So how about this one (left screenshot)? I supposed this legendary classic start menu since Windows 95 which no longer available in Windows 7 still appeals to somebody (for whatever reasons, but not for me of course :P), and they couldn’t bring it back in their lovely Windows 7. So how are they supposed to do to bring them back to life? Not within Windows 7 anyway. Created by ibeltchev and released in sourceforge,  the free Classic Shell is designed to bring back every pieces of good features in the old days Windows back into the latest Microsoft OS.

Classic Start Menu

So what Classic Shell can do for you? Of course, as mentioned, it brings back the classic start menu back into Windows 7, but not only that, it also adds a toolbar for Windows Explorer in Vista and Windows 7 like the one in Windows XP and adds couple more smaller features. So why the classic start menu? Possibly some Windows users very used to them and doesn’t want to change the way they work, but still wanted Windows 7, then Classic Shell is their answer (Check screenshot below).

If you see it just as a simple UI modification, try it and you will know it. While Windows 7 equipped with a lot of new features, Classic Shell also brought some advanced features for this classic start menu:

• Drag and drop to let you organize your applications
• Options to show Favorites, expand Control Panel, etc
• Shows recently used documents. The number of documents to display is customizable
• Translated in 35 languages, including Right-to-left support for Arabic and Hebrew
• Does not disable the original start menu in Windows. You can access it by Shift+Click on the start button
• Right-click on an item in the menu to delete, rename, sort, or perform other tasks
• Available for 32 and 64-bit operating systems

Classic Explorer

Not only that, Classic Shell does bring back the classic style for windows explorer. If you can’t help but missing all the features in Windows XP, Classic Shell brings them back to you as well. Pictures say them all:

 Oh, the lovely icons are back!

Where is the unnecessary big window for file replacement?

Simple and fast. And space friendly.

Editor’s Note

While it is not for everyone (apparently some doesn’t mind to adapt with new design, like me), it does give an option to Windows 7 users to get back the user interface they familiar with in Windows XP. And the author deserves some respect because he develop this and release it for free! If you going to check his website, do look out for a section where he compared his free software with other similar commercial software, you might even more appreciate his work. For more information and download, head to his sourceforge homepage at here. 

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