# Alternative windows 7 desktop environments?



## CannonFodder (Nov 6, 2013)

This is more of a annoyance than anything.

I rarely use windows anymore, but I still use it.  For ubuntu for the desktop environment cause the unity desktop environment sucks I switched to lxde.  The reason being is that lxde is nowhere near as much of a system hog and it works pretty well and I like it.

However my question is for windows 7 are there alternative desktop environments people can download and use?  Preferably something that needs the least amount of system resources.


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## chesse20 (Nov 6, 2013)

You mean like that program that changes your desktop shit? I think it's called teardrop or raindrop or rainfall or some weird thing like that


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## Deleted member 82554 (Nov 7, 2013)

If you're looking for a GUI alternative to that of Windows, then try Zorin OS.


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## ToeClaws (Nov 7, 2013)

If you mean a replacement to the "explorer.exe" shell in Windows, no I don't believe there is any replacement.  Back in the Windows 9x days, it was possible to replace the shell with others like Lightstep, but the way the shell is integrated in the NT kernel makes it a lot more centric to the OS.  I've not heard of any way to replace it recently, but at the same time, I rarely use Windows anymore for anything other than playing games, so I've not looked in depth into it.


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## CannonFodder (Nov 7, 2013)

ToeClaws said:


> If you mean a replacement to the "explorer.exe" shell in Windows, no I don't believe there is any replacement.  Back in the Windows 9x days, it was possible to replace the shell with others like Lightstep, but the way the shell is integrated in the NT kernel makes it a lot more centric to the OS.  I've not heard of any way to replace it recently, but at the same time, I rarely use Windows anymore for anything other than playing games, so I've not looked in depth into it.


Crud.  Well at least it's not windows 8.


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## ToeClaws (Nov 7, 2013)

CannonFodder said:


> Crud.  Well at least it's not windows 8.



*chuckles* Yeah.  You know, the irony there is that for the first time since about NT 3.51, Microsoft did major work on revamping service-level programs under the hood of Windows 8.  Overall, the OS is faster, more stable and more efficient than Windows 7.  It's failure is the horrible insistence on two user shells with the preference always defaulting to the app-centric Metro interface.   If users had been given a choice as to which they wanted, it'd have done great based on the actual improvements.  Instead it's like slapping the rusted body of a 1984 Plymouth minivan on a good frame and decent engine then wondering why no one wants it.


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## Runefox (Nov 7, 2013)

Uh... Yeah. Most "desktop replacements" for Windows are going to be heavier and more crash-prone than Explorer in my experience. For that matter, Explorer itself doesn't take up much in the way of system resources; System services do most of the heavy lifting on that one. Where Linux is pretty lean and you typically add whatever extras you need, Microsoft tries to cover all the bases including basic malware protection, firewall, etc. Windows 8 is actually *less* of a memory hog overall, and you can bypass the need to use the Modern UI by using a start menu replacement if you really can't stand the idea of a full-screen start menu.


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## Lobar (Nov 7, 2013)

chesse20 said:


> You mean like that program that changes your desktop shit? I think it's called teardrop or raindrop or rainfall or some weird thing like that



You're thinking of Rainmeter.  It's not really an alternative environment, it's more of a desktop enhancement tool.


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## ArielMT (Nov 8, 2013)

ToeClaws said:


> If you mean a replacement to the "explorer.exe" shell in Windows, no I don't believe there is any replacement.  Back in the Windows 9x days, it was possible to replace the shell with others like Lightstep, but the way the shell is integrated in the NT kernel makes it a lot more centric to the OS.  I've not heard of any way to replace it recently, but at the same time, I rarely use Windows anymore for anything other than playing games, so I've not looked in depth into it.



LiteStep, and I'm so out of touch I have no idea if it's still around or not.  As long as you used a theme and modules that got away from the AfterStep wharf clone, LS was the best alternative Windows shell.


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