Windows 11 wins nostalgic mode with Windows 2000 look and Clippy

A Reddit user with a lot of nostalgia for old Microsoft products has customized the look of his Windows 11 to look like Windows 2000 using the Stardock WindowBlinds app.

In addition to the theme, Internet Explorer 5.5 and Microsoft Office 2000 are installed, which still partially work in the latest version of the operating system. It was also able to play old games, applications. and even Clippy virtual assistant.

Windows 2000 was short-lived as its successor, Windows XP was released in 2001. However, general support for the operating system released in 2000 ended in 2010, while extended support for Windows 2000 Server ended in 2015.

Since then, Windows 2000 no longer receives security updates and is not recommended for use in production environments.

How was Windows customized?

First, a theme dedicated to older versions of Windows was shared on the WinClassic forum by user “prozad94”. Next, the author of the project, Reddit user u/ExoGeniVI, manually customized many elements such as File Explorer and application icons.

Customization was cumbersome and required two full system restores. The author of the article mentions that he also uses a Windows XP inspired theme on a secondary machine.

Windows 10 and 11 operating systems, which were not explicitly designed for this purpose, require the use of third-party applications to customize the look and feel. The project is more of a demonstration of a real practical application, as it involves security risks and is rather cumbersome to execute.