Windows 98 Classic Theme in Windows 11 - Relevant Resources:

1. Set Windows background to teal (Note: Must have an activated copy of Windows to customize wallpaper color and desktop icons)

2. Orient your Start Menu to the left side of your screen

3. Get - Icon Pack (Archive of Windows 98 icons in ".ico" format):
win98icons.alexmeub.com/
cloudconvert.com/png-to-ico

4. Customize your default Windows Desktop icons (Note: Must have an activated copy of Windows to customize wallpaper color and desktop icons)

5. Install - Microsoft Windows Desktop Runtime (x64):
dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/download/dotnet/6.0

6. Download Open-Shell Skin for Start Menu (Place file here - C:\Program Files\Open-Shell\Skins\Win98Plus! Retro.skin):
www.classicshell.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6796#:~…

7. Install and configure - Open-Shell (Start Menu Mod):
github.com/Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu

Install and configure - RetroBar (Taskbar Mod):
github.com/dremin/RetroBar

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START MENU MOD INSTALL
1. Install Open-Shell
2. Place Open-Shell "Win98Plus! Retro.skin" into - C:\Program Files\Open-Shell\Skins
3. Open Open-Shell

SKIN CUSTOMIZATION
4. Load Win98Plus! Retro skin
5. Select "Windows Default" skin variation
6. Caption: Win98
7. Select/De-select "Small icons" (personal preference)
8. Select "System menu font"
9. De-select the remaining items

SPECIAL ITEMS
10. Favorites: Display as a menu

START MENU STYLE
11. Select "Classic style"

MENU LOOK
12. Horizontal position offset: 2
13. Vertical position offset: 16
14. Main menu & Sub-menu animation: No animation
15. Menu caption: Windows98
16. Font smoothing: Clear Type
17. Enable menu glass
18. Override glass color (Color hex code: C0C0C0)

CUSTOMIZE START MENU
19. Right click on an item, browse for icon

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TASKBAR MOD INSTALL
1. Install RetroBar
2. Open RetroBar

TASKBAR TAB
3. Theme: Windows 95-98
4. Deselect: "Allow font smoothing", "Lock the taskbar", "Auto-hide the taskbar"
5. Select: "Show window previews (thumbnails)", "Add the Show Desktop button", "Collapse notification area icons"
6. Select "Customize" to customize what icons are shown in notification area

ADVANCED TAB
7: Select: "Automatically start at logon", "Show on multiple displays"
8: Show tasks on: "Same taskbar as window and primary" (personal preference)

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#windows98 #windows11 #open-shell #retrobar #classic