Make Win 7 look/act like 2k/XP?

[cjl]

Why not just use Win7 and have it autohide the taskbar, if you're so picky about wasted screen space. In my mind, using the bottom 15 or 20 pixels as a taskbar doesn't bug me, since it's perhaps 2% of the overall screen height (1200 pixels), but on a smaller screen, it could become more significant.

 

[randomizer]

In Windows Explorer, right click in the white space on the left where all the libraries are and select "show all folders." That way it doesn't hide all the useful things like the recycle bin.

Libraries are essentially just virtual directories made up of several actual directories. It basically just allows you to add all of the locations where your documents are in one place. You don't have to use it, and personally I don't see much use for it unless you're really disorganised.

Also note that folders like "Downloads" that are accessible from a quick link on the left are changeable. You can have them point to a different location and have Windwos move all the current files/folders in Downloads to the new place.

 

[apache_lives]

ummmmm when you get used to the new layout its actually alot more efficent and effective then that dinosaur xp - give it time and get used to it

things change for the better - welcome to the real world

 

[orionflux]

With that sort of outlook, we would all be watching B&W TV with no remote control and driving black T model Fords with no heating or airconditioning.

You mean I have been living in the dark this whole time?! I'm not giving up my model T or my high-tech 1976 color television!!! My model T races down the highway at a whopping 27 miles an hour, man, how dare you!!! :lol:

Thanks for all the replies guys. I would stay with 2K/XP except that I plan on running 12GB RAM and want to use an i7, and from what I understand, the newer OS's are better at handling the multiple cores and additional memory (certainly the 32-bit limit -- if 64-bit XP didn't get such poor reviews, I'd be considering it over everything else).


Certainly I'm not shunning progress, nor do I churn butter on the weekends in an electricity-deprived village in the woods. I've just become continually frustrated with interfaces that fundamentally change the way I interact with the computer, that's all. I shouldn't have to learn a new GUI every XX number of years. You call it progress, fine. If you've happy with the new gee/whiz/flash/bang aspects of Win7, more power to you.

I may be old fashioned (hell, I don't even have LED fans in my case or a touch screen on my cell phone, oh the calamity) but I don't look forward to changing the way I interface with my PC just because I want to upgrade to software that lets me use the latest hardware.

And I guarantee you I'm not alone in my opinion

I don't even have a cell phone. LOL If you need to talk to me that effing bad, leave a message or email me. Seriously. I am weird about stuff sometimes... And I just don't like talking much.

Also.. What's wrong with churning butter in the woods?... I also make mead and my method of protection are viking era swords. I even sleep in chainmail pajamas, that I made myself. (LOL) :lol: (I'm just kidding)

change is evil and comes from the devil. Whats with this crazy rock and roll the kids are listening to? Oh, the kids today, with the hair and the clothes!!! ...and don't get me started on that BLACK president! The very fact that you've used a magic box is an abomination. Don't make it worse by learning to use a new version of the magic box. God will smite you for sure.

I KNEW IT!!!! :lol: j/k!

 

[leo2kp]

I think with enough tweaks, you can make Win7 more efficient than XP and you'll get used to the interface. Eventually you'll have to anyway...why not start building new habits now? :-/

 

[captaincharisma]

why go to windows 7 if you want it to look like XP?here's an idea STAY WITH XP!!!! its not like windows 2k where you cannot use later versions of software with it anymore.

 

[Scotteq]

why go to windows 7 if you want it to look like XP?here's an idea STAY WITH XP!!!! its not like windows 2k where you cannot use later versions of software with it anymore.

...because the OP wants to use 12GB of memory, and does not want to use XP64.

 

[randomizer]

I think with enough tweaks...

Why can't we get something from Microsoft that is out of the box WTFBBQLOLGTFO fast?

 

[jitpublisher]

New layouts on my favorite web page, and I am the first to complain. "what the hell, I liked the old page just fine.....this new one simply sucks"
Change the posting tags on Tom's forum, again, I am the first to go "oh crap, what have done to the forums now, this really bites, and really pisses off the people who have been around here for a while."
Drive down the road in my gas guzzling 99 Durango with the V-8 Magnum, and I see that they changed the price of gas today, and it didn't go down. I am going to have to get rid the old thing, even though I love driving it and has been a perfect vehicle for 10 years now.
One thing you have to get used to in life, is change. For better, or for worse, nothing ever stays the same.

 

[Scotteq]

Why can't we get something from Microsoft that is out of the box WTFBBQLOLGTFO fast?

I believe the axiom is "What Intel Giveth, Microsoft Taketh Away" :lol:

 

[randomizer]

One thing you have to get used to in life, is change. For better, or for worse, nothing ever stays the same.

Usually worse. Supermarket and food manufacturer profiteering push prices up at rates way higher than inflation while every change of packaging causes the net weight to go down by 20% (yep, I saw a block of choc go from 250g to 200g overnight). Sometimes the price goes up as soon as the weight drops.

 

[randomizer]

I believe the axiom is "What Intel Giveth, Microsoft Taketh Away" :lol:

Which is why productivity doesn't really change no matter how fast your hardware is.

 

[Scotteq]

Yah.. to an extent. But I'd opine that the slow part of the productivity equat....





<wanders off to get more coffee>



<chats to an office mate>



<sees a new voicemail, and retrieves the message>



<decides the caller is FOS, and therefore SOL>



....slow part of the productivity equation is sitting on his butt in front of the screen, rather than it being the computer's fault.

 

[randomizer]

Can't argue there.

 

[trkorecky]

...now I've got to start all over again because every time Microsoft releases a new version of windows, the fundamental interactivity with the system changes 180 degrees...

Thus Vista = 180 degrees and W7 = 360 degrees? Good, you're right back where you started. Either get XP x64 or realize you're not the center of the universe and everything doesn't exist to benefit you -- deal with change, it's going to keep happening.

Besides, the changes made from XP to W7 weren't designed to slow things down, they were designed to speed things up and simplify them. Give W7 a week with an open mind (key point there) and you may just find out that there's less archaic and more efficient ways to do what you've always done.

And what the hell are you doing running 46 programs at once? The few seconds to load a program that brutally inefficient in your mind? Do you have an aneurysm every time there's a Windows or driver update that requires you to reboot your computer and start all these programs again?

 

[tucansam]

Yes, I do have an anuerysm every time have to reboot. I'm used to Sun and SGI workstations where my uptimes exceeded one year. And yes, the hourglass is like looking into the eyes of the devil. I don't close anything, I move it around until I need it later.

 

[mdale13]

this thread is a pathetic display of close-mindedness. i recently switched from XP to win7, and havent looked back. and like you, i do a lot of intensive work (although you have failed to mention what this all important work is, unless i missed it) working on freelance 3D projects/editing photos/video. i think you are grossly exaggerating the importance of your work, and the multitude of work you perform. adapting to changing software is part of life as a computer user.

 

[masop]

why the hell would u wanna do that w7 looks amazing

can't wait till games come out using DX 11

anyways also you can make them compaitable by going into the properties of a shortcut or the exe and run it in compaitability mode of xp

I switched to 7 RTM x64 a week ago. The 2 things I despise the most about vista and 7 are the revamped "windows explorer" and the "complete layout change in how files, apps and settings, profiles, temp files, configuration content, etc are stored".

If I could change anything, I would restore the "friendliness" of the XP explorer interface for file management and restore the easy to remember and work with layout/directory structure of XP. Trying to locate temp files and application configuration files is a pain in the ass. What sucks more is that it is 5 times harder to locate and remove spyware infections from a vista or 7 box than it is from xp or earlier versions of windows. Even with the best apps available and alot of experience, removing spyware from vista and 7 is like finding a needle in a haystack in many cases.

In regards to making 7 look more like xp and run even better, another thing that can be done is to turn on the "optimize for performance" option which turns off alot of eye candy but preserves the overall 7 experience. That really helps, especially with the gpu performance, menus, windows, etc. That is just my 2 cents.

-- MaSoP

NOTE: My system is currently spyware and virus free. My spyware and virus removal complaints are from my experience with trying to remove it from other peoples computers that run vista home premium.

 

[Zoron]

Bite the bullet and familiarize yourself with the new GUI. Once you know where everything is, then your productivity will go back up because you'll know where everything is. Fuming about change and making yourself resistant to it is the quickest way to become unproductive. Who knows... after embracing it, you may actually come to like it.

 

[randomizer]

I suppose the big question is "why change it at all?" If it ain't broke, don't fix it right?

 

[Zoron]

Then we simply would not advance in anything. There are a lot of things in history that we wouldn't consider "broken"... but yet there is always room for improvement. The 386 processor wasn't broken... but there was definate room for improvement, wouldn't you say?

The changes in each version of Windows may or may not reflect improvement depending on your point of view... but they are still not so drastic that you couldn't adapt to them in a reasonable amount of time. Change is only as difficult as you make it... if you are stubborn and resist it constantly, you'll never adapt or you'll adapt much more slowly than someone who is more willing to accept it.

The change may not be absolutely necessary... but it is pretty much inevitable. Why waste time and effort complaining about it when you could better use that time to adapt?

 

[randomizer]

If the change improves things then fair enough. But aesthetics often don't, so you have "downtime" while adjusting but the end result is no net benefit. Some would argue that the Vista/W7 GUI is more intuitive, but other would argue that it's an absolute time waster due to excess clicking to do what you want (I agree with both depending on the task).

 

[4745454b]

I think you guys are being a bit harsh on him. I to hate the way vista's explorer works. You can't browse to your application data folder, its hidden. WTF is up with that? If Randomizer's tip of show all folders works, then I really wish I had known that 6 months ago. I dread fixing Vista machines because I look like an idiot because I can't browse to where I want to go.

I'm planning on getting win7 at some point. I'm also planning on working my way through its odd interface. But I feel some of you need to cut some of us a little slack. We've used this same interface for quite a long time, and to just change it (for the worse) is a bit frustrating.

 

[randomizer]

That thing I mentioned is only for Win 7 and doesn't un-hide Application Data (which is hidden in XP too IIRC so I don't see your point there), just all the usual stuff from Vista that is hidden in Win 7.

 

[4745454b]

Application data is a hidden folder, but you can unhide the hidden/system folders in XP. AFAIK, this can't be done in vista. I did eventually get there, but I don't remember how. (had to go through my documents foler if I remember correctly.)