how to restore the search box for windows 10

The simplest option is to change your current background wallpaper to whatever you used in Windows 7. Users have always been able to change Windows’ appearance, and you can easily make Windows 10 look more like Windows 7. This includes Windows Photo Viewer and old versions of Calculator, Sticky Notes and Task Manager.

If you desperately miss an old Windows 7 program, you may be able to get it back via Sergey Tkachenko’s Winaero Tweaker. Windows Live Mail mostly works despite being replaced by the Mail app. The Control Panel lives on because not everything has been transferred to the Settings app. Microsoft Paint and Internet Explorer still ship with Windows 10, despite being replaced by Paint 3D and Edge. However, not all the old Win32 utilities are dead. They are also touch-friendly, more secure, and can be suspended in the background to save resources.

Store apps are easier to install, update and remove because they don’t use the Windows Registry. Games, Live Mail and some other programs were casualties of Microsoft’s shift from traditional desktop programs (which use the Win32 applications programming interface) to packaged Microsoft Store apps (which use the new WinRT or Windows Runtime API). Otherwise, Windows XP games run in Windows 10 and (so far) Windows updates do not remove them. Chess Titans, developed by the now-defunct Oberon Games, is harder to replace but Chess Giants (€9.90) is pitching for that market. Microsoft also has some free but ad-supported versions in the Microsoft Store. Happily, there are free clones of Solitaire, Spider Solitaire, Hearts, FreeCell (the best!) and Minesweeper. (It is not to be confused with the Windows Media Player, which continues.) The desktop gadgets introduced with Windows Vista also perished but most people only used the nice clock.įor some Windows 7 users the games were the biggest loss.

Windows Media Centre was the home theatre software launched with XP and not many people used it. The separate Windows Live Essentials suite, including Windows Live Mail and Movie Maker, was terminated with extreme prejudice. The main ones were the Windows Media Centre, the bundled games, the desktop gadgets and the built-in DVD compatibility. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardianĭo you miss any features from Windows 7? Microsoft dumped several things in the transition via Windows 8.

Microsoft Paint remains after an outpouring of affection from fans.

How to restore the search box for windows 10