[protonrotuing]

So, as a tech-enthusiast, I watch lots of Youtube channels that talk about setups and OS's, so I was watching LinusTechTips, he's a slightly mainstream tech video maker.
He showed how to setup a modified version of Windows 10, which gives you the sleek design of Windows 10 and Windows 7 combined, will throwing in some Windows 8.1 - Windows 10 performance.
It removes quite a bit of tracking tools Windows uses.
If you want the raw video, here it is:

The actual tutorial/blog post by Linus which explains how to do it: [source: https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/748...all-guide/]

Code:

So you're curious and want to make your own Windows 9.5? Cool. Huge disclaimer: It worked for us, might not work for you, that kind of thing. If that's still cool with you, let's begin! o Start from a fresh install of Windows 10 o Make sure it's fully updated o Disable telemetry - - It’s not like Microsoft would be interested in what we’ll be up to here § Change privacy settings in Windows’ Settings app § Disable telemetry in the registry § Open a command prompt as Administrator, then type: · sc diagtrack start= disabled o The space after start= is a must · sc stop diagtrack o Services changes - Hold the Windows key and press R, then type services.msc and choose OK. § Background Intelligent Transfer Serivce – Automatic (Delayed Start) -> Manual § Connected User Experiences and Telemetry – Automatic -> Disabled § Diagnostic Policy Service – Automatic -> Manual § Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) – Manual (Triggered) -> Disabled § Windows Biometric Service – Automatic -> Manual § WLAN Autoconfig – Automatic -> Manual o Download and install the following: § Aeroglass 1.5.2 - http://www.glass8.eu/download § Win7 Taskbar Reflection - http://www.classicshell.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=6089&hilit=windows+7+taskbar+texture&start=50#p27834 - Save the "Win7 Taskbar Reflection for opacity 40 qty .png" attachment § Win7 Start Button - http://www.classicshell.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=3207#p15050 - Save the "Windows 7.png" attachment § ClassicShell - http://www.classicshell.net/downloads/ - Once installed, navigate to the following menus and make changes as necessary: · Skin: WIN7LIKE · Start Button o Replace Start Button o Button Image: Choose file - Windows 7.png o Button size: Change to 24, 32, 48, 64, etc as needed based on resolution / scaling · Taskbar o Taskbar Look: Glass o Taskbar Opacity: 40 o Taskbar Texture: Choose file - Win7 Taskbar Reflection for opacity 40 qty .png · Menu Look o Glass Opacity: 10 § 7+ Taskbar Tweaker - http://rammichael.com/7-taskbar-tweaker · Right-click the tray icon, click advanced options, change show_desktop_button_size to 12 · Right-click taskbar, Cortana -> Hidden, uncheck Show Task View Button on the same menu § OldNewExplorer - http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/oldnewexplorer.html · Choose "Use command bar instead of Ribbon", then install § UxStyle - https://github.com/riverar/uxstyle/releases § Aero 7 theme - http://sagorpirbd.deviantart.com/art/Aero-7-Themes-for-Win10-Final-523979941 · The "Clear" version of this theme was used for our video. · Navigate to "Theme\Themes For 10 Build 14393 Anniversary Update" and copy everything in that folder to C:\Windows\Resources\Themes o Registry tweaks: § Hold the Windows key and hit R, then type regedit and choose OK § Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\DWM · Right-click -> New -> DWORD: ColorizationGlassReflectionIntensity – Double-click and set to decimal 100 · Right-click -> New -> DWORD: ColorizationColorBalance – Double-click and set to decimal 100 · Right-click -> New -> DWORD: ColorizationColorBalanceInactive – Double-click and set to decimal 25 · Right-click -> New -> DWORD: GlassOpacity – Double-click and set to decimal 20 · Right-click -> New -> DWORD: RoundRectRadius – Double-click and set to decimal 12 o More aggressive tweaks, if desired: § Copy taskmgr.exe and msconfig.exe from a Windows 7 install, name them something like tm.exe and msconfig1.exe and place them in Windows\System32 § Replace Task Manager with the copied version in the registry § Follow the same procedure with msconfig § Disable the People, Calendar, and Mail storage services (will disable these apps) and tile updates · CDPUserSvc_7e8fc5, Contact Data_7e8fc5, Sync Host_7e8fc5, Tile Data Model Server, User Data Access_7e8fc5, User Data Storage_7e8fc5 § Uninstall every UWP app except for Store (so you can get them again as needed later) § Disable Cortana § Turn on verbose login/shutdown messages if that’s your bag And that's it! If all went well, you're now looking at Windows 9.5 - Windows 10 with a Windows 7 skin and disabled telemetry.

Thank you for viewing the thread, and I hope you enjoy this as much as me. I use this on my personal machine, which I don't do anything on.

[Bish0pQ]

I have seen the same video and I thought it was very interesting. The main reason I upgraded to 10 was because of the slight performance improvements which are countered by the privacy issues on Windows 10.

I used to run Windows 7 Ultimate and I really liked that OS, it was very clean and fast. A combination of the two isn't bad at all and of course you can even further modify it to fix some extra performance issues and things like that.

Great share, thanks for the extra information (since I just saw the video).

[protonrotuing]

I have seen the same video and I thought it was very interesting. The main reason I upgraded to 10 was because of the slight performance improvements which are countered by the privacy issues on Windows 10.

I used to run Windows 7 Ultimate and I really liked that OS, it was very clean and fast. A combination of the two isn't bad at all and of course you can even further modify it to fix some extra performance issues and things like that.

Great share, thanks for the extra information (since I just saw the video).

No problem. Yeah, you could go further via removing Window Apps and replacing them.

[ElevatorToHeaven]

This is really informative and helpful. thanks!