Tutorials Windows Vista Tutorials Personalization Make Vista Look Like XP Classic Without Hacks
| Make Vista Look Like XP Classic Without Hacks |
| Windows Vista Tutorials - Personalization |
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Get rid of the Welcome ScreenOn a clean install of Windows Vista, the Welcome Screen will appear when you start Windows Vista. Most experienced Windows Vista users will want to disable this feature. To prevent the Welcome Screen from automatically appearing at startup, uncheck the “Run at startup” option in the Welcome Screen. If you don’t have the Welcome Screen opened, click on the start menu, type “Welcome Screen”, then select “Welcome Screen”.
Disable Windows SidebarIf you don’t use Windows Sidebar, you’ll find it to be a clutter. Right mouse click on the Sidebar interface (not the individual gadgets) then select Properties.
Uncheck the “Start Sidebar when Windows starts” option then click OK.
Close it by right mouse clicking on the side bar then selecting “Close Sidebar”.  Change to Windows Classic themeRight mouse click on the desktop and select Personalize.
The Personalization window will appear. Select Theme from the second bottom of the list.
Click on the drop down menu then select Windows Classic. Click OK.
When you are done, your Windows theme will switch to a classic theme.
Add Desktop itemsWant to restore the desktop items that you’re used to? Here’s how. Go back to the Personalization menu and select “Change desktop icons” from the left column.
In the Desktop Icon Settings window, checkmark the icons that you want to include then click OK.
What about the Internet Explorer icon? Minimize all the windows then click on the Start Menu. Click an the Internet icon and drag it to the desktop. Right mouse click on the new icon and click rename. Rename the new icon to “Internet Explorer”.
Reduce icon sizeRight mouse click on the desktop and choose View > Classic Icons. This will make the icons slightly smaller and the same size as Windows XP icons.
Final ResultsHere’s what your Windows Vista should look like now. It is now very similar to Windows XP classic mode.
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Windows Vista comes with a beautiful graphical user interface but some people enjoy using the uncluttered classic Windows XP theme instead. Using the classic Windows XP theme is also a good way to adapt to the new Windows Vista layout. If you want to make your Windows Vista look like Windows XP, here is a tutorial to get you started.
