7 Ancient Apps You Can Still Use In Windows 11 Xda Developers

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Oct 30, 2025, 12:44 AM

7 ancient apps you can still use in windows 11 xda developers

Software evolves in both user interface and functionality, or it gets replaced with new technology. Take Microsoft Word, for example. It has undergone countless changes and looks nothing like it did when it first debuted in 1983. The theory of evolution applies not just to us as a species, but also to the things we create. However, some software has seen little to no change since its debut and has still managed to survive. In fact, many applications that are over two decades old remain fully functional on Microsoft's latest operating system, Windows 11.

Many Microsoft discontinued apps were a lot more stable and reliable than the ones we have today. Here are some forgotten gems that simply worked. Disk Cleanup is a computer maintenance utility included in Microsoft Windows designed to free up disk space. It was introduced in Windows 98 and has been a part of Microsoft Windows ever since. While Windows 11 introduced Storage Sense for automated cleanups, Disk Cleanup persists as a manual, granular tool for advanced users. It excels at deleting system restore points, temporary files, and outdated Windows Update remnants — features Storage Sense lacks.

You can access Disk Cleanup by simply searching for it in the Start menu. Windows Media Player first made its debut as part of an optional package in Windows 3.0. Over the years, it grew into a full-featured media player. Back in the days of Windows XP and Windows 7, it was your all-in-one solution for playing DVDs, organizing your music collection, ripping CDs, and even syncing some music players. Even today, many people still turn to it for those classic tasks. All things considered, the world of computer tech is still relatively new, and products have come and gone very quickly.

A lot of software that was once essential has been superseded by alternatives and either been discontinued outright or simply fallen into obscurity, sometimes even morphing into something completely different. That second half is what we're talking about today. You may now know it, but many apps that used to be all the rage back in the day are still alive and... well. They certainly don't have the popularity they used to, but they can still be used on Windows 11 and have their diehard fans. Let's take a stroll down memory lane to remember some of these apps.

I mentioned all three of these in the same breath because they're all very similar kinds of apps. Media players for Windows used to be pretty major when Windows Media Player lacked support for so many popular video and audio formats, and for music, many of these players offered better ways to... Eventually, though, Windows Media Player got better, and where it didn't, VLC Media Player became the de facto media player that pretty much everyone uses, not to mention a lot of media these days... Foobar2000 and RealPlayer both live on with pretty much the same spirit as before, but far less popularity. VLC is the most popular cross-platform media player for a reason (or a few). Some things never get old.

And some things do, but they age incredibly well. Even as Windows has changed and evolved significantly over the years, there are some programs that remain very useful to this day, whether it's because Windows 11 doesn't support certain features, because the official... If you're an old-school kind of Windows user, here are a few tools you'll want to check out on your PC. If you want to get things done quickly, keyboard shortcuts are incredibly useful. Launching apps with the press of a couple of keys saves you a ton of time, but Windows can't really do that out of the box. Thanfully, Hotkeyz can help and while it's an older piece of software, it's still one of the easiest and most convenient ways to create hotkeys for launching apps and tasks.

You can work faster and more efficiently using these shortcuts and automations. It's very straightforward. Choose a name for the shortcut, enter the path for the command, choose parameters if you need to, and set the keyboard shortcut you want to use. A lot of the default keyboard shortcuts Hotkeyz comes with have been overridden by Windows features, but you can easily edit them, and otherwise, the program still works great. The only notable downside is it won't be able to launch packaged apps managed by the Microsoft Store, but if you care about old-school apps, you probably don't care about the Microsoft Store all... Windows has been around since 1985, so it should come as no surprise that the operating system is a veritable treasure trove of computer history.

Windows has been home to hundreds of apps that no longer exist, but dozens are still available — and still functional — despite numerous iterations and system updates. And here's the kicker: many of these apps offer functionality unlike anything you can find, and they're more than worth the (slight) effort required to install and run them. Sure, something like Volumouse might not sport all the bells and whistles of a brand-new Windows 11 app, but it's still one of the best solutions I've found for controlling computer volume on the... Volumouse is a nifty program that first entered the scene in 2004. It provides users with more granular volume control, just by rolling the mouse wheel. It relies on a specific hotkey to be pressed before the mouse wheel controls the volume; the rest of the time, the wheel functions exactly as you expect.

Volumouse works on all versions of Windows after Windows 95 and offers features specific to certain versions. For example, I could control window transparency in Windows 2000 or XP with the application (supposedly — I didn't test that particular feature). I can also control screen brightness, adjust mixer levels for specific applications, and much more. Plus, Volumouse has a seriously nostalgia-inducing user interface that makes me long for the good old days. Windows has many strengths, but completely clearing out old files isn't one of them. Display Driver Uninstaller, affectionately shortened to DDU, solves that problem.

Fair warning: this application is a bit more niche, but it's particularly handy if you're installing a new GPU. Any leftover drivers from the old GPU can cause setup snags or bugs that leave you pulling your hair out trying to find the source. I once had Fabio-style hair, and then I upgraded my graphics card. DDU has been around for a long time and still boasts an active community behind it. It's built to ensure no trace of your previous GPU remains, which means installing a new one is significantly easier. Best of all?

The app is totally free to download and use. If you are planning any PC upgrades in your future involving your graphics card, this is one you don't want to overlook. Windows 11 may be the "latest and greatest" operating system from Microsoft, and truth be told, it is a great OS. However, as Windows evolves many of its included tools change, and in many people's eyes, they don't always change for the better. Thankfully, the community of users and developers thrives in these changes and finds solutions that let you bring back the way things used to be. If you just want something that works, is fast, and feels familiar, there are a lot of tools that can help make Windows 11 feel like home again.

If you're not sure where to start, we're here to help with a list of tools that can be brought back by third-party apps. I know, I know, Windows Vista probably brings up a lot of traumatic memories for people. But it did have some cool ideas, and Gadgets did live un in Windows 7 before Windows 8 came around and did away with them. Thankfully, GadgetPack is a new tool that brings Gadgets back to Windows 11 (and 10), but not just with the classic style you know them as. Many of the included gadgets have been modernized at least partially to fit in a bit better on Windows 11, and it all looks pretty cool. There are a ton more gadgets than there were before, too, including a clipboard history that arguably works even better than the built-in Windows version, a battery meter, CPU monitors with support for multiple...

It makes gadgets actually interesting, and it seems like the tool is still actively supported, so we might be seeing even more get added over time. Microsoft recently replaced the classic Windows Media Player with a new Media Player app that looks and works very differently from before. The classic Windows Media Player is still there (now with Legacy appended to its name), but since it's no longer updated, it probably won't work with all your music and videos. Much of Windows is cobbled together from parts from the past. There are decades-old Windows tools that are still useful today, menus that haven’t changed since Windows 7, and choices all over the OS that reflect Windows' focus on backward compatibility. If you look closely enough, you’ll also find traces of decades-old technology in Windows 11.

These have no practical use today, but are fun to explore and enjoy a nostalgia trip with. Once you’re connected via Wi-Fi or Ethernet, you likely don’t visit the internet settings in Windows 11 often unless you have a problem. You thus might have missed the Dial-up option under Settings > Network & internet, right alongside the modern options like VPN and Mobile hotspot. That’s right—Windows 11 supports the old-school internet connection technology that everyone who had a computer in the 1990s will remember. Clicking Set up a new connection opens the old Control Panel box, which still has a Dial-up option. When I try this, Windows tells me it can’t detect a modem.

While you can get USB modems on Amazon, you’ll also need a service provider to connect to. This year, the legendary AOL ended its dial-up service, which began in 1991. There are three main options remaining: Windows 11 is touted as a modern, user-friendly operating system. But if you dig just under the nicely designed skin, you can find features that have remained the same for decades. Here are some ancient Windows features you can still find and use in Windows 11.

Some have been hanging around, unchanged, since the late 80s. The Command Prompt, or cmd.exe, was the default command-line tool in Windows. It was first introduced over 35 years ago, way back in 1987, with the Windows NT version introduced in 1993. Although its look has much improved over the years, it is essentially the same tool that appeared in Windows XP. With Windows 11, Microsoft finally moved to combine Command Prompt with PowerShell. This new all-in-one Windows terminal tool is now the default when trying to run Command Prompt in the latest versions of the OS.

Even so, the old Command Prompt remains and can still be used if you change a few settings in the Windows Terminal. Check out our beginner's guide to the Command Prompt to learn more about how to use this old, but venerable tool. While the argument could be made that Microsoft has included some questionable apps in Windows over the years (and still does), some that the company has deprecated or flat-out abandoned were actually useful. The company has a habit of unceremoniously removing apps it deems inadequate. Some decisions are welcome, like putting Internet Explorer out to pasture. Other apps and features were helpful, and their removal isn’t appreciated.

7 Ancient Apps You Can Still Use In Windows 11 Xda Developers

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