A blog ago I ranted about frutiger aero. This blog I'm teaching you how to push windows 11 to it's Microslop limits, and how to make your windows 11 look like this.
In this little guide, I'll sort the modifications into things that are easiest to do and safest, to stuff that that requires more work, and could be dangerous if you don't want to mess around too much.
NOTE: All software/programs I've listed are trustworthy, and may flag antivirus because they mess with windows registry. However, always use your best judgement and make sure you download everything from official github wikis and run your own background checks.
1. Retrobar
Retrobar is by far the safest and easiest modification. It replaces your taskbar, and covers all the main options except Win7. Retrobar will not break on you and is really easy to install and configure.
My favorite settings are: Taskbar -> Windows Vista Aero, Advanced -> Allow blur behind transparent taskbar OFF
2. Openshell: Start Menu and Taskbar
Openshell gives you the start menu from windows 7. This can be customized heavily.
While not a customization mod, windows 11 debloater is heavily recommended because it gets rid of stupid stuff you likely don't want like Copilot. It's very trustworthy and simple, and heavily recommended for everyone.
That's all for the "easy" and unbreakable mods. This next section is for slightly more effort but also pretty unbreakable and generally reliable.
4. Geckium: firefox mod to make it look like old chrome
Geckium is very easy to set up. But it's not a one click install button like the others are. Also, firefox recently released an update where you can revert the firefox icon to previous renditions.
5. Windhawk
Windhawk has a lot of community created mods that can be hit or miss. But usually, if you download ones made by the creator (who goes by m417z), the mods will probably work fine. Most of these mods I've listed are explorer.exe mods.
- Windows 11 Taskbar styler - tons of taskbar changes, including Win7, Vista, XP, macOS. Probably the second best taskbar mod behind retrobar.
- class context menu - file explorer changes
- classic explorer navigation bar - file explorer changes
- legacy file copy - changes your right click to not bring up the new windows 11 right click
- windows 7 command bar - file explorer changes
Now for more difficult/Use at your own risk mods. I heavily recommend creating a restore point before continuing with these.
- to create a restore point, press the windows button -> type in "Create a restore point" -> click "Create" -> then name it something like "before mods XX.XX.XXX"
1. secureUXtheme - lets you use themes
- aero10.1 seven theme - this is what really makes things change: changes explorer.exe, adds title bar buttons, background, etc.
2. OpenGlass
Gives the titlebar "glass" and also adds the borders back (check the "disable modern borders". Can be pretty finicky but looks nice.
3. 7tsp-gui - patches windows icons
I used "updated sevenifer by luximoz - icon pack" for my icons. Please note, 7tsp has some dependencies (.NET framework 3.5) that are required to be installed before you start patching. Also before you start patching, you should make a restore point. Sometimes, windows updates will "unpatch" the icon pack and you will need to repatch.
Honorable mentions/other things to use
Winaerotweaker: good for a lot of general windows tweaking stuff, like fonts, etc.
DWMBlurglass: similar to openglass, makes the titlebar very nice and transparent. Don't use DWMblurglass and openglass at the same time though.
UltraUXthemepatcher: similar as secureuxtheme but seems to work better on some windows 11 versions. Freeware that is not open source.
WORST CASE SCENARIO: HOW TO RESTORE BACK TO DEFAULT WITHOUT WIPING YOUR COMPUTER FOR A FRESH RESTART:
If you run into issues, especially when modifying dll files and using more risky methods, you can restore your windows to default without wiping your computer. This is not the same as a factory reset, and will not delete your files/programs, but will reset windows settings to defaults.
Step 1: uninstall all modifications.
- Turn off everything in windhawk
- uninstall secureUXtheme by going into Settings > installed apps > secureUXtheme > uninstall. (Reboot after)
- go to 7tsp GUI and click “restore” then click “restore to before 7tsp was used” (should be the first option) reboot after.
Step 2: Recovery
- go to windows settings (windows key + I) > system > Recovery > fix problems using windows update > reinstall now.
This reinstalls windows using the latest windows update version. It will take 2-3 hours, maybe even longer. Wait for it to get to 100% then restart. Everything should be fixed and you should have stock windows 11 back.
I hope this helped! All credits to original creators/communities, make sure to always double and triple check anything you install, make sure you are getting things from official sources. If you had an issue, or are more experienced and want to give me better recommendations, please email me at akiaki31725@proton.me
Troubleshooting + issues I ran into:
Windows defender false positive:
Detected: Trojan: Win32/Bearfoos.B!ml
Detected: Trojan: Win32/Bearfoos.A!ml
These are both are known false positives that have to do with windows security's machine learning (the !ml tag in the end). It almost certainly has to do with 7tsp's patching icons. If you don't want to deal with any of this, I'd highly just recommend not patching icons with 7tsp. You can do it yourself manually for icons you want patched.
Winaerotweaker flagged as malware:
https://winaero.com/defender-flags-winaero-tweaker-1-64-2-as-a-trojan/
Minecraft launcher / Microsoft store bugging (can't log in):
Likely due to a combination of win11debloater and 7tsp. Avoid 7tsp if you have had this issue.
