Classic Shell: Forum

Thanks, i have been using it for years and lol W10 haters in previous messages

So... it will eventually stop working in Windows 10?

Yes, sadly it will likely depreciate(random features will start to break), and eventually stop. Hopefully, someone picks up the torch before then.

Good luck to Ivo on his adventures as a game developer & such. ^_^
It's sad to see classicshell no longer be in development by Ivo anymore. One day the last classicshell version made by Ivo will cease to work on windows 10, which is sad as well.

I've been using classicshell since 2010, and have seen the hard work that Ivo has put into it over the years which was awesome. Ivo could have left us in the dark about development stopping, and never see a new update again & remain closed source. But Ivo decided to have his project open source again & notify us all of it, which is awesome of him. Not many projects do this, so kudos to Ivo.

If Splitwirez can take up the torch, it'd be cool to see that in development. ^.^

Also, Merry Christmas to everyone! ^^

Bloody Hell, & Holy Crap!

I didn't notice this post until today.
I've shed some tears thinking about the fun times,
we have had on this forum.

To have Classic Shell Menu work for all these years,
is a testament of how great Ivo is.

As of today on Windows 10, CSM still works for me, except for the scroll skinning.
Once Win 10 updates crash CSM from working anymore,
I will switch back to my Win8 OS, and CSM should keep working, cross fingers.

Jcee and Gaurav are right about the changing technologies.
I met a number of people who don't even use Windows anymore.
Everything can be done with a smart phone, even with their small business.
Less app issues, compared to Windows.
As for me, Windows and Classic Shell Menu to the end.

Thanks to Ivo, Gaurav,and Jcee, for teaching me about menu skinning.

classic shell program itself will not stop working but in next windows 10 updates will break some classic shell features...

Sorry to hear you won't continue working on it Ivo. You've done a wonderful job all this years, and i am one of those many out there who can "enjoy" W10 to a certain degree thanks to Classic Shell. That being said, i do understand your point of view, life changes for everyone, our RL can be very demanding, and we have to adapt, sometimes dropping old projects we dedicated a lot of time to in the past, it happens all the time.

You take care and i hope all your future projects come true and as successful as this one was for sooooo many years now. Big hugs!!

PS: i edit to say... MERRY XMAS FOR EVERYONE ^^

Knowing Microsoft, they'll probably kill it off completely.
Microsoft doesn't want us to customize anymore, just look how they ruined themes, they made us unable to change the login screen background, they made us unable to change the bootscreen, they made us unable to change the startup sound, and they got rid of the option to use the desktop UI calendar.

In my honest opinion, Classic Shell is not needed in Windows 10 because finally we have an excellent Start Menu built in which in my opinion is better than the Win 7 one. I stopped using CS a while back but have just reinstalled it for one reason only, to change the Start Button. If someone could just take that part of the code and make a standalone program to just change the Windows 10 Start button, that might be a successful venture.

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Avatar FX6327X desktop, AMD FX-6300 CPU, Radeon RX470 GPU, 8gb RAM, Windows 10 64 bit, Bitdefender Free AV and Windows firewall

Ivo, your product has singlehandedly buoyed up Windows.

It is quite possibly the most truly useful add-on for Windows, well, probably ever.

But I wonder... If you hadn't done it, and literally millions of people like me and the others around here hadn't found Classic Shell to be a way for everyone to make Windows palatable... Would Win 8.1 have just failed, and Microsoft had to regroup and make a Windows 9 more like 7?

I guess a corollary question is this: Presuming no one keeps Classic Shell working as well as you have been, might it spell a well-deserved doom for Windows 10? That could be a silver lining in all this.

Imagine, a Windows 11 where Microsoft has lost all its awesome 3rd party developers and actually has to create an entire system that all integrates together again...

Thank you for all you have done to make Classic Shell so great. It will continue to be my Start Menu until Win 8.1 freezes over.

-Noel Carboni

I just read your announcement and just had to register to let you know what a stellar piece of software Classic Shell is. Although I do update to Windows 10 everything I get my hands on (and has a valid, upgradable license), Classic shell has always been the third piece of software (after Firefox and a decent virus scanner) I'd install. So it was just now, when I read this sad news on the front page. I've helped countless friends and family members with your software, who would else be lost without the familiar start menu and other interfaces. Microsoft really dropped the ball when it decided to 'tile-ize' and 'ribonize'.

Thank you for open-sourcing Classic Shell. I hope there will be people that will continue development and I'm glad with the GitHub repository, I think it's an excellent way to go forward with development. Although, nowadays, I do most of my development work in Linux (and most code is about back-end work), I have done Windows (VC++/C#/.NET) development and will be curious how the project will move forward. Sadly I'm too busy with other projects (both professional and voluntary), I think I'd be able to actively contribute.

Thank you for Classic Shell all these years, and to whoever who will keep this software relevant in the future, a thank you beforehand as well.

Seconded!

-Hello Ivo.

I have been using Classic Shell nearly 2 years now. Even with Windows 7 I can't live without that.
I understand all the reasons you had for stopping the development of this program (the best in its category)
But I like the fact that you made it open-source instead of keeping it for yourself.

Thank you so much for understanding.
Regards,
Martin Duvauchel.

_________________
[before seeing Win8 Interface]
YEAHHH! MICROSOFT DECIDED TO PUT TILES ON WINDOWS 8!
[after seeing Win8 Interface]
TILES ARE HORRIBLE! I NEED CLASSIC SHELL NOW!!!!
I am a and a Classic shell tester. I use Windows 7 Professional RTM 32-bit.

un grand merci,
beaucoup de tristesse, mais magnifique histoire "d'amour" (?!)
je tiens aussi à dire merci aussi à Juniper7
les temps changent, mais pas l'amitié ...

translation google :

a big thank-you,
a lot of sadness, but a wonderful "love" story (?!)
I also want to say thank you to Juniper7
times change, but not friendship ...

Came here to wish Happy New Year, and encountered this.
Really a sad and heart-breaking news.
Well, Thank you Ivo for making this wonderfull project

Thank you, Ivo, for making my favorite Start menu replacement all this time. I tried all the others and honestly always preferred Classic Shell. I think the native Win10 Start menu is rubbish. Take care.

Thank you for all your work. Classic Shell does help us a lot to work on Windows systems. Best Wishes to You!

OMg that is so sad. Thanks alot for your post.

Like so many others, I want to say a huge thank you for all your dedication and hard work on the Classic Shell project. Also, good luck in all your future endeavors. Thank You!

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Take Care, Sharon

I visited the forum today because I happened to be housecleaning my KeePass database, and saw this announcement.

That's a shame. I've been using it for years on every system I build and/or help other users with. I add my sincere thanks for helping make the Windows experience more tolerable.

Imagine all the users who will be calling up their tech support (e.g., friends, relatives) in a state of panic when MS inevitably breaks Classic Shell's functionality and they can't use their PC normally.
Had I not checked the forum, I would have been blindsided. Too bad you can't push to every installation a large warning prompt with this news, perhaps float a tooltip on the start button on mouseover or when opened via Win key (I suspect most people haven't disabled tooltips on their machines).

Anyway, thanks for the effort up to this point, and best wishes on your future endeavors.

I also want so say thank you, have used Classic Shell for many years now, and it helped me using Win8 and Win10 (and I always get frustrated when using a machine with the Windows start menu). I hope classic Shell will work for some more updates of Win10, and otherwise I will look for altenatives. Maybe I start studying the source but I guess my programming skills aren't good enough for it. Maybe some other genious is able to update the sources if necessary...

Just done a donation before it's too late

Many thanks and I wish Ivo, the other developers/skinners and the whole forum a nice 2018!

If you have the original W10 edition and do NOT do any updates, won't that work?

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Win 7 Pro sp1 64bit

Yes, it would. In most cases classic shell works even on the latest version of windows 10. However for 1-10% of people that is not the case. and eventually its likely that an update will come that breaks compatibility for everyone.
However there is usually an option to roll-back. so if you want you can update until classic shell stops working, then try rolling back to the last working version. Or just find a version you are comfortable with and stick to it like glue...
I would also suggest making a 'recovery' flashdrive with a confirmed working version. because microsoft may not provide old versions later.

I am willing to contribute on GiHub. What's the workflow of contribution?

That Windows is harder and harder to customize - in some cases: fix - is, in many ways and, to my mind, all-things-considered bad. It's part of the reason I am on Windows 8. And, being on Windows 8, is why I need ClassicShell. Thank you, Ivo, for your work.

PS: Here's a mini bug report, in case anyone knows an easy fix or a workaround. When pinning PowerShell to the ClassicShell menu, it appears, initially, simply as a menu item; only after it has been clicked does the 'run as admin' submenu option appear; and on reboot the cycle repeats.

Too bad

I'm not swearing now. Over the shock.


Who knows how long CSM will go? I'm thinking positive here.
Classic Shell Menu might keep working for most users for a while.

Example: I use old software. Pixelformer last updated Beta version 2009.
Works on xp, Vista, 7, 8, 10
Keeps on working, granted a very simple program. Does not have many tentacles touching Explorer operation.

The way I see it, some smartie programmer will figure out what consistantly crashes CSM on Win 10,
and change the code just enough, to keep it working for years.

Has anyone else besides Clemens, jiriw, thx_4_the_hard_wk, come forward after looking at Ivo's code?

Thanks so much for what you have done.......
However, what a bummer!!!
My personal and professional demeanor is to stay organized.
CS has helped me immensely in accomplishing this task.
Good luck on next venture!

Sad to see this go, I use it on all my Windows computers and have installed it for many friends. Thanks for your work on Classic Shell, and the best of luck with your other endeavors.

Thanks for this wonderful software. I can understand your decision not to support it anymore. Classic Shell is one of my ALL TIME favorite software that I installed on every single Windows PC in my household along with all other PCs from friends and relatives . Can not say enough good things about Classic Shell except that thanks again for all your work on Classic Shell for all these years

I, too, registered to the forum to tell you "Thank You!" Your wonderful Classic Shell made my transitions through Microsoft's operating systems tolerable. I really don't like the newer OS's lock-step interface.
I wish you great success and satisfaction in your new endeavors.

Recently upgraded to Windows 10 Pro and Classic Start Menu is working perfectly. Please don't discontinue it as it is essential to many people. I've been using it for many, many years. Sorry I've probably become complacent and just accepted that Classic Start Menu would always be available.

Trying to dissuade him from discontinuing work is not a viable option. Like he said, months of deliberation. This probably wasn't an easy decision and it won't be turned as easily.

However, I very much like Classic Shell and I like it so much I am willing to pay to keep it going. If someone is willing to pick up the torch, start a Patreon or something, I would definitely contribute to the cause.

Considering the importance and popularity of this project, it definitely seems like it could become a profitable company or perhaps be acquired by a company. In fact if Microsoft were really together they'd acquire it and integrate it into Windows!

Microsoft is too stuck up about shifting away from old paradigms, even if some users consider them better. They won't take this project.
And I just remembered, Stardock already has something like that and it's not that expensive: https://www.stardock.com/products/start10/
Maybe we should all move...

Several companies do: heres a comparison chart of features
http://www.classicshell.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2399

The only Start Menu app that properly shows the recently used items and programs is Classic Shell. that's what's preventing me from using any other.

Sorry to hear that, but you had already done a great work isn't it...

nooooooooooooooo

I was really sad to hear this but I understand your reasoning. I wasn't planning on using Windows 10 anyway, for all the reasons you mentioned. I own my computer—not Microsoft. Every release adds stupid features that I'll never use and takes away the ones I did... Ugh. I won't go on. I hope someone picks up the mantle for those that are stuck with Windows 10.

Sad news indeed.

My hope is that as time goes on and my development skills improve I can hopefully maintain Classic Shell enough to keep it optimal for Windows 10 users, despite the fact that I use Windows 7 and will continue doing so as long as I can.

<rant>
It honestly drives me up the wall what Microsoft has done with Windows nowadays. I despise UWP. The basic idea is cool, being able to develop a piece of software one time and have it run on Xbox, Windows 10, and mobile. What I hate endlessly is the fact that it's so closed down. I haven't done much (well, anything) in terms of UWP development, but thats not even all.

There is also the fact that personalization is such a joke in Windows 10. Remember Windows 2000 and prior, where you could change the color, size, font, etc. of virtually every single UI element? Even the Windows 7 Aero theme (which I adore to no end) doesn't allow this much in terms of customization. Plus, on Windows 7 and prior, you could easily just swap over to Classic theme to have all those same options. Windows 8 and 10, no classic theme exists. There are hacky ways to enable it, but it's buggy and doesn't work at all with UWP apps. You can even install UXStyle on Windows 7 and have virtually no restriction to theme capabilities. On 10, UXStyle is buggy and even then, certain UI elements just don't look right.

My hope is that someday MS gets it together and restores some of these features, or that Windows tinkerers and whatnot are able to make it work. It's these reasons and so many more that I plan to stick with Windows 7 well after they drop support, and will do so as long as I can reasonably do so. I still have several XP computers that work just fine and aren't virus nightmares, so I don't see why Windows 7 would end up being this danger area the minute they stop pushing updates.
</rant>

Just want to give my thanks to Ivo and all the others involved for all their hard work on this wonderful piece of software!

Thank you Ivo and Gaurav, excellent work.

I had refused to upgrade to Windows 7 until I saw a solution for the missing "UP" arrow button (when using Explorer and browsing folder paths). I don't remember the product's name but I found something at the time. However, I came across Classic Shell and was thankful for it.

You made Windows 7 better.

What Ivo has done is very special. God bless you, sir.

Thanks so much for this software, I have been using it all the days. This is a must-have software for the very unfriendly new windows start menu.
Sincerely hope that this software will continue.

Hi there, Would like to add my thanks for effort and excellence put into Classic Shell. Used it for many years. Something I think you should be proud of. best for whatever is next, L

I created an account just so I could be publicly depressed that I’ve only just found Classic Shell and already it’s been discontinued. I’ve been rolling with gut punches from Microsoft OS... through ... a lot of them and I’ve just sucked it up and learned workarounds for nearly every one, but circumstances recently dictated I locate a machine with Windows 8 to run my old printers and scanner,
and holy effing cats...
I’ve used 7, Vista, 10, and a couple others I can’t remember right now, and 8 made me want to stab myself in the face with a fork to distract me from the pain of using the operating system.
Classic Shell saved my rear.
And my face.
Thank you for that. I like my face well enough that I’ll be following the Sourceforge page and seeing if I can keep up because I hate, hate, hate, hate (did I mention I hate?) EIGHT. BAH.

Classic Shell will continue working for Windows 8 and 8.1. It is very unlikely that a future update to those OSes will break something.
The problem is Windows 10, because there is a new version of it coming out every 6 months. Every update changes something that requires Classic Shell to be modified just to continue functioning.
So if you stick with 8 you will be fine.

please suggest any beautiful window 10 start bar skin..

Very sad to hear this but completely understand the reasons, its the very same reason I look to use this software so my experience doesn't change with every Windows 10 udpate. Such a wonderful & useful tool.
For W7 I shall continue to use it.

Hope someone picks this up to progress with W10.

Good luck for the future

For a lot of us in "user-land", MS Windows 10 was forced on us by the major PC desktop/laptop manufactures, such as my HP laptop I just purchased in November of 2017. We cannot stick with anything earlier than what came with that machine. It was not practical.


I have searched for months for ways to make Windows 10 more like the user friendlier Windows 7 that I know and love. Finally I found the "answer" in Classic Shell in the very beginning of February 2018. Wonderful product! Now I can cut back on all the registry changes I've had to make to keep Windows 10 "user-functional".

I am glad that you, the developer, has released the code into the wild and not just abandoned it, like so many other free/open source developers have done. I wish you happiness in your future endeavors and hope that you reconsider the abandonment of this forum at the end of the year. I would hate to continue using the product over the next few years of my laptop's life without having community support for such a useful product as Classic Shell.

In short, please keep the forum up and running, make Classic Shell open source as apparently you have done, and please at least consider coming back to it at some time in the future, perhaps when you retire.

Thanks,
bob
Retired Power Plant Controls Engineer (who still works with computers even though I don't have to, anymore)

Oh, this is just sad, sad news. I started using Classic Shell mostly for the Explorer enhancements for servers (putting some of the things back on the menubar and such that were deprecated by windows) and once I found out about the group policy support, this became something I put on every terminal server I've ever built, since this makes it SO EASY to customize and lock down the start menu, something even natively with group policy we can't do very well with the Windows start menu...

This made all my terminals so much easier to deploy.

I've read through this thread and everyone is talking about their client PC's, but there are a lot of us who will really miss this on the server side of things...

Thank you for all the time you've put into it this far... Now I'll have to hope someone picks it up and runs with it moving forward, since otherwise I'll have to redo how I lock down my terminals. This made it so easy...

But I understand completely where you're coming from, since the 6 month cycles are killing software all over the place, even Microsoft's own. Last year's creator update broke WAV previews inside of Outlook 2016 and it's never been working since... So if they can't even manage to come out with an update that doesn't break their own software, we know that third party programs are going to be HUGE casualties...


Best of luck, and you and your efforts with this are going to be GREATLY missed...

John