How to make Windows 11 look like Windows 10 in 2 minutes


Hi everyone!

After my recent success attempting to revive the Windows 10 look, yet with the Windows 11 functionalities, I have come to a conclusion that it is very easy to do.

Looks

1686410952532.png

As you can see we have everything: The start menu, taskbar and search, and on top of that - even the ALT + Tab view!

Benefits of this program:
  • 100% free
  • Opensource
  • Does not affect system performance
  • Everything is neat, so clock etc is the correct size
  • Heaps of customisation
The software is Explorer patcher.

How to create this look
  1. First off, download Explorer patcher, and install it. On github you can simply open the latest release and download the exe at a <2mb file size.
  2. This will immediately give you the Windows 10 taskbar, but not start menu.
  3. To get the start menu, right click your taskbar and select Properties
  4. Select Start Menu, then after Start Menu style it will say Windows 11. Click that, and change it to windows 10.
  5. Below this, ensure after 'Position on screen', it states 'At screen edge'.
  6. Under the Taskbar option, you can choose the size of icons, hiding options and more!
Update on this post (12/24): I’ve checked today, and this still works well. But do I recommend it still? Not really, no. I am using the original W11 look because they brought back some important functionality. But I didn’t really ever use EP for the looks; I just made this post for those who wanted the W10 looks, not functionality. So if you really care about it looking like W10 rather than acting like it.. this is still the best free method I know of, in terms of using this program for functionality - I’m not sure I still see its place as Microsoft have (somewhat) refined W11.

Thank you for reading, and if you have any questions please do ask below!
 

Attachments

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Last edited:
Click to expand...
Great to hear people are finding this useful.
I have reverted to the original W11 looks as they have brought in some functionality that was missing previously such as dragging files between programs on the taskbar, etc..
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 21H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Chillblast
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 3 3100
    Motherboard
    Asus ROG Strix b450-f
    Memory
    Corsair 8GB x 2 (16GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus Nvidia Geforce GTX 1650 Super
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 27" 1440p
    Screen Resolution
    1440p
    Hard Drives
    Seagate Barracuda 1TB
    256GB NVME Seagate Barracuda
    Browser
    Firefox / Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
  • Operating System
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    Amd E2
    Memory
    4GB
    Hard Drives
    128GB SSD
hi everyone, is there a way to revert back to the windows 11 default ?

update : doh !!.. uninstalling the patch will revert back to win 11.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 11
anyone running EP on 22631.4460
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 8700 @ 3.20GHz Coffee Lake 14nm Tech
    Motherboard
    MEDION B360H4-EM (U3E1)
    Memory
    32,0 GB 3200 Mhz Kingston
    Graphics Card(s)
    3071MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    TCL SMART TV
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2160 60 Hz
    Hard Drives
    931GB TOSHIBA DT01ACA100 (SATA )
    119GB FORESEE 128GB SSD (SATA (SSD))
    1862GB Western Digital WD Elements 10B8 USB Device (USB (SATA)
    3725GB Western Digital WD My Passport 25E1 USB Device (USB (SATA) (SSD)
    1862GB Western Digital WD Elements 25A3 USB Device (USB (SATA))
    Browser
    Firefox Beta 64 Bits
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Update on this thread: I’ve checked today, and this still works well. But do I recommend it still? Not really, no. I am using the original W11 look because they brought back some important functionality. But I didn’t really ever use EP for the looks; I just made this post for those who wanted the W10 looks, not functionality. So if you really care about it looking like W10 rather than acting like it.. this is still the best free method I know of, in terms of using this program for functionality - I’m not sure I still see its place as Microsoft have (somewhat) refined W11.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 21H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Chillblast
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 3 3100
    Motherboard
    Asus ROG Strix b450-f
    Memory
    Corsair 8GB x 2 (16GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus Nvidia Geforce GTX 1650 Super
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 27" 1440p
    Screen Resolution
    1440p
    Hard Drives
    Seagate Barracuda 1TB
    256GB NVME Seagate Barracuda
    Browser
    Firefox / Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
  • Operating System
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    Amd E2
    Memory
    4GB
    Hard Drives
    128GB SSD
Really minor is in the eye of the beholder. I use and love Explorer Patcher because it allows me to have a vertical taskbar left of screen. (I have my own quirky preferences--I also configure keyboards to put Ctrl to the left of A and Alt left of the Win key.) I have 4 PCs in current use: 2 on Win 10, and 2 on Win11. On all of them, I have the taskbar where I want it. For me, that's a critical issue of both look and usability, but I understand that other users have different tastes.
cereberus said:
Most of the original usability features have been fixed. Any left are really minor.

Anyway, that was not what OP was talking about. OP wanted to make W11 look like W10.

Problem with tools that cosmetically make an OS look like an earlier version is that they keep needing to be updated as well as W11 develops,

We get lots of posts about MS breaking these tools as if it was MS's fault.
Click to expand...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-13600K 3.50 GHz
    Motherboard
    GIGABYTE B660M DS3H , DDR4, Dual M.2, PCIe 4.0,2.5GB LAN, USB 3.2, USB C
    Memory
    32GB DDR4
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce GT 1030 2GB
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    2 X 2TB Samsung 980 Pro
    PSU
    APEVIA Prestige Series 800W
    Case
    Fractal Design Focus G
    Cooling
    Air 3 x fans
    Keyboard
    WASD V2, Realforce 103U-UW
    Internet Speed
    950 Mbps down, 25 Mbps up
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
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