8 ways to make Windows 11 work like Windows 10

Switching to Windows 11? You’re not alone. With the clock ticking down to Windows 10’s end-of-support date in October, professionals around the globe are making plans — and lots of them are making the upgrade to Windows 11.

Some parts of Windows 11 can seem downright alien at first — especially that new taskbar, which was originally designed for the now-cancelled “Windows 10X” and works a little differently from the classic Microsoft taskbar. But there’s a lot you can do to make Windows 11 work more like the Windows 10 you’re used to — without a drag on your productivity.

Whether you’re upgrading your home PC or using Windows 11 at work, these tips can help you boost familiarity and productivity on Microsoft’s latest operating system. The good news is that, a few years after its release in 2021, Windows 11 is pretty solid in 2025. Some of the most annoying missing features have been restored — for example, you can now drag and drop files to the taskbar!

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Windows 11 tip #1: Move your taskbar icons

Windows 11’s taskbar icons are centered by default, and that can be the most immediately jarring thing you notice. It breaks muscle memory if you’re used to having the Start button in the bottom-left corner, and that’s not good for productivity.

Luckily, this one is easy to fix with no extra software. Just right-click an empty spot on the taskbar and select “Taskbar settings.” Expand the “Taskbar behaviors” section, click the “Taskbar alignment” section, and select “Left.” All the icons will move to the left.

Windows 11’s taskbar can put all the taskbar icons on the left — just like on Windows 10.Chris Hoffman, IDG

If you want the Start button at the bottom-left corner and the taskbar icons in the center, though, you’ll need a little something extra…

Windows 11 tip #2: Restore the old Start menu style

Want a more classic Start menu? I recommend Stardock’s Start11 as the most capable and polished Start menu replacement. Stardock has a great reputation and has been making Windows-tweaking tools for a long time.

With Start11, you can choose a variety of Start menu options — ranging from a Windows 10-style Start menu to a classic Windows 7-style Start menu. (I prefer the Windows 7 style, myself.) It’s very customizable and powerful, but you don’t have to tweak it if you don’t want. You can just install it, choose your preferred Start menu style, and then forget about it.

The application is packed with extra features for the taskbar, too. Want to put the Start button at the bottom-left corner of your taskbar and leave the application icons in the middle, as I mentioned a moment ago? Start11 can do that. Want to move your taskbar to another edge of your screen instead of leaving it on the bottom? Start11 can now do that, too. It’s a feature that was part of Windows 10 and removed from Windows 11; Start11 can restore it.

Start11 is a paid app — but at $10 a year for one PC or $15 per year for up to five PCs, it’s a reasonable price for a polished, top-of-the-line experience. You can try it free for 30 days, so you can decide whether it’s actually worth it to you.

For Start menu replacements, Start11 offers the most options and the most polish.Chris Hoffman, IDG

If you don’t want to pay, but you do want a more classic Start menu experience, install the open-source Open-Shell. It’s not as polished or configurable — and it doesn’t restore all those taskbar features — but it’s free. (Learn more about restoring classic Start menu and taskbar features.)

Windows 11 tip #3: Go back to a classic context menu

Windows 11 includes a redesigned File Explorer with a shiny new context menu that appears when you right-click files and folders. If you find yourself missing some context menu options, you can return to the traditional, Windows 10-style menu with all the classic options in a few ways:

Right-click a file or folder in File Explorer and select “Show more options” in the context menu.

Hold down the Shift key as you right-click an item in File Explorer.

Use a registry hack to force File Explorer to always show the old context menu. (If you’re not comfortable hacking the registry, though, skip it — you can always just hold the Shift key while right-clicking to find the old menu.)

I recommend avoiding the registry hack for most people, as the new menu works well most of the time. But if it really bothers you, that’s there as a more advanced power-user option.

Windows 11 tip #4: Return Notepad to its simpler state

Windows 11 has a shiny new Notepad with tabs, text formatting, and even generative AI (genAI) features — complete with Microsoft account integration to track your AI credits.

Out of the box, Notepad remembers what you type and reopens with your last session. If you use Notepad as a scratchpad, this can get annoying. To make it work more traditionally, click the gear icon at the top-right corner of the Notepad window, expand “When Notepad starts” under “Opening Notepad” and select “Start new session and discard unsaved changes.”

Notepad is a completely different application on Windows 11.Chris Hoffman, IDG

If you’re looking for a more traditional text editor that doesn’t have built-in AI features or Microsoft logins, try the third-party Notepad++. It’s more complex, but it’s packed with features for people who need to work with plain-text files — including syntax highlighting for a variety of programming languages.

Windows 11 tip #5: Stop Snap Layouts

Windows 11 has a Snap Layouts feature that helps you more easily use the Snap feature. Some people love it, others feel it gets in the way. You’ll see it when you hover your mouse cursor over a window’s maximize button, when you press Windows+Z, and when you snap a window normally (by clicking and dragging it or by pressing the Windows key and an arrow key).

Want to turn it off? Open the Settings app, select “System,” and select “Multitasking.” Expand the “Snap windows” section and choose the options you want to disable.

For example, you might want to turn off “Show snap layouts when I hover over a window’s maximize button” if you find yourself accidentally triggering the pop-up while hovering the mouse cursor over the maximize button.

Windows 11 tip #6: Reset File Explorer’s starting point

On Windows 11, File Explorer normally opens to the “Home” view — which features “Quick access,” recent files, and other such items.

For a more traditional file-browsing experience, click the “…” button on File Explorer’s toolbar and select “Options.” Click the “Open File Explorer to” box at the top of the Folder Options window that appears and select “This PC.” You’ll go straight to the “This PC” view showing drives and devices.

Windows 11 tip #7: Turn off frequently used files and folders

To be honest, File Explorer’s Home view isn’t that bad — “Quick access” can be useful, for instance. If your problem is just that you don’t want to see recently used files and folders when you open File Explorer, you can turn them off.

To do so, click the “…” button on File Explorer’s toolbar and select “Options.” Under the Privacy section, uncheck the “Show recently used files,” “Show frequently used files,” and perhaps also the “Show files from Office.com” checkboxes if you’d prefer a cleaner, local-files-only experience.

The Folder Options window has quite a few options for tweaking File Explorer.Chris Hoffman, IDG

You can also click the “Clear” button to eliminate the history of files and folders you’ve used.

Windows 11 tip #8: Uncombine taskbar buttons

Windows 11 and Windows 10 both use “combined buttons” out of the box — application icons rather than the traditional taskbar buttons from the Windows XP era.

At release, Windows 11 didn’t even offer the option to avoid this. It was one of the many ways the taskbar felt like a big step back early on.

You can now get a classic taskbar button experience, though: Just right-click an empty spot on the taskbar, select “Taskbar settings,” expand “Taskbar behaviors,” click the “Combine taskbar buttons and hide labels” box, and select “Never.”

Windows shifted to combined buttons with Windows 7, but many people still prefer the classic style.Chris Hoffman, IDG

More Windows 11 tweaking tips

Windows 11 can feel unfamiliar, but a few tweaks can make it much more like home — or work! For more ways to improve your Windows 11 experience, check out these guides to turning off obnoxious ads and fixing common Windows annoyances.

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