The Microsoft Windows operating system has undergone great changes in the past 20 years, both visual design and functional aspects have brought a new look, but there are many small places that have not changed after so much time, and many places can be seen It can even go back to 2001, or even before Windows XP, have you found them?
These 8 places in Windows 11 are very Windows XP
In stark contrast to macOS, which breaks legacy software compatibility on a semi-regular basis, Windows systems have always affected legacy apps and games as little as possible. This policy has many advantages, but it also means that there are some elements in Windows that have not been significantly improved over the years. Changes, as changing them could cause a chain reaction of app crashes. For example, even though IE is disappearing from Windows 10, its rendering engine is still used in other software and will not be removed in a short time. There are certain Windows components that Microsoft can modernize without risking backward compatibility, but there are still many system components that are as old and strong as the living fossils in Windows.
CMD
The Windows system was originally developed to run on DOS, and early versions included command prompt characters or other shortcuts to access the underlying DOS system. Microsoft later developed a more modern, non-DOS-based version of Windows NT for server and enterprise use, and Windows XP was the first general-purpose version of Windows built on the new core.
Both Windows XP and Windows 11 have a command prompt character, which is mainly used to run commands, execute programs or batch scripts. However, Windows XP also includes the NT Virtual DOS Machine, or NTVDM for short. In addition to earlier 16-bit Windows software, it also allows 16-bit and 32-bit DOS applications to run at the command prompt. It’s not compatible with all apps and games, especially those that rely on direct access to hardware, but it works.
Microsoft has never supported NTVDM on 64-bit versions of Windows, or Windows on other architectures such as ARM. However, it can still be enabled on all 32-bit x86 Windows editions, including Windows 10. Windows 11 isn’t available at all on 32-bit x86 PCs, so NTVDM is gone entirely, but the command prompt remains, used to run commands and scripts. More recently, Microsoft has been working on integrating PowerShell, Command Prompt, and other command tools into Windows Terminal. Newer versions of Windows 11 now default to opening the command prompt in Windows Terminal, but you can change the setting in Terminal to revert to using the old CMD.EXE.
control panel
This one is actually a bit hard to pin down, since the Control Panel has changed significantly since Windows XP, and Microsoft has been downplaying it in favor of the Settings app. But Control Panel is still the only way to access certain options in Windows, and some of the actual settings are very similar to XP.
The first is the “File Explorer Options”. Although Microsoft has added some new options in the past 20 years, most of the layout and available settings are the same.
Another example is “Internet Options” in Windows 11. Some settings have been moved elsewhere in the past 20 years, but the Security and Advanced tabs both look almost the same.
Most of the settings here are specific to Internet Explorer (such as ActiveX switching), although they may affect some applications that load web content through the old IE engine, and this is not even available on Windows 11.
“Execute” dialog window
Executing dialog windows has been an important core component of Windows for decades, and Windows 11 has the same panel as Windows XP. On both operating systems, you can use the Win + R key combination to open it, and the run dialog window allows you to enter the name of the program, the full path of any file or folder, or any network address used to open it .
There are still a few ways to access the Go dialog window on Windows 11, such as right-clicking on the Windows icon, but the little box itself remains the same and still works as well now as it did in 2001.
character mapping table
The Character Map is a simple system tool in Windows that displays each character in every installed font, along with a keyboard shortcut for typing it in other applications, and you can use it to Copy the meta to the clipboard so you don’t have to type the full shortcut.
The character map hasn’t changed significantly at all in the past 20 years, and the lack of search, emoji support, and other features has made third-party alternatives more famous than it, such as pressing “Windows +.” on Windows 11.
System information
There are plenty of ways to check hardware and software data on Windows 11, including the Settings app, Device Manager, and Work Manager, but one useful app has been around for more than 20 years. The System Information application can display almost everything about your computer, from the BIOS version to the list of startup programs. Despite its dated design, System Information is probably one of the fastest ways to check various aspects of your system, especially when compared to multiple searches or double-clicks in the Settings app. However, you can’t change anything from System Information , it’s strictly for viewing only.
disk cleanup
Disk Cleanup is still the main way to automatically clean up Windows system files and temporary storage on your computer, along with emptying the Recycle Bin as needed, a utility that exists in Windows XP and Windows 11. There were some differences between the two versions, though, with later versions of Windows adding separate toggles for system files and additional feature options for other file types. The “More Options” tab in the XP version is also gone in Windows 11.
ODBC Data Source Administrator
Windows has a built-in utility called ODBC Data Source Manager that allows you to connect to certain external repositories, useful primarily for computers in work settings or enterprise deployments. The utility itself isn’t all that interesting, but it’s one of several ways to view the incredibly old Windows selection flipbook. This particular selection of flipbooks is much older than Windows XP, dating back to Windows 3.1 in 1992.
Microsoft’s Raymond Chen explained in a blog post that Windows provides the ancient Select Flipbook tool for older applications to avoid breaking compatibility with legacy software. Programs of that era didn’t support fancy things like long filenames, and when users tried to customize dialogs, they expected custom Windows 3.1-style dialogs, he said.
About Windows
Both Windows XP and Windows 11 have a simple app called “About Windows” that can be accessed by opening the Run dialog box (Win + R) and typing “winver”. This panel displays the icon of the current operating system, copyright information, and the current build number. A few textual details have changed over the past 20 years, for example, it no longer says RAM, but it’s largely the same.
Source: How-To Geek