Windows 7 with Metro design

Microsoft has announced Windows 8 as the most important technological achievement since Windows 95 before the final release (October 26, 2012). However, it is a pleasure to see that the new operating system can only fully exploit its advantages on tablet PCs and PCs with a touch display . If, on the other hand, you exchange your “old” Windows against the 8-series on a common notebook or desktop computer, you might experience a disappointment.


To bring the Metro design to Windows 7


For the first thing you will notice is that the operation follows completely different rules. Thus, familiar functions and applications are well hidden and intuitive operation does not seem any trace. For example, the desktop, known from current versions of Windows, has been converted to an app, and a start or stop button is not found in vain.


Fast data paths in Windows 7


First impressions of Office 2013


Perfect system management


In this respect, there are quite good reasons to postpone the upgrade by some time. The good news is that you can still use the technological improvements of Windows 8 right now. For this, we have compiled for you a lot of clever additional programs, which make these improvements available in Windows 7, Vista or XP. Completely free of charge.


The most striking innovation of Windows 8 is undoubtedly the tile optics. Basically, Windows 8 starts with the "Metro Style" apps without start button and hides the time-honored desktop with the program icons behind one of these tiles. If you are interested in the metro optics but do not want to do without the fast and intuitive operation of Windows 7, we recommend a Windows-Facelifting - without disturbing side effects. After all, all functional buttons remain where they belong.


The fastest way to get Windows 7 with the "MetroGlide Pack" is on Windows 8. Then right-click an empty space on the desktop and choose Customize. Click "Desktophintergrund" and then "Browse". Then, activate the folder "Wallpaper Pack by Snipes". Find the right design from over 65 backgrounds, save the changes, and you'll have the Metro look also on the Windows 7 desktop.


If the wallpaper is too simple and not functional enough, Omnimo for Rainmeter, a tool for Windows 7, which offers a lot of possibilities for desktop design due to variable settings for tile apps, and thus the best of the two worlds - Windows 7 and Windows 8 - to each other. A mini-workshop can be found at the end of this article. The Windows 8 Transformation Pack, including the Charms Bar, is also completely based on Windows 8 look. However, the software makes extensive changes in the system so that Rainmeter is the better choice. The "Metro Clock" is recommended for the Windows 8 feeling during breaks. This is a nice screen saver with clock, whose files you need to copy to the System 32 directory, to activate it with the "Screen saver" function.


When talking about speed advantages in Windows 8, Microsoft always means USB 3.0 support and better data management that speeds up moving, copying, and loading files. With a suitable USB 3.0 driver (depending on the motherboard / chipset manufacturer), you can now access your external hard disks much faster. The prerequisite is of course a corresponding support on the periphery. Tera Copy also helps against slow copying. The tool is not only fast-paced but also absolutely intuitive. Above all, for copying large video or image files, you can use Tera Copy to switch turbo.


Guide: Windows 8 with Windows 7 interface


With the new ReFS file system and enhanced hardware tools, Windows 8 is designed to reduce the amount of disk errors and optimize the management of hard drives with a large storage volume. That sounds very good at first. But for the time being, only the server versions of Windows 8 will benefit from these innovations. Windows 7 users, however, do not need to wait for system and hard disk management to be placed in the hands of a hardware professional such as EaseUs PartitionMaster. The tool is intended for all Windows systems as of Windows XP, both in the 32-bit and 64-bit system architecture.


It allows you to create, delete, resize, copy, or copy partitions. In addition, there are useful additional functions, which, for example, lack disk management in Windows 7. This way, you can hide existing partitions from prying eyes on your PC by selecting them and then clicking "Hide Partition" in the left pane. This is possible with all logical and physical partitions except for the system partition on which Windows is located. You can also use the Check Partition feature to check your hard disks and partitions faster for bad sectors, and to get more accurate results than with Windows on-board devices.