How to Get the Old Context Menus Back on Windows 11 PC [Guide]

Windows 11 has surely brought in several visual and performance improvements. Sure, it looks more modern and has some new features that make it an even better operating system. It has got a new start menu, notification panel as well as the Settings app. One of the other changes in Windows 11 is the context menu. Windows 11 brings a newly redesigned context menu that doesn’t have everything like the old one. If you somehow miss the old context menus that were seen in Windows 10, here’s how to get the old context menu back on Windows 11.

While the new context menu is great, it does have some parts of the older context menu styles. For example, when you click on the show more options, you will be treated with the old context menu styles. But slowly, even that old context menu will be replaced with the newer ones at a later date. While younger users will have no problem with using the new context menu, some of the older people might have to learn about the new things of the context menu. You can, however, get the older-styled Context Menus back on your Windows 11 PC. Read on to know more.

How to Restore Full Context Menus in Windows 11

There are two ways for you to bring the old context menus. While one method can be done by adjusting a few settings within Windows, the other method requires you to install a third-party app to enable the old-styled context menus.

Method 1

The first method is an alternate and easy way to bring the old context menu back without having to dig around with the registry editor. Follow these steps.

  1. Power up your Windows 11 PC and pull up the Command Prompt of Windows PowerShell.
  2. You can do that by either typing in CMD or PowerShell in the start menu.
  3. All you need to do is simply paste in the following command:
    reg add “HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}\InprocServer32” /f /ve
    how to get old context menu back on windows 11
  4. Once you have pasted the command, simply hit the Enter key. It should say that The Operation Completed Successfully.
    how to get old context menu back on windows 11
  5. To see whether it has actually worked, open up the File Manager. Now, go ahead and right-click any folder or file within the File Explorer.
  6. You will be greeted with the old-styled context menu without you having to click on show more options.
    how to get old context menu back on windows 11
  7. If you wish to revert back to the new styled Context Menus, open up the Registry Editor.
  8. Now, navigate to the following path:
    Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}\InprocServer32
    how to get old context menu back on windows 11
  9. You will now see the Default key value. Simply select it, right-click and delete the key.
  10. The new Windows 11 Context Menu will be back.

Method 2

The second method that you use to bring the old context menus back on Windows 11 is by making use of a free third-party app. Follow these steps to know how.

  1. First of all, you will need to download the Win Aero Tweaker app.
  2. This is free software and can be downloaded by heading here.
  3. The download file will be a zip file and will weigh 2.4 MB. Once it has been downloaded, extract the software.
  4. Once you have extracted the folder, run the Win Aero Tweaker exe file.
  5. Complete the installation and fire up the program once ready. You will be asked to agree to the agreements the first time you launch Win Aero Tweaker.
  6. With the program open, click on the Windows 11 menu at the left of the program. Under that select the Classic Fullscreen Context Menus.
    how to get old context menu back on windows 11
  7. On the right side, you will see a checkbox that says enable classic full screen context menus.
    how to get old context menu back on windows 11
  8. Now, at the bottom of the app, it will ask you to restart explorer. Simply click on it.
  9. The Explorer will restart and you will now get to see the old-styled context menus back on your Windows 11 PC.

Conclusion

These are the two ways you can follow to get back the old-styled context menus on your Windows 11 PC. Sure, it isn’t a long task or process to get them back, but it would also be nice to see Microsoft bring in an option in the Settings app to let people choose between using the old-style or new styled Context Menus. If you’ve any query, drop it in the comment box.

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Joshua D'souza

Enjoy games, 90's hip-hop, and tech. Loves exploring the infinite world of laptops and food. Every ready to provide assistance in anything that rocks his boat. Will gladly enjoy capturing memories through various lenses. Worked previously at PiunikaWeb as an author and researcher.

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