Why Windows Still Has The Old Control Panel

Why are there so many old icons and user interface (UI) elements in Windows 10 and 11 - some of them even from the days of Windows 95?

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[skkele]

As an IT professional dealing with many different versions of Windows and Windows Server, the control panel being a commonality between all Windows versions makes things so much easier to manage.

[IrocZIV]

I prefer using the older control panels. The new system hides too many things in an effort to "look pretty"

[roychongg]

One of the main problems with Settings is that you can't open two windows of it. For example, if you want to personalize your system while updating Windows, you will have to navigate away from Windows Update to configure your personalization settings.

[Z_MIB]

I like the classic control panel, I deliberately go into it when I want to uninstall programs because it's more intuitive then the settings app.

[RyanDuffy]

As an IT support professional I use as much of Control Panel as possible. If they just reorganized it into Settings and gave it a new design to the current OS I wouldn’t mind.

But most of the time they reduce functionality or bury it under 4-5 additional menu clicks. I’m looking at YOU printers and keyboard language settings.

[georgibalabanov]

The thing is that when moving settings from Control Panel to the new shiny interface, some functionality gets lost or split in strange ways between control elements and links to other panels... Whatever guides MS are using, they need to be revised too :)

[Nenemon]

The old control panel is much easier to navigate and use than the settings application for me at least. It hides very little features and is much easier on the eyes than a ‘pretty’ looking interface. The options in the control panel also seem to be much more modifiable overall

[mongolusderiii.]

I love the old control panel, because everything is where it’s expected to be. The settings app hides to many important options and is just not intuitive in my opinion.

[originalcntent]

I think an advantage of having the control panel look older is that it scares people off from changing more critical things if they don't know what they're doing. For example, messing with sound inputs and outputs in the old school sound menu is discouraged for the average user who might accidentally change something they didn't want and be unable to change it back

[ddpwe]

The thing that blows me away the most, is when they 'introduce' new features, that have already been in windows, but they make them harder to get to. Absolute genius method! Changing old code that was simple and easy to use to something that is more complicated or convoluted to get to/use is what we have to deal with now.

[SomethingUnique]

Half of the settings isn't available in the newer UI and those settings which are available is hidden behind 400 clicks in random and non intuitive places.

[pr]

As someone who grew up on XP/Vista I always prefer Control Panel because I feel like it has way more control over the weird settings menu that feels like it was designed for tablets still.

[SkivaksXD]

control panel is superior! everything is where i expect it to be, not hidden behind hyperlink text at the bottom of some page after 3 tabs changes. all options are pretty much where it was back in win XP

[JustekGaming]

The old control panel is simple and straight forward, where as the new settings tab complicates and adds additional clicks and web searches where there shouldn't be

[-Brunnen-G]

The old control panel is easier to use. Sometimes I find difficult to locate a setting based on someone else's idea of where the settings should be grouped. If the new ui had the option to ungroup the features like the original control panel and quit redirecting you to yet another screen for other settings for the same thing and "advanced" options maybe it would be easier to navigate. Maybe there is a way to ungroup. If so, I can't find it. Since windows 10 they've been adding more and more clicks to get to simple things. Windows has always had a mildly convoluted interface, but they're making it extremely worse with each "upgrade".

[kellycc]

I don't mind if the old control panel hangs around, it's just an issue when a setting you need to change is missing from the new one. I can't believe how long it took them to move changing the monitor refresh rate into the new design from the old windows 95 style dialogue

[JohnHoggard_aka_DaddyHoggy]

I started with Windows 3.11 and I still find myself using Control Panel way more often than Settings in W10/11 - I thought it was simply familiarity - but I actually think Control Panel still gives better and more logical access to Windows functions.

[FBHSswimmer]

I prefer the old Control Panel over the Setting App. I like having the Large Icon view with everything in alphabetical order, rather than having them in groups and categories. That frame of mind has been with me since Microsoft introduced categories in Control Panel since the Windows ME and XP days. While yes Control Panel is old, but it works. I even had WinAero Tweeker add the old Personalization and Windows Update icons into Control Panel on my Windows 11 machine so I have easier access to them.

[colt]

I like the older control panel. It's really easy to navigate where you want to go. The modern version of doing it is very confusing and makes it hard to find things. They had a good thing going with Windows 7 and just had to keep making improvements on top of that instead of radically changing the whole thing to try and crossbreed with smartphones/tablets.

[eldibs]

I actually like the classic Control Panel. It displays everything without me having to scroll, so I can quickly find what I'm looking for. The Settings app, on the other hand, wastes a ton of horizontal space just to look neat. I don't need my settings to look neat, I need them to be functional and accessible!