How to Get the Good Old MS Paint (without Ribbons) Working in Windows 7?



Recently we told you how can you get old Wordpad working in Windows 7:

How to Get the Good Old Wordpad (without Ribbons) Working in Windows 7

Now its turn of MS Paint.

Get Old Paint working in Windows 7:

If you have Windows Vista installed along with Windows 7, you can directly run the "mspaint.exe" file present in "%windir%\System32" folder and it'll run the old Paint without any problem.

You can also create a shortcut of this file at Desktop or in Startmenu so that you can easily access it.

But if you want to completely replace the new Paint in Windows 7 with the old Paint, then you can follow these simple and easy to use steps:

1. Open following folder:

%windir%\System32

You can open it by typing the path in RUN dialog box and press Enter.

2. Now take ownership of "mspaint.exe" file. To take ownership, please follow this tutorial:

Add Take Ownership Option in File / Folder Context Menu in Windows Vista and 7

3. Now rename the "mspaint.exe" file to "mspaint_backup.exe".

4. Now go to "en-US" folder and take ownership of "mspaint.exe.mui" file.  After taking ownership rename the file to "mspaint_backup.exe.mui".

5. Now copy "mspaint.exe" file from Vista and paste it in "%windir%\System32" folder.

Do the same thing for "mspaint.exe.mui" file, copy it from Vista and paste in "%windir%\System32\en-US" folder.

That's it. Now Windows 7 will start using the old Paint.

If you want to use the new Paint later, simply delete the new "mspaint.exe" and "mspaint.exe.mui" files and then rename the backup files to their default names.

NOTE: If you don't have Windows Vista installed, you can download the required "mspaint.exe" and "mspaint.exe.mui" files from following link:

Download Link



This article was posted in Windows 7.

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25 Comments

1 2 3

  • Sanctum

    Do you have the paint.exe from Vista because I'm just running 7.

  • Sanctum

    Never mind I just saw the link. Thanks.

  • Serena

    Strange I get all the way up to step four. After I take ownership I try to rename it to "mspaint_backup.exe.mui" but it says I need permission from trusted illustrator to make changes to it. Any help?

  • VG

    ^^ It seems the permission was not set to current user. Try to take the ownership again.

  • Kat

    I've tried taking ownership and renaming the files, but it hasn't worked. I need permission from 'TrustInstaller' or something, for whatever reason..

1 2 3

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