[SOLVED] How to make Windows 10 as close to Windows 7 as humanly possibly?

[stethnorun]

I looked through the pinned comments and didn't see a thread about this, so sorry in advance if this gets asked all the time. Basically, I hate the fact that I have to upgrade to Windows 10 but I'm doing so now because I installed an M.2 SSD and Windows 7 install can't even see that it exists. So I'm just looking for a guide or help with turning off EVERYTHING about Windows 10 that makes it "better" than Windows 7. And by better, I mean better for Microsoft, not for me. I want to block as much data-collection as possible, I want to stop things running in the background meant to "assist" me, etc. And also if I could make it look and act like Windows 7 on the surface, even better. Thanks in advance!

 

[Math Geek]

I see what you mean now. It's what I meant too when I brought up pi-hole.

a pi-hole is the right idea since it is not on the pc itself. it will filter the traffic once it leaves the pc. that way it does not matter what windows is trying to collect since it never leaves your local network. since it is so easy to set-up and cheap to buy, i think a pi-hole is a great idea for the average enthusiast to put in place to help protect your privacy. it's what i have been using in my testing and tinkering with win 10. i have some extras installed to help monitor and analyze traffic but overall its nothing special and common programs used for such work. even tcpdump reveals a ton of info from a pi-hole.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Install windows classic shell.

Classic Shell: Downloads

It makes windows 10 look like 7.

This.

I've been doing this to make the shell and user interface look like, and act like Windows 7, since the release of Windows 8. Every system. I don't know anybody, and haven't had a single client, friend, family memory or "other" than has said "nah, just leave the default Windows 8/10 tiled start menu". LOL.

First, choose the local installation when you install Windows 10, so do not enter any MS account email information when installing and disconnect all internet during the installation. Tell the system NO when it asks about internet, you can enable it after the installation. During the installation say no to all the Cortana options. Say no to all the privacy options as seen in my guide. No location tracking etc in the window that gives you like ten choices. After installation you can enable or connect your internet and activate the product IF it doesn't do it automatically. So far, seems like every system I've installed Windows 10 on this year that EVER had a legitimate Windows 7 or 8 activation has automatically activated without having to enter anything at all, once it has connected to the internet. If it doesn't, you can enter your product key manually to activate.

Then run Spybot antibeacon. Then install Classic shell or Open shell (Both of which are free) and choose the skin and behaviors that you want it to have. Then go on with life.

How To - Windows 10 clean install tutorial

If you are looking for the Windows 11 Clean install tutorial, you can find that here: Windows 11 Clean install tutorial (Click here) Otherwise, welcome to the Windows 10 Clean install tutorial This tutorial is intended to help you, step by step, to perform a clean install of Windows...

forums.tomshardware.com

 

[Deleted member 2720853]

If you are so concerned about privacy issues on 10, go ahead and use Linux. The same privacy issues exist on 8.1, 8, and 7, as mentioned earlier in this thread.

You can turn off a lot of settings during Windows 10 installation, and even further using ShutUp10.

You can sure make 10 look like 7. No point in being ON 7. 7 is absolutely awful especially when you have a Ryzen CPU.

 

[stethnorun]

If you are so concerned about privacy issues on 10, go ahead and use Linux. The same privacy issues exist on 8.1, 8, and 7, as mentioned earlier in this thread.

You can turn off a lot of settings during Windows 10 installation, and even further using ShutUp10.

You can sure make 10 look like 7. No point in being ON 7. 7 is absolutely awful especially when you have a Ryzen CPU.

Yeah as I said, I'd love to eventually learn Linux but from what I can tell, gaming is very dicey. If I can't play any game I want reliably, that's basic ally a deal-breaker for me.

 

[Darkbreeze]

If I can't play any game I want reliably, and run most common applications or at least a comparable version of them that is cross platform compatible, that's basic ally a deal-breaker for me.

TIFIFY to say, in pretty much exact terms, the whole reason why Linux hasn't been able to make any significant inroads when it comes to eating away at the Microsoft OS market share. Maybe someday, but the fact remains that PROFIT drives 90% of innovation and there is little profit for companies to have to develop for two systems when one system holds most of the user base.

 

[stethnorun]

TIFIFY to say, in pretty much exact terms, the whole reason why Linux hasn't been able to make any significant inroads when it comes to eating away at the Microsoft OS market share. Maybe someday, but the fact remains that PROFIT drives 90% of innovation and there is little profit for companies to have to develop for two systems when one system holds most of the user base.

No idea what that acronym is. And I hear ya. But you can't say "Here's a broken platform and it won't be fixed until more people are using it". The platform has to be welcoming first. That's why alt-tech is taking so long to dethrone Silicon Valley - it needs to be at least as good as the current kings.

 

[Darkbreeze]

"There I fixed it for you"

 

[stethnorun]

"There I fixed it for you"

Ah okay. And geez, I also misread what you were saying. We agree. I thought you were saying "you have to use Linux first before it becomes reliable". But yeah, it's a big problem. I know most people never work for free, but since it's open source and since so many people hate the evil Big Tech companies, you'd think there'd be the will to really make Linux sing. Here's hoping.

 

[Darkbreeze]

There is a "will" to do that, the problem is that the majority of people with the "expertise" to actually do it, want to get paid for their work. And who can blame them really? That's the whole problem in a nutshell. Create a few minor programs for free? Sure, no problem. Create an OS that can rival Windows, and include support for all of the things that Windows includes support for, that requires hundreds of people 24/7 to make it work even as well as it does now, which sometimes isn't all that great in certain areas despite having all those highly skilled software engineers? That isn't going to happen without some serious financial backing for those developers who work on it, even if they aren't doing it strictly for profit.

I wouldn't even mind paying for an alternative OS if somebody developed one that was actually a viable alternative, if they were charging less for it, just to create some competition. But there is just too much that is lacking regardless of the flavor of Linux you want to look at. Again, maybe someday it will be viable.

 

[USAFRet]

Windows has a huge inertia level vs Linux.

Games, there is no comparison.

Office integration, again, no comparison.
LibreOffice is great. But it is NOT a 100% compatible replacement. Millions of offices all over the world live and die by whatever Excel workbooks they have. Along with all the calcs and macros in them. Moving to LibreOffice, and all those will need to be rewritten. This is sort of my thing at work, and yes, I've looked into this extensively.

Major productivity applications like AutoCAD? Not happening in Linux.

Even the ubiquitous 'Photoshop', and the whole Adobe tool chain.
GIMP is a great tool as a PS replacement. Now make it integrate seamlessly with darktable, Inkscape, some NLE video editor.


And most people don't even think about "Windows", or what it is.
The concept of "Windows 10 sux compared to Windows 7!" doesn't even register on their radar.
They buy a new PC, and some of the icons look a teeny bit different. No big deal. People don't 'use' the OS, they use applications.


Linux is huge in the server world, for good reasons. And its android offshoot huge in the mobile world.
But as an actual viable widespread replacement for Windows? Not nearly enough.

 

[stethnorun]

There is a "will" to do that, the problem is that the majority of people with the "expertise" to actually do it, want to get paid for their work. And who can blame them really? That's the whole problem in a nutshell. Create a few minor programs for free? Sure, no problem. Create an OS that can rival Windows, and include support for all of the things that Windows includes support for, that requires hundreds of people 24/7 to make it work even as well as it does now, which sometimes isn't all that great in certain areas despite having all those highly skilled software engineers? That isn't going to happen without some serious financial backing for those developers who work on it, even if they aren't doing it strictly for profit.

I wouldn't even mind paying for an alternative OS if somebody developed one that was actually a viable alternative, if they were charging less for it, just to create some competition. But there is just too much that is lacking regardless of the flavor of Linux you want to look at. Again, maybe someday it will be viable.

I would actually pay MORE for an alt-tech, privacy-focused OS. I'd pay like $300 for that.

 

[stethnorun]

Windows has a huge inertia level vs Linux.

Games, there is no comparison.

Office integration, again, no comparison.
LibreOffice is great. But it is NOT a 100% compatible replacement. Millions of offices all over the world live and die by whatever Excel workbooks they have. Along with all the calcs and macros in them. Moving to LibreOffice, and all those will need to be rewritten. This is sort of my thing at work, and yes, I've looked into this extensively.

Major productivity applications like AutoCAD? Not happening in Linux.

Even the ubiquitous 'Photoshop', and the whole Adobe tool chain.
GIMP is a great tool as a PS replacement. Now make it integrate seamlessly with darktable, Inkscape, some NLE video editor.


And most people don't even think about "Windows", or what it is.
The concept of "Windows 10 sux compared to Windows 7!" doesn't even register on their radar.
They buy a new PC, and some of the icons look a teeny bit different. No big deal. People don't 'use' the OS, they use applications.


Linux is huge in the server world, for good reasons. And its android offshoot huge in the mobile world.
But as an actual viable widespread replacement for Windows? Not nearly enough.

I wonder if a better system could be formed. Like if someone specifically designed an OS to be a Windows-killer. Start from scratch with that idea in mind, like how Minds is going after Facebook, Parler -> Twitter, Bit Chute -> Youtube.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

I wonder if a better system could be formed. Like if someone specifically designed an OS to be a Windows-killer. Start from scratch with that idea in mind, like how Minds is going after Facebook, Parler -> Twitter, Bit Chute -> Youtube.

OS/2 had a good start back in the late 90's but IBM fumbled things badly. Stardock's Object Desktop was the shiznit.

 

[USAFRet]

I wonder if a better system could be formed. Like if someone specifically designed an OS to be a Windows-killer. Start from scratch with that idea in mind, like how Minds is going after Facebook, Parler -> Twitter, Bit Chute -> Youtube.

Been tried multiple times. Still no luck. OS/2, GEOS, BeOS, reactOS, and on and on.
At this point, its trying to overcome 30 years of Windows inertia.

Facebook/Twitter/YouTube are different.
Those are just applications, with zero dollar cost to the public. It costs me nothing to use change from MySpace to Facebook. And once a few of your friends are on this new platform, you use that to talk to them.
And those things just run in the browser. FF on Linux works almost exactly as FF on Windows. I've loaned people a laptop with Linux. Here, use this. Linux Mint, generally. They neither knew nor cared what the underlying OS was. The FireFox icon looked and ran almost exactly the same.

But if my entire design shop is using Adobe tools, at $1500 per seat...changing to a different OS is a hard sell.
I'd need to change everything. Desktops, backup tools and routines, PS replacement, printers/scanners....
And what does it gain me?

Similarly, games. If I am a game house, what is the incentive for me to develop for a whole other platform?

 

[USAFRet]

And for actual current Windows alternatives, Apple and Chromebooks.
One is even more locked in, the other far too limited.

 

[Darkbreeze]

What they said.