How to Make Windows 11 Look Like Ubuntu – Guide
One of the best things about Windows is the ability to customize its appearance to your heart’s content. With the release of Windows 11 in just one day, users are heavily customizing Windows Explorer and other elements of the user shell experience. If you’re a fan of Ubuntu and want Windows 11 to look like 2010’s Ubuntu, here it is how to do it.
How to Windows 11 theme like Ubuntu
Windows 11 is full of customizable options which, if the user has a specific visual element in mind, can be made to look like any other operating system out there. Here are the steps you need to follow to make Windows 11 similar to Ubuntu.
Step 1: Download the necessary files
First, get all the necessary files. There are about four things you need to download. But don’t worry, let’s go through them one by one so you know exactly what to do: First, download the Ultra UX Theme Patcher. By clicking on this link, you will be taken to Manuel Hoefs’ website, which hosts the themed patcher. Click on UltraUXThemePatcher at the top. Then click on UltraUXThemePatcher under “Download”. Once the download is complete, go to the next file to download. 2. KOZ Theme This is the Ubuntu theme that will make Windows 11 look like Ubuntu, or at least most of its components. Download the KOZ-Theme here. You will need a DeviantArt account to download this theme, so be sure to subscribe up and login if you haven’t already. Scroll down and click on the Download icon under the screenshots. This will download the theme as a zip file. 3. 7TSP Icon Patcher This is necessary to fix the icons found in the KOZ-Theme above. Download the 7TSP Icon Patcher here. Once again click on the Download icon under the screenshots. The file will be downloaded as a zip file. 4. Old New Explorer This is necessary to modify the Explorer functions to make them look like Windows 7 and then the theme will further fix Explorer to look like Ubuntu. Download OldNewExplorer here. Click Download Now button on the page linked above.
Step 2: Install the Ultra UX Theme Patcher
Next, let’s install UltraUXThemePatcher. Just double clicking on it may not work and Windows will launch up a message “Windows has protected your PC” and will not allow you to run. To bypass this, right-click the configuration file and click Properties. In the “General” tab, next to “Security” at the bottom, you will see the Unlock option. Make sure there is a tag next to it. Then click OK. Now you can double click the executable to run the setup. Follow the onscreen instructions and install UltraUXThemePatcher.
Step 3: Unzip the ‘Ko-Z’ zip and apply the theme
Now go to the folder location where the ‘Ko-Z’ zip file was downloaded. Then unzip it using a file archiver. If you don’t have one, right-click on the file and select Extract All. Click Extract. Once the files are extracted, double click on the ‘ko-Z’ folder. Then double click on the ‘Windows 10 Themes’ folder. Copy all files in this folder. An easy shortcut is to press Ctrl + A to select everything and then press Ctrl + C to copy the files. Now navigate to the following address: C:WindowsResourcesThemes Paste the files here (press Ctrl + V). You will be asked to provide admission permissions. Check the “Do this for all current items” box and click Continue. Once the files are pasted, press Win + I to open Settings and click Personalization in the left pane. On the right, scroll down and click Themes. Here, you will see several themes. But the ones we copy won’t have a preview. Select the last theme without a preview (this is the main ‘Ko-Z’ theme). Once the theme is applied, make sure it says ‘Ko-Z’ next to “Custom Theme”.
Step 4: Unzip the ‘7tsp GUI’ zip and apply the icons
The icon pack is available in the same ‘Ko-Z’ theme folder that we extracted in the previous step. But we have to make a small change to make sure it gets recognized. Go back to the ‘Ko-Z’ folder and double click on the ‘Icon Packs’ folder. Then go to the ‘7TSP 1903 builds or newer’ folder. Now right click on the ‘7TSP’ file and click on the rename icon. Delete the ‘.remove’ in final from it and press Enter. When prompted, click Yes. This will turn this into a file. There is no need to unzip this file and we will come back to it later. Instead, unzip the previously downloaded ‘7tsp gui’ zip file (use a file archiver application or right click on the file and select ‘Extract all’ as shown above). Once extracted, right click on the ‘7tsp GUI’ file and click rename. Change the ‘ee’ in final to ‘exe’ and press Enter. When asked to confirm, click Yes. Now run this executable file. Click Yes. This will open the ‘Se7en Theme Source Patcher’. Click Add a custom package. Now browse to the ‘7tsp’ zip file we renamed earlier in the ‘Icon Packs’ folder, select it and click Open. Click Start Patching. Then click Yes. You will have to wait a while for the process to complete. Once complete, you will be prompted to restart your system. Click Yes.
Step 5: Change Registry Files to Get Folder Icons
After rebooting, you will see the changes applied to most icons. However, the icons in the folder would remain the same. That’s because this particular icon pack doesn’t change the thumbnail folder view. To change this, we have to run a registry fix. There is already a file that can do this for you in the ‘Icon packs’ folder inside the ‘Ko-Z’ folder we unzipped earlier. Navigate to it and double click on the disable_folder_thumbs.reg file. Click Run. Click Yes. Click OK.
Step 6: Update the icons with the 7tsp GUI
Run the 7tsp GUI again. Click Restore. With “Restore modified system files to before using 7tsp” selected (first option), click efresh Icons. Click Yes.
Step 7: Apply wallpaper
Wallpapers are available in the ‘Wallpaper MODS’ folder within the ‘Ko-Z’ folder. Choose a wallpaper, right-click it and select Set as desktop background.
Step 8: Unzip OldNewExplorer
Finally, it remains to unzip and apply the old Explorer that we downloaded earlier. Right click on OldNewExplorer.zip and select Extract All. Then click Extract. Once the files are extracted, run ‘OldNewExplorerCfg.exe’. In the OldNewExplorer configuration window, select the following three options under ‘Appearance’: Hide caption text in File Explorer windows. Hide the caption icon in File Explorer windows. Hide Up (go to parent folder) button. Then click Install. Your Ubuntu theme is now complete. We hope you were able to get the Ubuntu theme on Windows 11 with the help of guide above.
Final note
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