How to Customize Windows 11: Full Personalization Guide

To fully customize Windows 11, change five things: install a custom mouse cursor pack from DeviantArt, set a video desktop wallpaper with Lively Wallpaper, swap or restyle the taskbar with ExplorerPatcher and 7+ Taskbar Tweaker, replace the Start menu using Open Shell or StartAllBack, and add a custom right-click menu via Nilesoft Shell. Pair the result with Winhance for debloat and Windhawk for fine-grained UI tweaks, and you have a Windows 11 install that looks nothing like a stock Microsoft setup.

Applies to: Windows 10 (22H2) and Windows 11 (23H2, 24H2, 25H2) | Last updated: April 30, 2026

Key Takeaways

• Create a System Restore Point before installing any of these tools — Open Shell, ExplorerPatcher, and Nilesoft Shell hook system processes and a quick rollback path makes everything safer.
• For taskbar/Start menu replacement on Windows 11, ExplorerPatcher and Open Shell are free; StartAllBack is paid but more polished.
• Lively Wallpaper supports any video file, GIFs, web pages, and HTML5 wallpapers, and can pause itself when a fullscreen game is detected to save battery and CPU.
• Custom mouse cursors install via the bundled .inf file and are applied through Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Mouse → Mouse pointer.
• After feature updates (Windows 11 24H2 → 25H2), expect to update ExplorerPatcher and Open Shell to versions matching the new build — third-party shell hooks usually break temporarily.

Quick Steps

1. Create a System Restore Point (search Start for “Create a restore point” → Create).
2. Install a custom cursor pack from DeviantArt and right-click the .inf → Install.
3. Install Lively Wallpaper and add a video as your wallpaper.
4. Install ExplorerPatcher and 7+ Taskbar Tweaker for taskbar customization.
5. Install Open Shell for a Windows 7-style Start menu (or StartAllBack for paid).
6. Install Nilesoft Shell for a custom right-click menu.
7. Optional: install Windhawk for further per-element tweaks.

In This Guide

• Step 1: Create a System Restore Point — safety net before installing shell hooks.
• Step 2: Custom Mouse Cursor — install a cursor pack and apply it.
• Step 3: Video Desktop Wallpaper — Lively Wallpaper setup.
• Step 4: Taskbar Customization — ExplorerPatcher + 7+ Taskbar Tweaker.
• Step 5: Start Button and Start Menu — Open Shell and skins.
• Step 6: Custom Right-Click Menu — Nilesoft Shell.

Step 1: Create a System Restore Point

ExplorerPatcher and Open Shell hook File Explorer; Nilesoft Shell hooks the context menu shell extension. None are dangerous, but a wrong settings combination or a bad uninstall can leave the taskbar broken until you reboot. A restore point gets you back in 5 minutes.

1. Press the Windows key, type Create a restore point, and press Enter.
2. In System Properties, select your C: drive and click Configure. Turn on protection if it is off and allocate at least 5% of disk space.
3. Click Create, name it “Before customization”, and confirm.

Step 2: Install a Custom Mouse Cursor

DeviantArt is the largest free cursor pack source. Windows 11 Cursors Concept v2 by jepriCreations is a clean, modern set that suits the rest of the customizations in this guide. For a curated walkthrough of Bibata and other options, see my custom mouse cursors guide.

1. Download the cursor pack and extract the ZIP.
2. Right-click the .inf file and pick Install. Accept the UAC prompt.
3. Press the Windows key, type Mouse settings, click Additional mouse settings, switch to the Pointers tab, and pick the new scheme from the dropdown.

Step 3: Set a Video as Your Desktop Wallpaper

Lively Wallpaper is free, open source, and supports MP4, WebM, GIF, and even HTML5 wallpapers. Install it from the Microsoft Store or via WinGet (winget install rocksdanister.LivelyWallpaper), then drag any video file onto the Lively window to add it.

In Lively’s settings, enable Performance > Pause when fullscreen application is running so games and video playback do not have a wallpaper render fighting them in the background.

Tip: For Wallpaper Engine-style animated scenes, see my Sucrose Wallpaper Engine guide — Wallpaper Engine is paid (Steam, ~$4) but ships a much larger library than Lively.

Step 4: Customize the Taskbar

The Windows 11 taskbar is locked down compared to Windows 10 — you cannot move it, resize it, or recolour it through Settings. Three free tools cover the gap:

• ExplorerPatcher — restores the Windows 10 taskbar layout, lets you move it to the top/sides, and brings back small icons.
• 7+ Taskbar Tweaker — fine-grained behaviour tweaks (drag-and-drop, double-click actions, scroll wheel volume).
• TranslucentTB — full transparency or accent colour for the taskbar with no Windows 10 taskbar replacement required.

Pick ExplorerPatcher if you want the Windows 10 taskbar back, TranslucentTB if you just want transparency on the Windows 11 taskbar. Do not run them together — they fight over the same taskbar window.

Step 5: Customize the Start Button and Start Menu

Open Shell is the actively maintained successor to Classic Shell (which was discontinued in 2017). Install it, right-click the new Start button, and pick a skin. The Fluent Metro skin matches Windows 11’s design language better than the defaults.

For the Start button image itself, custom orb packs like Windows Orb Pack 2 on DeviantArt give you 50+ alternatives including the Windows 7 orb. In Open Shell’s settings, switch to the Start Menu Style tab and load the orb image under Replace Start button.

If you would rather pay for a more integrated solution, StartAllBack ($5 one-time) handles the Start menu, taskbar, and File Explorer customisation in one tool with no shell hooking.

Step 6: Customize the Right-Click Menu

Nilesoft Shell replaces the truncated Windows 11 right-click menu with a fast, fully customizable one. After install, edit %LOCALAPPDATA%\Nilesoft\shell\shell.shi with Notepad++ to add custom commands, hide entries, and group items.

If you just want the Windows 10-style right-click menu back without the customisation, the registry tweak in my classic context menu guide is a one-line fix.

Optional: Windhawk for Per-Element Tweaks

Windhawk is a mod platform with a marketplace of community-built tweaks for individual UI elements: pinned-app icons, taskbar grouping, Start menu styler, file-explorer details pane, and dozens more. Each mod is a small DLL injected at runtime — uninstalling Windhawk reverts every change cleanly.

After Customizing: Debloat with Winhance

None of the customization tools above remove preinstalled bloatware, telemetry, or aggressive Microsoft features (Copilot, Recall, Edge widgets). My own Winhance utility handles those in one window — toggle off what you do not want and the system stays clean across feature updates.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Will these tools work on Windows 10?

Most do — Lively Wallpaper, Open Shell, 7+ Taskbar Tweaker, and Nilesoft Shell all support Windows 10 (22H2). ExplorerPatcher is Windows 11-only because Windows 10 already has the taskbar layout it restores. Custom cursor packs work on every Windows version.

Do video wallpapers hurt performance?

Lively Wallpaper uses 1-3% CPU and a small amount of GPU for a 1080p video. With “Pause when fullscreen application is running” enabled, the wallpaper drops to 0% during games and video playback. On low-end hardware, prefer a static wallpaper or use Lively’s GIF/web-page wallpapers instead of full video.

Will a Windows feature update break these customizations?

Possibly. ExplorerPatcher and Open Shell are the most likely to break after a 24H2 → 25H2 type upgrade because they hook the shell. Both projects ship updates within 1-2 weeks of a Windows release. If your taskbar looks broken after an update, install the latest ExplorerPatcher version before troubleshooting anything else.

Can I revert these changes if I do not like them?

Every tool in this guide has a clean uninstaller in Settings → Apps → Installed apps. Uninstall, reboot, and your stock Windows 11 UI is back. The System Restore Point from Step 1 is the nuclear option if anything refuses to clean up properly.

Are custom cursors and skins from DeviantArt safe?

The cursor and skin files themselves are static — they cannot run code. The risk is from a malicious .inf file installer or bundled installer in the ZIP. Stick to popular packs with thousands of downloads, scan the archive with Windows Security before installing, and avoid sites that wrap downloads in their own installer.