I'm rather fond of my gaming PC — an RTX 4070 Ti, 32GB DDR5 RAM, Windows 11 Pro, and... the Windows XP taskbar? Well, yes, but not really. After using your own PC in its most optimized state for a while, there comes a time when you just start doing things differently for the sake of it. I myself downloaded Windhawk so I could install all kinds of varied stylistic and functional mods to my Windows 11 OS, just so my desktop would feel different on a day-to-day basis.

Out of the many changes I've made to Windows 11 through Windhawk, my favorite party trick has to be the Windows XP taskbar. The big green Start button and the glossy blue finish have transported me right back to an era when desktop PCs felt fun and exciting just by existing. Surprisingly, the mod I've installed, and the app I've installed it through, haven't affected my operating system's functionality in the least, all while giving my seven-year-old self a giddy smile over having the green-and-blue taskbar filled with memories.

Windhawk turned Windows 11 into a weird XP hybrid

I expected a broken novelty, to be honest

Getting started with Windhawk is shockingly simple — I installed Windhawk, and immediately grabbed the "Windows 11 Taskbar Styler" mod. The next step was to head into the "Settings" tab of the mod, and simply select "WinXP" from the Theme dropdown menu. Immediately, my Windows 11 taskbar changed to the classic Windows XP version, complete with the exact same depth and roundness of the taskbar. In my head, I was expecting the entire thing to be nothing more than a novelty to whip out at parties. After all, when you force modern Windows into looking like an older version of itself, you're bound to lose basic functionality along the way. I expected my notifications to stop working, and for my beloved quick access toolbar to bid me goodbye immediately.

Thankfully, none of that happened here. The moment the XP-style taskbar loaded in with the chunky blue aesthetic and the classic-looking Start button, it looked excellent. It wasn't some janky skin stretched over the original Windows 11 taskbar, either. The entire thing looked like it had been built as an XP taskbar for the modern era, and for a second, I genuinely forgot I was still using Windows 11 underneath it all.

Nothing important actually breaks

It keeps all the modern Windows 11 conveniences intact

The fact that my Windows XP taskbar mod didn't break any of my usual Windows 11 functionality is what really made me confident about recommending it. All my pinned apps remained exactly where they were, but most importantly, the quick access toolbar still functioned normally. In fact, even the system tray adopted the XP theme, and I'd daresay it looked extraordinarily cute. I went into this expecting to sacrifice usability for aesthetics, but the mod gave me both at the same time. It's basically just the Windows XP taskbar running on top of modern Windows 11 convenience, which feels deeply cursed and blessed simultaneously, or blursed, as the kids call it.

Of course, I've decided to lean fully into the bit now. I fired up Wallpaper Engine and paired the taskbar with a looping Windows XP-style wallpaper just to complete the illusion. At that point, my desktop looked like it had fallen into a time machine, and gotten stuck between two different generations of Windows. I even tried recreating the old XP Start menu through Windhawk's "Start Menu Styler" mod but sadly, there isn’t a proper XP theme available for it yet. I'm still hoping somebody eventually fixes that.

There are so many more exciting mods I've tried already

Windhawk definitely needs to be on your Windows 11 system

The surprisingly endearing Windows XP taskbar mod isn't the only thing I installed through Windhawk, either. Every time I boot up my PC, my very own tailor-made version of the Windows taskbar and desktop greet me, thanks to the bevy of mods I have running at startup. For starters, my taskbar constantly displays my current CPU and RAM usage, which means I don't have to touch HWinfo or the Task Manager time and time again. It's not something I need to know all the time, but it sure does look nice plastered on the taskbar. Then there's the fact that the taskbar itself is on top of the screen, which has genuinely changed my workflow. My icons feel a lot closer now, not to mention the fact that every open window feels completely open. It definitely makes more sense in my head, but I stand by it.

Other additions and tweaks I've made include being able to middle-click on an open app's icon in the taskbar to close it instantly, and also turning my taskbar into the volume control center. All I need is to hover my mouse over the designated area and my scroll wheel instantly becomes a volume slider. Between these changes, the ever-glowing XP taskbar, and a whole host of tiny little tweaks I've made to the Start menu, its buttons, and my notification center, Windhawk has certainly proven to be a one-stop solution for customizing my Windows 11 taskbar the way I want.

My Windows 11 desktop finally feels personal again

At this point, I'm fully convinced that Windows customization is one of the best ways to make a PC feel truly yours again. Windows today has become so polished and standardized that most desktops end up looking nearly identical after a while. Windhawk is what changed that feeling for me. Now, my Windows 11 setup finally feels like my desktop instead of just another Windows installation on a fancy PC.

More importantly, it reminded me that PCs can feel playful, too, if you want them to be. Windows XP wasn't perfect, but it sure was unforgettable, and it had so much personality. Through a handful of mods and an aggressively nostalgic taskbar, I've brought a tiny piece of that feeling back to my modern gaming rig. A giant green Start button making me smile this much wasn't on my 2026 bingo card, but here we are.