RESTORE CLASSIC WINDOWS FEATURES
Microsoft is notorious for needlessly removing or ‘improving’ popular Windows tools. The ‘Get Classic Apps’ section in Winaero Tweaker lets you resurrect some of these features, either by re-enabling them or by installing versions created by Winaero’s developer.
Revive desktop widgets
Windows 7 lets you add handy floating widgets to your desktop, providing at-aglance access to your clock and calendar, as well as a CPU meter that lets you keep an eye on how how close to capacity your processor is running (high usage is often a sign that a program has crashed).
Microsoft ditched these widgets with the launch of Windows 8, saying that hackers could use them to gain access to your PC (read more at www.snipca. com/37665). If you’re happy with the risks, you can restore them by selecting Desktop Gadgets, selecting the ‘Get Desktop Gadgets’ link on the right, then following the installation instructions. You can also get the old Windows calculator back by clicking the link in the click Classic Calculator. This version offers Standard and Scientific modes, unit conversion, date calculation and more – pin it to your taskbar for easy access.
Use a more compact task switcher
The task switcher in Windows 10 (press Alt+tab) displays large thumbnails of all your open windows. For a more compact, classic view that only shows icons
(reminiscent of Windows 7) click Alt+tab Appearance in the Appearance section and select ‘Enable classic Alt+tab dialog’ (see screenshot below left).
View photos in the old-fashioned way
In Windows 8, Microsoft replaced the classic Photo Viewer tool with the Photos app. While it certainly offers more features, the new version can be slow to load on older PCS. The good news is that Photo Viewer is still available in Windows 10 – you just need to enable it. To do this, select Activate Windows Photo Viewer to open the ‘Default apps’ screen, then click ‘Choose a default’ under ‘Photo viewer’ and select Windows Photo Viewer from the list.
Enjoy classic games
Nobody rejoiced when Microsoft killed off classic games like Solitaire, Freecell and Minesweeper. The reason behind Microsoft’s decision soon became obvious: money. It subsequently released revamped versions in the Microsoft Store, and packed them with infuriating adverts (including some incredibly irritating video-based ads).
Avoid this junk and click the link in the Classic Games from Windows 7 option (or simply go to www.snipca.com/37622, then scroll down and click the green Download Games button). They all feature a slightly updated design (see screenshot above), but unlike the Microsoft Store versions they won’t interrupt your games with adverts.