[Luis Dias]

yeah me too. i really liked 2000, even its color pallete.

[jr2]

So in XP, stop the Themes service and you were all set.

[Nuke]

^pretty much what i did. i always thought xp's theme was kinda of crappy anyway.

[Luis Dias]

i once read it described as "Fisher Price" and that kinda stuck with me ever since.

[Mongoose]

It really is kinda chunky, but I've been staring at it for so long now that it feels like home.  (Hell, the taskbar is even burned into this ****ty CRT. )

[MP-Ryan]

I find the nostalgia for XP/2k somewhat odd as I find Windows 7, both in architecture and GUI, to be far and away the best version of Windows MS has ever released.

[S-99]

Right click computer>properties>advanced system settings>advanced>performance settings>adjust for best performance. Have that old speedy windows interface back

[Klaustrophobia]

if animated windows are slowing your computer down, it's time for a new computer.

[Nuke]

I find the nostalgia for XP/2k somewhat odd as I find Windows 7, both in architecture and GUI, to be far and away the best version of Windows MS has ever released.

7 is totally solid, which is why i use it. but i think it has way to many things running in the background on a default install, and the ui is fancier than it needs to be, and its drive space usage is atrocious. then again im not going to delude myself into thinking that one version of windows is vastly different than the previous one. they might "improve"* or "update"** one or two parts of the system, and then re-brand it and sell it again. ultimately the only thing i get from upgrades is an os that works better with new hardware.

*may be interpreted as some by the more correct term "butcher".
**update may be troublesome, lower performance than the previous version or just plain unnecessary (if it aint broke dont fix it, remember what vista did to file copy performance).

[Dragon]

Actually, Windows 8 is higher performance than 7. My father also praised it for being cleaner from a programmer's POV, and for being lighter on both memory and CPU. I've installed it on my laptop, and I have to say it's pretty neat. The only problem is the interface, but I hardly use any "stock" apps, entirely relying on 3rd party software. I almost never use start menu anyway, and those things I needed it for are accessed by right-clicking the start screen button.