How to Get Windows XP Styled Classic “Alt+Tab” Switcher Screen in Windows Vista and 7?

Whenever you press "Alt+Tab" key combination in Windows Vista or 7, it shows a new improved screen which shows running application names along with their live thumbnails so that you can see the window content before switching to them.

The "Alt+Tab" switcher screen also shows "Desktop" in the list so that you can directly access Desktop icons without minimizing all running applications manually.

Its good and very handy but some people might find it annoying as it takes some time to show the switcher screen and selecting the running application. If you also find it annoying or boring and want to bring back the good old Windows XP styled Classic "Alt+Tab" Switcher screen in Windows Vista and 7, this tutorial will help you.

Please follow these simple steps:

1. Type regedit in RUN or startmenu search box and press Enter. It'll open Registry Editor.

2. Now go to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer

3. In right-side pane, create a new DWORD value AltTabSettings and set its value to 1

4. That's it. Now whenever you'll press "Alt+Tab" keys together, it'll show Windows XP styled classic "Alt+Tab" Switcher screen instead of the new screen.

5. To restore default Aero enabled "Alt+Tab" Switcher screen, simply delete the AltTabSettings DWORD value created in step 3. Log off and login again to take effect.

NOTE. If you want a ready-made registry script to do the task automatically, download following ZIP file, extract it and run the extracted REG file:

Download Registry Script

BONUS TIP: If you don't want to set the Classic "Alt+Tab" Switcher screen permanent but want to enjoy it temporarily, then you can follow these simple steps:

Press and hold Left or Right Alt key.

Now press and release the other Alt key on your keyboard but keep pressing the first Alt key.

Now press Tab key and you'll get the Windows XP styled Classic "Alt+Tab" Switcher screen.

Its a bug in Windows Vista and 7. Actually this bug can also be reproduced in Windows Vista Beta versions...

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This article was posted in Troubleshooting, Windows 7, Windows Vista.

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14 Comments

Oskar

lol, sounds complicated
trm96

Great tip but I don't see the point of using the old alt-tab since there are no thumbnails.In XP I used to use the alt-tab power toy that gave me the thumbnails...
Astitva

^^ exactly....there is no point in degrading a useful feature.
Kafata

@Astitva I guess people would do this for the same reason people change the Windows 7 taskbar back to boring :p
MAGNUMHEART

i think this one's for the xp lovers. great bug you found there vg. ^^

but for me i find it a lot easier with my default alt+tab switcher.

hope you release more tweaks in windows 7 that will give a very useful feature.
wildgoosespeeder

Interesting but I do like the new version of the alt+tab. Having a thumbnail preview of each window and selecting the window you want to see uses something like the Aero Peek is much better than guess work that XP had. Also this one allows you to select the window you want with the mouse!
SCBright

Another downgrade for those that are still arrested to XP and like nostalgia.
Somebody will still create a transformation pack to change the appearance of Vista/7 to XP or Windows 3.1.
Jusil164

hey vg... sounds great.. but is there a way for vista home basic users to enjoy windows vista premium,ultimate and windows 7 new alt tab with thumbnail previews??? thanks.
VG

^^ You can use following Microsoft official powertoy:

http://download.microsoft.com/download/whistler/Install/2/WXP/EN-US/TaskswitchPowertoySetup.exe
Russle

VG, is there one where u get the windows 7 Alt+Tab for XP?