Make XP look like Win7

[zridling]

"If you see no reason in switching to Windows 7 and would still like to impress your divorced neighbor, then you now have the tools to make your aging Windows XP look posh and nobby." Dedoimedo has a nice guide on how to make XP look as cool as Win7.

[attach]

[f0dder]

Pretty pointless, IMHO - you'll get the new looks, but not the GPU-accelerated performance, nor the memory savings of keeping bitmap elements solely in video memory.

[app103]

Is there a guide to making Win7 look like Win2000 and behave like XP?

Because I am very happy with my XP system with classic theme, and I'd rather not upgrade if I am going to end up forced to look at a bunch of eye candy that I'd rather not, and lose functionality with all the crap they changed.

[tomos]

Is there a guide to making Win7 look like Win2000 and behave like XP?

Because I am very happy with my XP system with classic theme, and I'd rather not upgrade if I am going to end up forced to look at a bunch of eye candy that I'd rather not, and lose functionality with all the crap they changed.

I use xp with classic (but I've changed the icons and made the colours nicer - for my taste at any rate) -
I had always been a bit envious of flash looking Vista/Aero screenshots though.
Anyways,
lately I was messing around with a Win.7 laptop and I was really suprised how *little* I liked Aero. I presume it can be tweaked (I was too busy struggling with other eh aspects) but, out of the box I found it ugly and those ginormous icons! they looked ridiculous on a 15.6" screen at any rate...

[cmpm]

Is there a guide to making Win7 look like Win2000 and behave like XP?

Because I am very happy with my XP system with classic theme, and I'd rather not upgrade if I am going to end up forced to look at a bunch of eye candy that I'd rather not, and lose functionality with all the crap they changed.

You can change the start menu with "Classic Shell" to look like XP.

http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives/2009/12/15/looking-for-the-best-windows-7-classic-start-menu/

The rest you can do through "Personalize" (right click desktop for options).
Except for the taskbar, which I haven't seen anything that I remember to change it to a 'classic' look. You can kill the Aero easy enough but still the quick launch is W7 and not XP. I switched to small icons on the taskbar which makes it easier on the eye and mind.

Overall I'm getting used to W7 as it is, and like it better then XP.
Searching is quick with W7's indexer.
The start menu search box is programs and a 'run' box.
Help is actually helpful, if you can believe it.
I've indexed the entire computer for working with windows explorer.
That helps and doesn't slow anything down that I've noticed.
The tray is much more usable and easier to deal with.

[KynloStephen66515]

Personally I am much happier on Windows XP, using a few vista features, like the sidebar, but mixed in with AlienGUIuse, this gives me some great visual effects without affecting the speed or practicality of my computer.

Also, if you really want to confuse or impress your friends, then I suggest changing the boot up/login screens with customized one's to represent your version of an operating system (For instance, mine says 'Taking The Beast Out of The Cage' where it usually comes up with the windows logo).