Love Windows 10 but hate that it killed your favourite bits of Windows 7 and 8? Jane Hoskyn reveals how to replace and restore Microsoft’s retired tools
It’s out with the old and in with the new in Windows 10 – and that’s not necessarily a good thing. Tools that you know and perhaps love from Windows XP, 7 and 8/8.1 have been consigned to history’s big Recycle Bin to make way for new stuff.
Some of this new stuff is definitely worth the sacrifice (we love Windows 10’s virtual desktops, for example) and some definitely isn’t. The silly new ‘personal assistant’ Cortana and Bing-infested browser Edge have already proved less popular than Windows Media Center (WMC) – dumped by Microsoft on the grounds that it’s not part of “the future of entertainment”.
So we’re here to help, with a hand-picked selection of free alternative tools (and a cheeky little hack or two) to replace or restore features that didn’t make the final cut in Windows 10.
Watch video without Windows Media Center
WMC does still exist, and you can use it in Windows 7 or 8/8.1 for playing DVDs, watching TV and even recording online video. It’s like a set-top box built into your PC or laptop. But if you upgrade that PC to Windows 10, WMC will stop working – Windows 10 doesn’t support playing DVDs at all.
There is a way to beat the system and make WMC work again (see 'HACK WINDOWS 10 TO BRING BACK WMC' below), but it’s easier and safer to switch to an alternative tool. Our favourite is VLC media player (www.videolan.org). VLC lets you play DVDs and WMC recordings (‘.wtv’ files), along with Blu-ray and dozens more video and audio formats; plus streaming video from sites like BBC iPlayer and even via Chromecast.
VLC is open-source software, so there are no hidden costs. There’s plenty of community support (www.videolan.org/support) and a wide selection of extensions (‘add-ons’) that let you add subtitles, record web streams, block radio adverts and more. Here’s the full list, with the highest-rated extensions first: www.snipca.com/18419.
It is possible to record BBC iPlayer programmes using VLC (www.snipca.com/18420), just as you’d record any video stream, though the BBC would rather you didn’t. Besides which, it’s easier to download programmes using the iPlayer itself. The resulting file is likely to be better quality and more stable – but it will eventually expire. The BBC explains all on its site (www.snipca.com/18422).
VLC works in all versions of Windows and will continue to be updated for Windows 10 by its network of developers. There’s a VLC app for Windows 10 (www.snipca.com/18433), too, if you’d rather sidestep the installer (which is safe).
Watch live TV in Windows 10
One WMC function you won’t find in VLC is live TV support. Given the number of catch-up services you can watch instead, you may decide this isn’t a problem. But if you really miss live telly on your PC, we’ve got a couple of good open-source Windows 10 alternatives for you.
Kodi (http://kodi.tv/download) is your best bet if you prefer Windows 7 to Windows 8. This free tool started out as a hack for watching live TV on the Xbox, and was called Xbox Media Center (XBMC). It evolved into a powerful WMC alternative for Windows and other platforms – including Linux and Android (www.snipca.com/18416) – and has extensions for recording TV, downloading subtitles and even checking the weather. For more information see the wiki support site (http://kodi.wiki) and ‘First time user’ guide (www.snipca.com/18418).
MediaPortal (www.team-mediaportal.com) has similar functions and extensions. But its Windows 8-style features, such as default full-screen, won’t suit everyone.
Whichever program you choose, you’ll need a TV tuner card (wikipedia page: www.snipca.com/18423) that plugs into your PC. You’ll already know this if you used WMC to watch live TV. Your WMC-era TV tuner should continue to work in Windows 10, according to users of Kodi and MediaPortal (read this thread on the Bit-tech forum: www.snipca.com/18417).
Play Solitaire online
Windows 10’s attempt to replace Solitaire has been pretty disastrous. Microsoft’s new Solitaire Collection app (www.snipca.com/18424) is free to download, but users have found it’s littered with (Upgrade) pop-ups and adverts.
Forget that, because there’s a much better alternative. Free tool World of Solitaire (http://worldofsolitaire.com) works entirely in your browser and offers dozens more games besides Solitaire, including Klondike and Spanish Patience. There are help guides and customising options, and you can create an account to save your settings and scores if you want.
World of Solitaire is a great example of online tools that outclass their downloadable counterparts. Web tools don’t clog up your hard drive and are safer than installing software. However, many have adverts to keep them free, so use an advert-blocker like the Adblock Plus extension (https://adblockplus.org) to remove annoying distractions.
If your internet is too slow to play online, try the free open-source games suite, Python Solitaire Fan Club edition (or ‘PySolFC’, as it styles itself: http://pysolfc.sourceforge.net). The ‘Fan Club’ bit was added after PySol was handed to its community by its creator in 2003 (www.pysol.org).
Now, there’s good news and bad news. The good news is PySolFC includes more than 1,000 card games, is easy to install and works fine on our Windows 10 laptop – despite there being no mention of Windows 10 on PySolFC’s site or Sourceforge’s download page (www.snipca.com/18425).
And the bad news? Solitaire isn’t included. No, really. If you click Select, then ‘All games by name’ and then ‘Sig – Spi’ (there are so many games, they are grouped alphabetically), the list goes straight from ‘Solid Square’ to ‘Somerset’. Presumably Solitaire’s omission is a copyright matter, but it clearly hasn’t affected World of Solitaire.
Get instant weather updates without Gadgets
Like Solitaire, Windows Desktop Gadgets were jettisoned after Windows 7, so you’ll lose them if you’re upgrading from 7 to 10.
Gadgets were an early attempt at creating ‘widgets’ (on-screen tools that display real-time information). You could check the weather, control Windows Media Player and even monitor your processor by glancing at your Desktop.
Unfortunately, the Windows Sidebar platform that Gadgets used turned out to be riddled with security holes (as Microsoft explains at: www.snipca.com/18426). Rather than fix them, Microsoft gave up on them.
The closest – and safest – third-party alternative is 8GadgetPack (www.snipca.com/18406), which brings back Gadgets more or less as they were in Windows Vista and 7. You can also download free widget packs from the Windows Store. Widgets HD (www.snipca.com/18427) has weather updates, sticky notes and more, and Lockscreenify (www.snipca.com/18428) has news and weather widgets for your Windows 10 lock screen.
Alternatively, why not use Desktop apps? Rather than funnelling data constantly into your PC, Windows 10 tile apps update the moment you open them.
If you want free weather updates, for example, you’re spoiled for choice. Weather Satellite (www.snipca.com/18431) has real-time satellite images of hurricanes, fog, tornadoes and drizzle as seen from space; 8-Bit Weather (www.snipca.com/18430) offers up-to-the-minute forecasts in fabulous old-school 8-bit graphics; and ‘Got the Weather’ (www.snipca.com/18432) has simple weather info for anywhere in the world.
Bring back the tile-free Start menu
Windows 10’s Start menu is closer to the list style of Windows 7 than the screenhogging tiles of Windows 8/8.1, but you can get rid of the tiles altogether if you want (along with the annoying phrase that sits above them: ‘Life at a glance’).
To remove a tile, right-click it and then click ‘Unpin from Start’. Repeat with each tile until you’ve got a big empty box. Now click and drag the right edge of the box to the left, so it closes the gap. Voila! you’ve got your Windows 7-style list back.
Removing a Windows 10 tile doesn’t uninstall its app or change any Windows settings. The tiles are just shortcuts, like in Android. Only iOS uninstalls apps when you remove their icons.
Alternatively, install the free tool Classic Shell (www.classicshell.net). It became very popular among Windows 8 users who were appalled by the default Start Screen and wanted their menu back. It’s now been updated to work in Windows 10 as well, so you can restore the classic Windows 7 Start menu or customise it to suit you.
HACK WINDOWS 10 TO BRING BACK WMC
There is a way to install WMC in Windows 10, but it breaks Microsoft’s terms and conditions. Those who’ve tried it reckon it’s safe and it works, up to a point. If you were to do it, what steps would you take?
First, you’d download the WMC support file from storage site Mega (www.snipca.com/18405; click the ‘Download through your browser’ link). Save and extract the RAR folder. RAR is like ZIP but you may need a third-party tool to open it; the free version of WinRAR (www.win-rar.com) is the best bet.
After extracting the files, right-click ‘_TestRight.cmd’ and click ‘Run as administrator’. Command Prompt should automatically open, and start creating a list of services. Exit when Command Prompt tells you to.
Next, run the ‘Installed.cmd’ file as administrator and let Command Prompt create more services. Exit Command Prompt, and WMC should be back on your PC. You’ll find it in ‘All apps’ (Start menu), or type media center in the search box.
The downside of this hack, apart from its questionable legality, is that it doesn’t include live TV support – so you might as well use VLC anyway.
SPOT THE REAL VLC APP
VLC makes apps for your tablet and phone, and even for Kindle Fire. But which “VLC” app is real? If you type vlc into the Google Play Store you’ll get lots of results, but none are attributed to VLC’s maker, VideoLAN.
The real one is ‘VLC for Android’ (www.snipca.com/18414), as linked from the VLC site (www.snipca.com/18411); confusingly, the maker is listed as ‘Videolabs’. For iPad and iPhone, the real app is ‘VLC for iOS’ (www.snipca.com/18415), which is attributed to VideoLAN.
If in doubt, always follow links from the VideoLAN site (www.videolan.org).
TAKE CONTROL OF WINDOWS UPDATE
Windows 10 installs patches and updates automatically. This means less hassle for you and a safer PC (see our ‘Add patch power to your antivirus’ feature). There’s a downside, of course.
Automatic means automatic – whether you like it or not. Only Windows 10’s Pro and Enterprise editions (www.snipca.com/18440) let you configure Windows Update like you could in previous versions of Windows.
That’s not quite the loss of control it sounds. You can tell Windows to notify you before it restarts your PC – useful if you want to avoid sudden restarts when you’re in the middle of work. Type windows update into Start, then click ‘Advanced Windows Update options’. Open the ‘Automatic (recommended)’ dropdown menu and click ‘Notify to schedule restart’ (see screenshot).
You can also defer upgrades (new Builds) for months at a time (www.snipca.com/18441) by ticking ‘Defer upgrades’ on the Advanced Options screen.
If you want a full ‘Configure Automatic Updates’ option in Windows 10 Home edition, you’ll need to hack the Registry. You can find the steps online (www.snipca.com/18442) but they’re certainly not endorsed by Microsoft – or recommended by us. Automatic updates may seem impertinent but they’re vital for security. It’s too easy to forget (or choose to forget) to install an update, and that leaves your PC open to malware.