Setting up Windows 7 to function like XP

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  1. Posts : 144
    Windows 7 x64
       #1

    Setting up Windows 7 to function like XP


    Hi all!

    Some background first. I'm an XP user and I'd like to take advantage of the multiple cores and a hunk of a RAM in the near future that have become available at reasonable prices. While 64-bit XP does support the RAM, it can't really deal with many cores so, some kind upgrade is bound to come up. I'd be as happy as a pig in dung with a 64-bit multiple-core supporting XP which includes a non-crashing Windows Explorer, but as this isn't going to happen, I had to weigh my options.

    I decided that I'd had it with Windows and its crashes and the horrendously unstable Windows Explorer, so, Mac OS X seemed like the obvious choice as all my work-related software is available for it... Yet I had some annoying gripes with OS X and after a week of owning the latest MacBook Pro, I installed XP on the boot camp and haven't booted to OS X since. Then I tried Windows 7. I have mixed feelings here. I didn't like the dock on OS X and the new taskbar feels just like it.

    I mean... I was sooooo pissed and angry about my XP that I wanted a change. And when I finally got the change in the terms of Mac OS X and Windows 7, I realised how much I actually loved the XP and that my main gripe with it was that I was constantly faced with a non-responsive Windows Explorer.

    So, I decided to give Windows 7 a shot and set it up to look and feel like XP. I got the Quick Launch back thanks to this wonderful tutorial here, but I'm unable to fix the window management. When picking "never combine" under taskbar buttons options, I expected the windows to behave like they have from Windows 95 through XP, yet they don't. Instead, the windows are grouped together by application. For example, if I have Notepad text document as the leftmost window and Google Chrome browser next to it, and I create a new text document, it appears not in on the right side of the opened windows, like it has for over friggin 15 years, but between them. Plus, even more silly, while we are supposedly given freedom to re-organise the windows however we like, it is impossible to change the order of the windows within the same application -- that order set in stone like in the old taskbar. I know it sounds nitpicky and unappreciative to the Microsoft's efforts to create a better OS, but I never realised how much I loved the old taskbar before trying out both OS X and Windows 7.

    Anyway, is there a way to "un-link" or "un-stick" the windows? I've seen some other registry hacks that give more options to the given three choices, so, maybe it's possible?

    Thanks for taking your time reading this!
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 449
    Windows 7 x 32 bit
       #2

    Easy fix...

    Right click on taskbar (empty space)
    select properties
    In task bar buttons drop down select never combine
    Apply, Ok

    You can also change the size etc of the icons to make it more like XP

    I always resist change too (think Office 2007) but after a while I end up liking it a lot more. Have fun with your 'XP' seven
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 304
    Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate Build 7600
       #3

    higgins said:
    Hi all!
    it is impossible to change the order of the windows within the same application -- that order set in stone like in the old taskbar.

    Anyway, is there a way to "un-link" or "un-stick" the windows? I've seen some other registry hacks that give more options to the given three choices, so, maybe it's possible?

    Thanks for taking your time reading this!
    Hi Higgins!

    Please have a look at this little application, it will solve all your problems and give you exactly what you are looking for.:)


    7 Taskbar Tweaker - RaMMicHaeL's home page


    This programs enables you to tweak your Windows 7 taskbar.
    Features:
    - Show standard window menu on right click instead of jump list.
    - Close or focus a window on middle click instead of running a new instance.
    - Disable grouping of windows by file path or application id.
    - Cycle through windows of a grouped button on left click instead of showing a thumbnails preview.
    - Open with while dropping a file on a taskbar button instead of pinning.
    - Disable thumbnail previews.

    Hope this helps you.


    .
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 144
    Windows 7 x64
    Thread Starter
       #4

    V3xar said:
    Hi Higgins!

    Please have a look at this little application, it will solve all your problems and give you exactly what you are looking for.:)

    7 Taskbar Tweaker - RaMMicHaeL's home page

    (...)

    Hope this helps you.
    Yes. Yes! YES!

    This was EXACTLY what I wanted! Thank you very, VERY much!
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 304
    Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate Build 7600
       #5

    No problems higgins

    I am glad you got it sorted. Enjoy!


    .
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 449
    Windows 7 x 32 bit
       #6

    Ooops, just realised I didn't read your OP properly Sorry
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 144
    Windows 7 x64
    Thread Starter
       #7

    NinaJay said:
    Ooops, just realised I didn't read your OP properly Sorry
    No worries. At the first glance "never combine" indeed does look like the old system. Only when you actually use it, does it turn out that it's a completely different beast.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 2,752
    Windows 7 Pro x64 (1), Win7 Pro X64 (2)
       #8

    Ok... one more request.

    Under WinXP you could create a shortcut for a file (e.g. PDF, Word document, or in my current case a particular CFG/INI-like file that launches an IBM 3270 remote host TN3270 application customized to a specific configuration).

    That shortcut could be placed on the desktop or START menu where it could be launched from. Same with Win7.

    However under WinXP that same shortcut could also be placed on the Quicklaunch toolbar, and launched from there as well with the convenient single-click. Unfortunately, the normal Win7 super-bar does not allow this same facility. You cannot "pin" a shortcut for a file, nor can you even drag/drop it from the desktop to the super-bar.

    So... without actually activating the WinXP-like Quicklaunch feature (e.g. according to this particular tutorial) is there any "native" way to get a file-shortcut available on the super-bar (i.e. "pin")?
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 144
    Windows 7 x64
    Thread Starter
       #9

    dsperber said:
    So... without actually activating the WinXP-like Quicklaunch feature (e.g. according to this particular tutorial) is there any "native" way to get a file-shortcut available on the super-bar (i.e. "pin")?
    Just to point out, the tutorial you link to teaches how to get the "new quicklaunch" where "it used to be". The regular Win7 quicklaunch actually resides on the right side of the screen, just before the tray, as shown in here:

    Quick Launch - Enable or Disable

    So, as I get it, you could set up a quick launch with large icons, and then have them either next to start menu or before tray... yet not mixed with the regular icons. Is it close enough?
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 1,870
    MS Windows 7 Professional 64-bit SP1
       #10

    Is this any good to you higgins? Classic Windows Start Menu
      My Computer


 
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