Then at least we could use it.

But if in the future they are planning to get rid of Windows 7 and replace it with that horrible Windows 8.

Here is how to avoid getting stuck with Windows 8.

Now-buy as many Windows 7 and Windows XP or Windows Vista laptops that you can. If you can afford 10 or 20 Windows 7 or Windows XP or Windows Vista laptops, great-buy them now. And then put them away in a cupboard or some where safe. Then you will have enough Windows 7 laptops to last you for the next 10 or 20 years. And then when the laptop you are using now wears out. You can just use one of your Windows 7 laptops you have stored away. And you will have Windows 7 and even Windows XP or Windows Vista for the next 20 years. And you will never have to buy a new laptop. And so you will never be in a position where you will be forced to buy Windows 8 because they stopped selling Windows 7.

That seems the only way to avoid being stuck with Windows 8. And the chances are,because I already have 6 netbooks,4 Windows 7 and 2 Windows XP. I will be on Windows 7 and Windows XP for the next 10 years or more if I am lucky. As I don't think that 6 brand new netbooks will wear out so quickly. Andrea Borman.

[BeerFan]

What part of "Developer Preview" do you <snipped> not understand? It's not even a freaking beta yet. Good for you for being a Windows XP fan! Woohoo for antiquated hardware and software! :p Let's make a million petitions against Developer Preview concepts!!!! That'll teach those Microsoft dev's. OMFG.

Edited October 15, 2011 by Barney
name calling

[SharpGreen]

What part of "Developer Preview" do you <snipped> not understand? It's not even a freaking beta yet. Good for you for being a Windows XP fan! Woohoo for antiquated hardware and software! :p Let's make a million petitions against Developer Preview concepts!!!! That'll teach those Microsoft dev's. OMFG.

QFT

What? There is no option to set your theme to Windows Classic in Windows 8 like there is in Windows 7,Windows XP and Windows Vista?

My God, that's terrible.

It's actually one my favorite changes, tbh. Windows Classic is ugly and needed to die in Windows Vista.

It is bad enough that they don't even have a proper start menu and they have those horrible and confusing Metro tiles in Windows 8. But no Windows Classic theme option? If Microsoft want to turn people against Windows 8,they are doing a good job. All of those things about Windows 8-Metro tiled theme,no start menu,no Windows Classic theme setting and it being nothing like Windows and difficult to use. Not to mention that most software,won't be compatible with Windows 8. That puts you off from the start.

Really? Every app I've installed so far has worked. Even games that predate Vista still work. DOS apps and apps written for Windows versions prior to the crap that is WinXP don't count. So what software are you referring to?

[Andrea Borman]

As you see on my desktop.I have Aim Messenger,Google talk,Windows Live Messenger for Windows XP, Web browsers,Pale Moon,and Safefox which are alternative versions of Firefox,Google chrome and Advanced browser.Which is an Internet Explorer engine based browser. I have Internet Explorer 8 by the way on Windows 7 and IE6 on Windows XP. Which are bundled with the operating system.And I have Gom Media Player.

And I would expect all of those things to work in Windows 8. And What about connect to the Internet. Would Windows 8 recognise our wireless broadband? It did not on Linux,so I could not even connect to the Internet on Linux.

And Windows XP is not rubbish. Windows XP is faster than Windows 7 and takes up less ram. And anyone who did not know about computers.Would think that Windows XP was only brought out two months ago not ten years ago. It is very modern and runs all of the software I have on Windows 7 on Windows XP. And WMP 9 the version of WMP on Windows XP is better than WMP 11 or 12.

But the you cannot install or run WMP 9 on Windows 7 or Windows Vista. The lowest version you can run is WMP 11 the special that somebody made adapted to run Windows 7 or WMP 12. Which is a big disadvantage.

And on Windows XP you have got more software,you also have WMP 6.4 and WMP 5.1, which they took out of Windows Vista and Windows 7. But on Windows XP it is already there but on Windows 7. If you want extra software like Windows Movie Maker you have to install it yourself. But on Windows XP you don't have to. Andrea Borman.

[HawkMan]

And Windows XP is not rubbish. Windows XP is faster than Windows 7 and takes up less ram. And anyone who did not know about computers.Would think that Windows XP was only brought out two months ago not ten years ago. It is very modern and runs all of the software I have on Windows 7 on Windows XP. And WMP 9 the version of WMP on Windows XP is better than WMP 11 or 12.

XP is not really faster Han vista or 7, on new hardware 7 is faster since xp can't make use of it, same as the new and bulldozer CPUs don't work very well in 7 but will work a lot better in windows 8.

As for ram. Yes, 7 uses more ram than XP. However that is not a bad thing, it's actually a good thing.

Just like aero is a good thing, and when you run classic, you're only making your computer run slower.

[cooky560 Veteran]

While that is true I actually prefer the look of Classic over Aero, it's more professional looking, or rather it was when it looked like Windows 2000 as XPs classic mode does

[BeerFan]

And Windows XP is not rubbish. Windows XP is faster than Windows 7 and takes up less ram. And anyone who did not know about computers.Would think that Windows XP was only brought out two months ago not ten years ago.

That has to be one of the funniest things i've read in these forums. The only thing bad about MS releasing a publicly available Dev. Preview is having to put up with this kind of response.

[remixedcat]

You shouldn't be using computers if you can't handle progress. They aren't like toasters or microwaves which largely remain the same year after year!

How can you call yourself a power user if you are still using the old Start menu? It's clunky and inefficient.

do you consider yourself a pro-racer by driving a geo metro????

I guess ferraris and bmws and ford mustangs and lambos are clunky and inefficient..... and everyone should drive geo metros.....

[bruNo_]

ˆ what?

You don't need to be a pro-racer to drive a Ferrari... and if you can't handle changes, you should use Windows XP instead of using Windows 7. And yes, it's progress.