Windows 11 is now available. Still, some things are not sorted out. Users aren’t happy with the lack of taskbar drag and drop support and the new context menu is not user-friendly and ergonomic. In this article, we cover how to disable and re-enable the new context menu in Windows 11 with the registry method and Free app.
Microsoft said they reorganized the Windows 11 context menu and removed clutter, but for certain programs such as WinRAR, 7Zip, users need to access the “Show more options”
Developers should update their programs for entries to appear in the context menu, this is more hassle. WinRAR included modern context menu support in the beta version.
You may be using items from the old context menu more than the new menu. The most of context menu options in Windows 10 are not available in Windows 11.
Luckily, you can disable modern context menus and get back the legacy right-clicks menu by running Registry commands and with a free app, we’re covering both here.
2 Ways You Can Fix Windows 11 Context Menu
Registry method:
Disable new context menu in Windows 11
1. Open Run dialog by pressing Win +R
2. Copy and paste the below and press enter
reg.exe add "HKCUSoftwareClassesCLSID{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}InprocServer32" /f /ve
3. Click on the Task Manager icon on the taskbar, find Windows Explorer, and restart it.
Re-enable new context menu in Windows 11
1. Open Run dialog
2. Run the following and restart Explorer as mentioned in the third step.
reg.exe delete "HKCUSoftwareClassesCLSID{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}" /f
Windows 11 Classic Context Menu Program
Running registry commands is a one-time thing, but if you want to toggle between Windows 11’s new and old context menus, then you can fall back to a Free portable App called “Win11 Classic Context Menu v1.0”
Note: Restarting Explorer is required which is also provided in App UI
Using Win11 Classic Context Menu:
- Download the “W11classicMenu”: Zip file and extract its files to a folder
- Run the application by clicking on its executable.
- The app checks and shows whether your Windows 11 has a default or classic Context menu style enabled in a tiny window.
- You need to click on “Enable Win11 Classic Context Menu Style” and further hit the “Restart Explorer” button to see the changes right away.
If you now right-click on the desktop, you’ll notice the old context menu.
To restore modern or new context menu in Windows 11
- Open “Win11 Cassic Context Menu”
- Click on “Enable Win11 Default Context Menu Style”
- Click on Restart Explorer.
You can download Win11 Classic Context Menu from the Sordum website here.
More on Windows 11:
First look at Windows 11’s Redesigned Notepad
WinRAR 6.10 adds Windows 11 Context Menus support
Chrome is integrating its PWAs into Windows 11 & 10 for uninstall
Fix Windows 11 retains Windows 10 taskbar & breaks Start Menu after Upgrade
