MondySpartan's Windows 10 to Vista Guide.

All you need to know to make your Windows 10 look about 96% like Windows Vista. No downgrading required whatsoever. Tested on 22H2.
Not guaranteed to work perfectly on Windows 11.

Disclaimer:
While I have made sure that those tools below will cause no harm to your system, it is still STRONGLY RECOMMENDED creating a system restore point and create backups of important data should things do end up going wrong, and unfortunately, I take no responsibility for any changes you make. Be sure to refer to each utility/mod's README!

Some if not many of the programs below will require you to restart your computer, and you should expect to be doing it more than once. Make sure Windows Updates are installed or paused/disabled first.

Contents:
A. Program/Tweaks
B. DWMBlurGlass config
C. Theme Stuff
D. Windhawk Mods
E. Vista Sidebar Theme
F. Extras (Optional)

A. Programs/Tweaks
Install and set these up first:
	1. SecureUXThemer - Allows you to patch Windows themes without modifying system files.
	https://github.com/namazso/SecureUxTheme

	(Download and open ThemeTool.exe as administrator, uncheck all options but "Rename DefaultColors" at the "Installation" section, click Install, then reboot.)

	2. DWMBlurGlass - Adds blur effect to window panels similarly to Windows Aero.
	Instructions to achieve the exact Vista/7 Aero effect in "DWMBlurGlass Config" below, section B.
	https://github.com/Maplespe/DWMBlurGlass

	(Download and extract, open DWMBlurGlass.exe and then click Install on the GUI)

	3. RetroBar - Classic-styled taskbar for modern Windows, comes in a couple of themes, Vista Aero included.
	https://github.com/dremin/RetroBar/releases

	4. Open-Shell - Classic-styled Windows start menu. Vista-like theme available below in "Theme Stuff", section B.
	https://github.com/Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu

	5. Winaero Tweaker - Program to fine tune many aspects of Windows, including restoring the startup sound.
	https://winaerotweaker.com/
	(You will also need this in conjunction to a Windhawk mod, which I will mention later)

	6. Windhawk - Tool to apply additional customization to Windows.
	https://windhawk.net/

	Most of the modifications later will rely on Windhawk, see below at "Windhawk Mods" for tweaks to install.

	7. 7TSP - Theme source patcher to apply system-wide icons including systray and the System Properties logo, safe to use.
	https://www.deviantart.com/devillnside/art/7TSP-GUI-2019-Edition-804769422

	(Download and extract, follow the instructions as included in the .zip file/extracted folder)

	8. OldNewExplorer - Tool to make File Explorer revert to the Windows 7/Vista look.
	https://www.oldnewexplorer.com/download-for-windows

	(Download and extract, open OldNewExplorer.cfg and then click Install, afterward restart Explorer or your computer)
	Be sure to untick all options beforehand as a Windhawk tweak "Aerexplorer" below will be doing its job, although it wouldn't be possible without this tool.

	9. 8GadgetPack - Restores Windows Vista/7 gadgets to Windows 10.
	https://8gadgetpack.net/

	Instructions to achieve the Vista sidebar effect below, in "Vista Sidebar Theme" section E.

	10. Resource Hacker - if you feel like manually changing icons and other system stuff by yourself. At least one mod in the extras section needs the use of this to be more accurate.
	https://www.angusj.com/resourcehacker/#download

B. DWMBlurGlass config

	Tick all options except for "Override DWMAPI" and "Decrease titlebar button height", then set blur radius (global) to 3. You can choose your own window color, although mine have it set to RGBA (115,215,255,100)
Finally, go to Advanced tab and set Effect Type to "Aero".

C. Theme Stuff
	1. Aero10 by Vaporvance - the Aero theme you will be using.
	https://www.deviantart.com/vaporvance/art/Aero10-for-Windows-10-1903-22H2-909711949

	(Download and extract the contents to \Windows\Resources\Themes, afterward fire up SecureUXTheme, choose Aero10 Vista (or Aero10 Vista Shiny) then click Patch and apply. Restart if necessary to see the full theme changes take place.)

	2. Windows Vista icon stuff, aka. the 7TSP icon pack you will patch to the system.
	https://www.deviantart.com/windowz3e/art/Win10-to-Aero-7-Vista-Longhorn-965218718
	.zip file will also contain stuff such as Vista/7 cursors and wallpapers for you to grab, but ignore the Visual Styles stuff, as you will use the Aero10 theme above.

	(Download and extract. Head to 7TSP Icons Installers folder, and delete the ".remove" part from the filename of "7TSP Vista.7z.remove". Now open 7TSP, click "Add a Custom Pack", point towards the Vista .7z file, then click "Start patching". Give it a good 5-10 minutes, then restart your computer when prompted.)

Note that should a Windows Update get in its way to the point you will be required to install it, you will have to restore the original icons until you have finished installing them.

	3. Vistalike - Open-Shell theme
	http://www.classicshell.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=5655&start=50

	(Scroll down and download "Skin only Vistalike.zip" and "VISTA ICONS.zip". Extract "Vistalike.skin7" from the zip file to \Program Files\Open-Shell\Skins, afterward close Open-Shell via task manager if you are using RetroBar, then click "Start Menu Settings" back on the Open-Shell folder to open the settings, which will also restart Open-Shell in process. From there, go to Skin and choose Vistalike)

D. Windhawk Mods

NOTE: Before installing these mods, Windhawk will need to inject into system processes, and this is important especially for the first mod. Go to Settings > Advanced Settings, scroll to More Advanced Settings. From there, remove <critical_system_processes> from the process exclusion list and set "Load mods in critical system processes" to "if targeted explicitly or implicitly (not recommended)"

Some of the mods are not in the Explore list of the utility, so to apply a Windhawk mod not listed, click "Create a new mod" in the bottom right corner, delete all text (Ctrl+A, Del) and then replace it with the mod code from the site, usually buried under a spoiler or "Mod code" link. To be safe, make sure to turn off "Enable mod" while compiling from outside sources. Once again, refer to each mod's readme!

	1. Aerexplorer
	https://winclassic.net/thread/1971/aerexplorer
	This mod will give stuff like Control Panel a themed left sidebar, which is void if options on OldNewExplorer are checked.

	2. Winver Customizer - old style Winver layout.
	https://winclassic.net/thread/2113/winver-customizer
	(Go to the mods Details menu, point to Settings, then choose Windows Vista as the OS layout. You can also replace the banner with a Vista-styled one, do keep in mind though that #FFFFFF pixels will render transparent)

	3. Classic Winver - physical memory in Winver
	https://winclassic.net/thread/1920/windhawk-classic-winver
	(Go to the mods Settings menu and in "Memory string format", add "Physical memory available to Windows:" (without quotes) next to "%s KB")

	4. Legacy File Copy - restores Vista/7 file copy dialog instead of the one introduced with Windows 8+
	Search it in the Explore section.

	5. Windows 7 Alt+Tab Loader - replaces the Windows 10-styled window switcher.
	Search it in the Explore section.

	6. Aero Flyout Fix - Makes legacy system flyouts float like in Windows Vista/7.
	Search it in the Explore section.

	7. Eradicate Immersive Menus - Does what it says on the tin.
	Search it in the Explore section.

	8. Restore Windows Vista Caption Buttons - make the window controls the same size as Windows Vista.
	https://tinyurl.com/RestoreVistaCaptionButtons
	(For it to look perfect, open up Winaero Tweaker, point to "Window Title Bars" located in Advanced Appearance Settings, decrease the title bar height to 19, then click Apply. Log off and back in or restart for the changes to take place.)

E. Vista Sidebar Theme
	Right click on a blank area of the sidebar or its icon on the systray. Go to View, check "Enable transparency", choose the very last theme or the 28th skin, and then select Color. Now you should have a sidebar highly reminiscent of Vista.

F. Extras (Optional)

	1. Windows 7 Games - restores Windows Vista/7 games to Windows 10, including the beloved Purble Place.
	https://win7games.com/

	Worth noting that the site also has other restoration programs such as the classic Windows NT Task Manager used until 8 and the Aurora screensaver from Vista, so do check them out!

	2. Windows Vista Sound Schemes
	Windows 10 already has sounds from Vista but some of them have already been replaced by their Windows 8 or 10 counterparts. With this you can have the complete collection of Windows Vista/7 sounds.
	https://www.deviantart.com/graywz/art/Windows-Vista-Sounds-for-XP-182935954

	The collection was made for XP, but it might just also work in Windows 10 including the .reg file. Also includes Ultimate Extras sound schemes!

	3. Windows Vista MS Paint - The original MS Paint from Vista.
	https://archive.org/details/MSPaintWinVista

	(Download and extract to your desired folder)

	4. Rinfox - A Firefox modification that completely reskins it into Internet Explorer 7/8.
	https://github.com/travy-patty/rinfox

	Instructions to install are in README.md of the rinfox folder.

	5. Restore Windows Photo Viewer - Exactly as it says on the tin.
	https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/restore_windows_photo_viewer_on_windows_10.html

	6. Windows Movie Maker 6.0 - The original Windows Movie Maker as shipped in Windows Vista.
	https://archive.org/details/windows-movie-maker-6.0

	7. Aerochat - Custom Discord client that looks and feels like Windows Live Messenger.
	https://aerochat.live/

	(Use a token generated by your Discord account to use it. Instructions to do so can be found here, best to use Google Chrome for this: https://www.androidauthority.com/get-discord-token-3149920/)

Once those steps have been done correctly, you should have a near-perfect replica of Vista as your Windows 10 desktop. Hope you like it, and thank you for taking your time to read this.

- MondySpartan