This article is on the subject of customizing, or ricing, Windows. I don’t know what that term really means and I haven’t heard it that much, but I’m gonna keep using it.
This article is primarily concerned with Windows 10 and not Windows 11, though some of the stuff here is applicable to Windows 11.^A)
Customizing Windows is actually far easier than most people realize…dare I say it? It’s probably easier than customizing Linux. Key word easier.
You should generally take a degree of caution when taking this advice…because there is always the small chance that you may seriously break something. But the most basic customization (icons, themes, etc.) are basically 100% safe. It gets dangerous when you start trying to do more advanced and crazier stuff (like me).
I forgot to note it here, because I’m dumb, but you should make a system restore point any time you do something especially dubious.

When it comes to Windows and custom themes, most people probably picture changing the desktop wallpaper, the colors…maybe the cursor if they’re fancy. But! Themeing Windows can go way further than most realize.
Though it does require installing something first. You’ll either want SecureUxTheme or UltraUxTheme. Either of them should work, but I’ve personally only used SecureUx and it’s what I recommend.^B)

Run Dialog

Now that you’ve done this…you cannot move onto downloading custom themes yet. First you’ll have to check your OS version. The easiest way to do this is to press the Windows Key and R to bring up the Run dialog. Then type in ‘winver’ and press enter. This’ll bring up the About Windows window, which specifies your version (in the example this is 22H2).

About Windows Window

This is very important to know, as not all themes are compatible with all versions. Generally speaking, around version 1903, themes continued to work with the subsequent versions (but not with previous versions). So a theme made for 1909 will work for it, 2004, 20H2 and such until 22H2. At least I haven’t experienced any issues with using themes made for those older versions. But a theme made for 20H2 will not work on 2004. Now, if you’re using SecureUx…nothing serious should (or will) happen if you use a theme made for a version that isn’t compatible with your current version…but it won’t change anything. Why would you do this? Because there’s a tiny chance that you’ll find a theme that’s compatible with your version despite what it says. This does not apply to UltraUx…I think. So do not switch to a theme not made for your version.
Note though that this only applies to more modern themes: think simple, minimal, boring. It also applies to themes that try to re-create Windows 7 and Vista. That’s what I currently have. But what if you want that 90s look? That 9x look? The Classic Theme? Well…
Then you’ll have to do stuff a little differently. Note though that my particular focus is on the Aero or Vista/7 look, rather than the Classic Theme, so I just don’t know that much. I’d recommend checking this guide I found and the Classic Theme General on the WinClassic Forums for information on restoring that. Though, from the experience I do have…it isn’t that much more difficult.

Alright, let’s say you’ve gone through the setup process and you’re not using the Classic Theme…where do you get custom themes? Well, I’ve stopped doing so actively, but the main places to check are DeviantArt, VirtualCustoms, 7themes.su and CleoDesktop. CleoDesktop is the only one I can’t recommend, since its themes are paid…so, you have to cough up money. All the other places offer free themes.
Of those, DeviantArt has the most comprehensive collection of themes…but it can be a pain to sift through. For that, I recommend Windows Customization, which collects them all into one convenient location. The main downside of DeviantArt is that you need to log in to download them.

Customization tab in Properties window.

Changing icons is probably the easiest thing you can do, customization-wise. Folder icons especially. To change those, simply right-click on a folder, go into properties and then switch to the customize tab. There’s a convenient ‘Change Icon…’ button there. This also applies to shortcuts. Icons need to be in the .ico format, but otherwise you can go crazy.
But what if you want to change a little more? Well, the most convenient way to change a large number of icons is with a 7tsp icon pack. These are often explicitly labelled as such. Oh, right…icons and icon packs can be downloaded from DeviantArt.
To use 7tsp icon packs, you had to install the 7TSP software. Buuuut…just recently (2025-05-18), a new application was released called Windows NT Modding Utility, which is basically a modern replacement to 7TSP. So I’d recommend using that instead. Maybe. The implication I get is that you can use 7TSP packs, but I’d still be cautious at this stage.
There’s an alternative to both of these in the form of a Windhawk mod.
A few sub-sections for more advanced stuff.

You can manually change the default folder icon and…just follow this guide. It’s still applicable on Windows 10 (I did it just the other day). Though if you’re using an icon pack, this is not something you need to worry about.

You can change the icons of individual applications, though doing so requires another software installation. This time: Resource Hacker. Using Resource Hacker, you open an .exe in it, then you navigate to the ‘Icon Group’ section and find the icon. Then you click on ‘Action’ in the menu, where there’s a convenient ‘replace icon’ action. Click that, then choose the icon you want as a replacement. This icon will remain in place until you update the application, at which point you’ll have to do it again (hence why I’ve stopped). Also, sometimes (though rarely) an application’s icon will not change with this method. It’s possible there’s a way around this with a Windhawk mod, but I haven’t tried it yet.

To change the icons of filetypes, just install Types. Then right-click on any file to get the ‘Edit Filetype’ button…then you just navigate to the Icon tab. Alternatively, you can use the Types application itself to browse through every filetype in your registry.
Types can do a lot more than just editing the icon, but that’s definitely most of what you’ll be doing.

To change the default typeface, you should just use Winaero Tweaker. Though keep in mind that I don’t have a lot of experience with changing the type on Windows, since I’ve rarely seen the need to do so. But you should pick a typeface that covers most of the languages you use. Also, there’s a chance it’ll break something, but that warning is in Winaero itself.
There is a potential alternative that I haven’t tried, because I don’t really understand it. If I understood how the software works, you could use MacType to replace the default font without actually…replacing it. So it would display as the new one. Maybe. You can try it if you want, but I make no guarantees.

Say you want something fancier than just a picture as your wallpaper…or you have multiple monitors. Well, in that case, you should first try MultiWall. That will let you set a wallpaper for all your monitors at once, plus it provides a few customization options. If you want something a little different then you can use Wallpaper Welder, which lets you set a different wallpaper for each monitor you have, though it has less options than MultiWall.
But say you would like something even fancier than just pictures…what if you want…animated or interactive wallpapers? Well…
The obvious choice is Wallpaper Engine and, as far as I know, it’s still the best option available. Though I haven’t used it in a while. It costs money, but the amount of wallpapers available for it is pretty staggering…all through the Steam Workshop.
If you want free versions of Wallpaper Engine, then there are Lively Wallpaper and ScreenPlay. I haven’t used either extensively, though I think they’re inferior to Wallpaper Engine.
If you only care about videos/gifs/whatever and you have something in mind yourself, then you can use AutoWall. Though I haven’t used that at all.
Another interesting one is WinDynamicDesktop which ports a feature from MacOS to Windows. It changes the wallpaper based on the time of day. You can download themes from here or use this to make your own.

This is some more advanced stuff, meaning there’s a higher likelihood of breaking things.
‘Shell’ refers to the taskbar, desktop and file explorer. By default, Windows uses the Explorer desktop shell. If, for whatever reason, you don’t like the taskbar/desktop/whatever on Windows…well, you have a few options.
The majority of these are not technically shells, but they are what you’re most likely looking for: alternatives for the Start Menu and Taskbar. The key one here is Open-Shell, which gets rid of the Windows 10 Start Menu and replaces it with a more customizable version…it’s skin-able, so you can pick between Win95 or Win7 versions. Windows 11 has StartAllBack which is paid, so I can’t say much on it. Another one is StartIsBack which is for Windows 10 and also paid. I think there are more, but I’d recommend just sticking to Open-Shell, as it’s good at what it does. Open-Shell comes with a few extra features (like Toolbars for File Explorer) but those are easily disabled.
Moving on, say that you don’t like the Taskbar…you think the Windows 10 taskbar is lame and you’d rather have something from the past. Well, here I’d recommend just using RetroBar. It replaces the taskbar and, while it’s missing a few features, it’s good enough to be used day-to-day. Plus you can use it together with Open-Shell.
Alright, but let’s say you don’t like the whole shebang and you’d rather replace the start menu, taskbar and desktop while you’re at it. Here you’re getting into the real shells. And, unfortunately, here you are a bit more restricted.
First of all, the two most up-to-date shells are Cairo Desktop and Seelen-UI. The former is MacOS and the latter is Linux.

First, Cairo. I used Cairo regularly for a few years because I didn’t like the Windows 10 taskbar (or even my customized start menu, honestly), so I know a bit about it. Cairo is a very restrictive Shell, in that you don’t have a lot of customization options…well, you can skin it, but there aren’t many custom themes available for it, because nobody uses it. I tried to look into skinning and, honestly, I didn’t get it. Maybe if I dedicated some time, I might be able to figure it out, but it isn’t exactly straightforward. Though what you do get is something that is fairly polished. It’s pleasant to use, despite its limitations…and the Programs Menu it provides is just nice.
Cairo can be run on top of the Explorer shell, but it also has the option of just straight-up replacing it…which means Explorer doesn’t even load upon a log-in. I would not recommend replacing the Shell, as Cairo just isn’t good enough to be used like that yet…and you’d need to replace File Explorer, because you ain’t running that. Also, none of the wallpaper software will work, so you’ll have to set the wallpaper yourself using the Cairo settings.
On top of all that, development is slow.

Now for Seelen. I briefly tried Seelen and, honestly, wasn’t too impressed. Then again, I don’t like Linux, so something intended to replicate it will not appeal to me.
Unlike Cairo, Seelen can only run on top of Windows, which means that it is not as resource-efficient. Also, unlike Cairo…it’s just not as resource-efficient.
It is theoretically way more customizable than Cairo but, just like Cairo, this is not as straightforward as it could be. Also also, tracking down custom themes has been difficult for me.
It’s more of a ‘make Win11 better’ than ‘make Win10 better’ application. I don’t have much else to say about it.

Besides Cairo and Seelen, there are a few other desktop shell replacements that you can find, though I don’t recommend using any of these.
First, and most significant, is probably BlackBox. I haven’t used it at all, but apparently there’s a version of it still being updated. This one can replace the shell entirely, so it is theoretically quite resource-efficient. BlackBox is, like, intended to make Windows into Linux…but the older version of Linux, before all the nerds went insane. So this is more Linux of the early 2000s than Linux of the 2010s/2020s (what Seelen replicates). And if you’re into that? Could work.
After that there’s Litestep, which is similar to BlackBox, but intended to replicate the NeXTSTEP experience. It is way more customizable than BlackBox and if you browse deviantart, you might find people sharing LightStep skins. The thing is though…it’s even more complicated to figure out than Cairo and Seelen, at least on the surface. Plus, there’s the bigger issue: LightStep’s development stalled and it is now severely out-of-date. It still, somehow, works on Windows 10^C)…but I’d only recommend it as a curiosity…or if you’re running Classic Theme. The non|step theme is pretty nice looking and, coincidentally, is the default.

Generally-speaking…I do not recommend replacing File Explorer. You don’t realize it until you actually replace it, but it’s legitimately the best File Manager on the market (unless you’re one of those Total Commander weirdos).
At most, I recommend installing QTTabBar, which gives you tabs and a few other features. Obviously, customizing it more is possible, but I detail stuff like that a bit later.
Of the alternatives that exist…you’re probably best off using Dolphin which has an unstable version available for Windows. So if, for whatever reason, you switched to Cairo or another shell, you could probably get away with using Dolphin. I have used others, but honestly nothing comes close to File Explorer. Maybe Tablacus, but it’s clunky and requires a lot of configuration.

Windhawk is probably the best application you can install for customizing Windows in several key ways. Basically, this is an application that lets you load modifications for Windows and does so in a way that doesn’t seriously break your install. Some mods do require giving permission to modify system files, so you should probably be careful…but, in my experience, you will generally not run into issues.
It comes with a built-in browser for mods, so I would recommend just going through that to find things you like.

This is what I happen to know the most about, because it’s what I did myself.^D) Say that you’re sad that the ol’ 7/Vista look has gone away and, well, you honestly believe that it looks and feels better than Windows 10. Don’t worry, I understand.
The great news is that restoring the old look and feel is significantly easier than it was a few years ago and I wager it’s going to get easier as time goes on.
So, what should you do first?

First of all, you’ll want to download the following themes: Aero10 or Aero10 7000.
Aero 7000 is based on a Beta version of Windows 7, while Aero10 includes Vista and 7 themes.
You’ll want to enable these themes using either SecureUx or UltraUx. As stated before, I recommend SecureUx.

Highlighted area shows the themes that would be in your list.
(Click for larger image.)

The picture on the right shows the themes in the list. A text file is included with the download which lets you decide which to go for.
However, this will not restore the aero glass effect. To do that, you need to install either DWMBlurGlass or OpenGlass. You should use DWM instead of OpenGlass and, if you do choose OpenGlass, pick ‘legacy’. But, again, you should choose DWM – even the developer of OpenGlass recommends DWM.
After setting up DWM (not that hard), you’ll want to enable the Aero option and the two Windows 7 options…or you don’t have to, if you don’t want to…but it’s for that authentic look.
After setting it up and enabling the theme, the glass effect should be working. Yay!
Now you’ll want to install Aerexplorer. This is to properly restore the look of the Windows Vista/7 File Explorer, as well as adding a few more features.
Next, you’ll want to install Open-Shell and RetroBar. RetroBar does not currently have a Windows 7 skin, but it’s somewhere on the horizon. For restoring the Windows 7 taskbar more accurately…hold that though, that’s for the more advanced stuff.
For Open-Shell, download and install this per the instructions. I haven’t found a Vista one, though you can check WinClassic.
Finally, for icons, you’ll want to use this together with this to restore the icons. You can use NTMU with Pane7, which has mostly the same effect. However, I experienced a few things breaking, so I recommend creating a system restore point before you apply it…then spend some time testing to make sure it’s working fine. My open/save file dialogues ended up borked for reference.
Now you’ve got the basic look down…so is there more you can do? Yes.

This is the more advanced part of the restoration. This restores more of the look, feel and function of Vista/7 on Windows 10, but it’s a bit more complicated to deal with. The remaining steps will all require modifying system files, which is why we’re entering the danger zone.
First off, the simple stuff:

• Aero Flyout Fix
• Aero Tray
• Legacy File Copy
• Eradicate Immersive Menus
• Disable Immersive Context Menus

These all restore the look to a certain degree…but now we’re moving on to the first complication: Windows 7/8.x Alt+Tab Loader
This mod requires that you locate the AltTab.dll from a Windows 7 installation (or installation ISO). Follow the instructions on the mod. Oh, right, if you want it for any language besides English, then you’ll have to locate the proper localization files. If you’re wondering where it is in the Windows 7 installation ISO, well it’s in sources/install.wim…but I won’t help beyond that.
This link includes a few other things you can restore. Notably: classic User Account Control; Windows 7 Ease of Access Tools; Windows 7 Network Flyout; Windows 7 Tray Icons; Windows Games Explorer.
All include instructions. I recommend UAC and the Network Flyout personally. Something to keep in mind is that UAC can break and, in the event that happens read this and follow the instructions.^E)
Next you’ll want the Classic Open With dialog…I consider it a must-have.
The last two things I’ll note here is the Logon Vista Orb and AuthUX. Of those, the latter is also a must-have, while the former is entirely optional. The latter replaces the Windows 10 logon screen with the Windows 7 logon screen. I haven’t experienced any issues with it, but you should still be somewhat careful.

This is the point that I personally stopped, because this is where stuff starts to noticeably break. What am I referring to specifically? explorer7.
explorer7 is a port of the Windows 7 desktop shell (explorer) to Windows’ 8, 10 and 11. So if you want a 100% accurate restoration of the Windows 7 taskbar and start menu…here it is.
But keep in mind that it’s most stable on Windows 8 and 10…and, on 10, it still has several bugs and some features are missing. That link is to the thread which includes information on it. What’s notable is no UWP applications (currently) work. So if you need to access Windows 10 settings, you’re out of luck, since it can’t run. I assume this is just a temporary issue though. However, I use the Affinity Suite and those didn’t run when I tried, so I had to switch away from it.
Another thing that’s notable about it is that you need Windows 7 installation media to actually install it. So if you don’t have that (or can’t find it on Archive.org) you’re out of luck.
Though, in its current form, I would not recommend using it.
Another thing you might be interested in doing is restoring the control panel…to do that, I recommend reading this as it’s not something that I can just…say here without getting suuuper technical. There’s also this thread which is relevant for Win7 restoration too. And, finally (for now, maybe), this thread.

This section simply lists software that I believe is notable in some way. Some are listed up above already while others aren’t. I may change this in the future.

• AquaSnap
  • This modifies the Window Manager to allow windows to snap to the edges of the display and to each-other, plus a few other minor features.
  • It’s available for free, but there is a paid version with extra features.
  • Note that if you install a theme that has rounded corners, it will not work properly.^F)
  • There is a Windhawk alternative, but I wouldn’t recommend using it instead of Aquasnap because it’s missing a few key features (like snapping to the display). Instead, use it together with Aquasnap if you want to.
• BM Productions Programs
  • A list of simple applications. Most notable are the Windows Media Player extensions. One adds support for more filetypes and the other adds additional features. Highly recommend.
• Chocolatey
  • A 3rd party package manager for Windows. It’s useful for installing software and keeping it up-to-date. I stopped using it because…maybe I’m dumb, but I didn’t know how to specify different install locations.
• Everything
  • A search utility that can search through everything instantly. I recommend installing the Alpha version because it’s stable and has waaaaaay more features.
• LAV Filters Megamix
  • As far as I’m aware, the best codec pack available. This will allow you to install the best video player too (MPC-HC).
  • Though you will probably want to change the ‘logo’ in MPC-HC. Just click ‘View’ and there should be an ‘Options…’ menu item. Then you’ll see a tab labeled ‘Logo’ where you can change it.
• Min2Tray
  • A small utility that lets you minimize applications to your tray.
• organize
  • A file management automation tool. Use it to create filters to move and delete files. Annoyingly, it requires you to run a command every time you want it to do this.
  • I’m pretty sure there’s a Chocolatey package for it.
  • I had stopped using it at some point, so I don’t know where it is at this point.
• PowerToys
  • A collection of small utilities for power-users. I use many of these daily at this point.
  • A thing I’m noting here, but PowerToys runs on whatever the current UI framework is instead of the battle-hardened (and infinitely superior) win32. That’s relevant because, hilariously, some of the functions are too slow to start. Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of alternatives to the really really good PowerToys.
• PreviewConfig
  • A small utility that lets you modify what appears, and how it does, in the Preview Pane in File Explorer.
  • I tried it and it didn’t work, but you might have more luck.
• QTTabBar
  • This adds tabs to explorer along with a few extra features. The extra features are actually more useful than the tabs.
  • This one application basically makes explorer the best file manager.
• QuickLook
  • A port of a MacOS feature to quickly preview a selected file. Just press space on a file and it’ll show a preview.
  • Runs on the inferior UI framework so if you restored Win Vista/7 like me, it’ll clash a bit. Also means it’s kinda slow.
  • QTTabBar comes with its own preview feature which runs much faster, so if you want/need something like it, then it’s the better option.
• Skwire Applications
  • A bunch of free to download software that varies in usefulness and function. Some of them just don’t work anymore, but others do…and work fairly well.
• StableBit DrivePool
  • An application that lets you create a virtual drive that pools individual physical drives together. Storage is balanced and there are even duplication features.
  • I highly recommend if you have a lot of files and want to organize them better.
  • The main downside is that it’s paid software, though a 30-day free trial exists. I think the price is worth it, especially since there isn’t anything else like it on the market as far as I know.
  • Everything (search) doesn’t work with it out-of-the-box, so you’ll have to add your pool(s) to be indexed.
• Winaero Apps
  • A collection of applications that do various things. I recommend if you want a little control.
• Win7Games
  • The name is a little misleading and the site looks suspicious, but it’s all legit.
  • You can download the old Windows 7 games from this site, alongside the Win7 Calculator, WordPad, Notepad (for Win11), Classic Sticky Notes (highly recommend)…the Windows 10 or 7 versions of Task Manager, old MSconfig, the Aurora screensaver and Win7 Paint (highly recommend).
• Windows Live Essentials 2012
  • I don’t technically recommend this unless you’re crazy like me.
  • This allows you to install several older Windows Live applications that are otherwise unavailable. It’s way more straightforward than restoring the Windows Vista-era applications too.
  • Though I haven’t tried these extensively…yet, so I can’t say for sure if, for example, it’s better to use the calendar included here instead of restoring the Vista Calendar (which I use).
    • After some more experimentation, it probably isn’t a good idea to use these because they’re borked in a few ways. The calendar in the mail client just doesn’t work as would be expected and doesn’t allow me to add events. Whether the mail part of the mail client works well I can’t really say right now. I mean, it loads my emails just fine.
    • The Photo Gallery is probably the most functional of all those included and appears to work fine.
  • Ignore above. I tried something and now, mysteriously, stuff works. So I’m going to be ‘conducting an investigation’ and, once I’m done, I’ll create a dedicated article for these applications.

• WinClassic Forums – If you have the patience to sift through forum posts, then I highly recommend this place. Most of my current knowledge/software related to ricing stems from here.
• Other (older) guides to Ricing Windows:
  • chloechantelle – This one is broken for some reason. This guide hasn’t been updated in years. Focused on Windows 10.
  • Install Gentoo Windows Article – Honestly pretty awful. Out-of-date on the one hand and likely written by Linux users. This and the recommended Windows Software page motivated me to write this article.
  • Nanami-tan guide – This one was still useful when I initially wrote this article, but I think it’s severely out-of-date. It’s also focused on Windows 7.
  • WinClassic Guide – A guide to restoring the Classic Windows theme on the newer Windows versions. Includes links to other places, such as the WinClassic forums which also contains more software. Also out-of-date since the thing it’s focused on (SimpleClassicTheme) has since been deprecated.
• InstallGentoo Recommended Windows Software – Out-of-date and that’s mostly what I’ll say. I don’t agree with most of the recommendations, but some of them are alright. I’ll gradually adapt the good ones into the software section.
• I just realized I forgot to include the images I screencapped specifically for this article.
  • Fixed!
• I’ll leave a brief note here about languages. Most of the Aero/Vista/7 restoration is focused around English. Dealing with a different language is a bit more complicated, though it’s not impossible…and I haven’t tried yet, so I can’t give much advice beyond ‘find the corresponding mui files’.
• I’m not sure exactly where to note this, but you might have come across something called ‘OldNewExplorer’.^G) This application does a number of things related to restoring the ‘old’ File Explorer…making it resemble Windows 7’s Explorer more. However, I wouldn’t recommend using it nowadays because its functionality overlaps with Aerexplorer (the Windhawk mod) and ExplorerPatcher^H)
• Although I’ve made my Win10 install look more Aero, I haven’t actually gone out of my way to make it as accurate to Vista or 7, meaning it’s kinda a hybrid. This is mostly because I like how the Vista theme and taskbar look, for example, but I don’t like a few specifics. I also originally disabled the ribbon in File Explorer, but ended up re-enabling it for the simple fact that I think it’s actually good.