Windows 10: Installing Classic Paint onto Windows 11

I would like to install the Windows 10 Classic Paint onto my new Windows 11 computer.Any suggestions, help, or comments? I looked for answers to my question, but did not see anything. If there are answers to this question already, maybe someone could direct me to the correct area?Thank you so much.

:)

 

Have installed Classic Paint in Win 11 and would like to set it as default.

Have installed Classic Paint in Win 11 and would like to set it as default.

It appears in the list of Programs & Features in Control Panel and in Settings/Apps & Features, but not in the list to be able to set as default apps.

It would probably help to find out where it has installed but various searches have failed to find it.

As I have also changed the "right click" drop down menu back to that in Win 10, it would also be great to have it appear in the drop down list for "open with".

Any suggestions would be highly appreciated.

Profuse thanks in advance.

 

Set Classic Paint as the Default in Win 11

Hi John, my name is Neil and I'm a Windows 11 user like you.

I'll be happy to try and help you with this.

I think the easiest way to set it as the default App would be to locate any .BMP file (you can do .JPEG files after this) on your computer and then right click it.

Hover your mouse pointer over "Open with".

And then click on "Choose another app" (please ignore Classic Paint if it is in the list already).

See if you can locate Classic Paint in the list of Apps here. Do not click on it yet. Scroll down the Apps and click on "More apps" if necessary.

If you can see Classic Paint, first check the box at the bottom that says "Always use this app to open .BMP files".

Once this box has been checked, you can now click on the Classic Paint App.

From this point on, when clicking on any .BMP file it will always open under Classic Paint.

You can now do the same process for .JPEG files by following the same instructions as above.

If Classic Paint is not in the list of apps for you to click on, you will need to follow the same instructions as above up until AFTER you have checked the box at the bottom that says "Always use this app to open .BMP files", after checking the box, you will need scroll down the list of apps, click on "More apps" and then click on "Look for another app on this PC".

This will open a Explorer Window where you can locate the Classic Paint App .exe.

Now, the Classic Paint app could normally be found in: C:\Windows\System32\mspaint.exe

So navigate to this location and then click on "Paint.exe".

This will set Classic Paint as the default app for .BMP files. Follow the same instructions for .JPEG's if necessary.

Please do let me know how you get on or if you have any further questions.

Kindest regards,

Neil

 

Set Classic Paint As Default In Win 11 After 22H2 Update

Hello, RP2727



Welcome to Microsoft Community.

In the current version of Windows 11, it will be difficult to use the Windows 10 version of the Paint app (the classic Paint app) directly. Not only do you have to copy the Paint app from Windows 10 to Windows 11, but you also have to disable the Windows 11 version of the Paint app in Windows 11 settings, and most importantly, you'll need to change a lot of keys in registry editor. If you edit the registry incorrectly, serious problems might occur that could require a complete reinstall of the operating system and result in data loss.

Besides, Windows 11 will continue to be updated afterwards, and the previous ways may not work in subsequent versions. So, using the Classic Paint app directly in Windows 11 is not a good choice. If you still would like to do so, you can search for a way in third-party sites, since the way you found in this post Set Classic Paint as the Default in Win 11 - Microsoft Community doesn't work for you, and it looks like there are no other ways mentioned in Microsoft Community.

There's a workaround for your concern. I'm not sure if it meets your needs: Install Windows 10 as a virtual machine (VM) on your Windows 11 PC, so that you still can access the classic Paint app while using Windows 11. The steps to install Windows as virtual machine differs according to which VM platform you would like to use. For the steps in Hyper-V (presented by Microsoft), see Enable Hyper-V on Windows 10 | Microsoft Learn and Create a Virtual Machine with Hyper-V on Windows 10 Creators Update | Microsoft Learn (also applied to Windows 11 PC). As for other VM platforms like VMware or Virtual Box, see the steps on their official websites.

If you have a better idea about Windows Paint app, send feedback to Microsoft with the Feedback Hub app by pressing Windows logo + F at the same time on your keyboard. The Feedback Hub app lets you tell Microsoft about any problems you run into while using Windows 10. You can also send suggestions to help us improve your Windows experience.

Feel free to let me know if you have other concerns.

Best regards

Yuhao Li

Microsoft Community Technical Support