5 ancient parts of Windows 11 that haven’t been updated in decades

• Computer Management
• Registry Editor
• Character Map
• Mobility Center
• Screensavers

Windows 11 might’ve only been released to the public back in 2021, but the technical underpinnings of the desktop operating system extend decades into the past. The NT kernel, which lies at the heart of the Windows platform, dates back to the ’90s, and subsequent generations of the OS have all built over top of their predecessors.

With all these layers of code — both modern and legacy — stacked on top of one another, it’s perhaps no surprise that 2025-era Windows 11 suffers from notable visual design inconsistencies. Some parts of the system, like the Windows Shell (taskbar, Start Menu, and other user-facing UI surfaces) are built using contemporary codebases; many other system elements, by contrast, haven’t been refreshed in several years.

Thankfully, Microsoft is slowly but surely working on modernizing the entirety of Windows 11, with the company continuing to bring dark mode support and refreshed Fluent Design and WinUI 3 design principles to previously-untouched parts of the OS. Here are five ancient corners of Windows that I hope to see be rejuvenated sooner rather than later.

Computer Management

Managing a PC doesn’t have to be so drab

Computer Management is a core element of the Windows 11 platform, serving as a one-stop-shop for managing system administration tools, viewing event logs, scheduling tasks, controlling user accounts, monitoring hardware performance, and much more. Admittedly, most casual PC users have little need for Computer Management’s feature set, but it’s still an important part of the operating system that deserves to look and feel up-to-date.

As it currently stands, Computer Management is one of the oldest-looking parts of Windows 11 from a user interface perspective. Aside from lacking dark mode and color theming support, the application is stylized with archaic icons, it features a UX that’s adversarial to touch interactions, and it isn’t the least bit responsive to window resizing. Worst of all, the app’s text appears slightly blurry on modern PCs with high-DPI displays, owing to a lack of optimization for modern-day screen resolutions.

Registry Editor

Even power user interfaces deserve to look nice

The Windows Registry Editor is a power user feature within Windows 11 that allows you to modify and configure various elements of the operating system’s settings and programs. Via its hierarchical organizational structure and its use of administrative privileges, the Registry Editor is incredibly powerful (and potentially dangerous to fiddle with if you don’t know what you’re doing).

Unfortunately, the modern Registry Editor is a classic Win32-style application through-and-through, with no dark mode or color theming, subpar touch support and windows scalability, and a serious lack of animations or other user-friendly UX design considerations. Sure, Microsoft would probably prefer you stay far away from the Registry Editor altogether, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t deserve a fresh, modern-feeling interface to call its own.

Character Map

In need of a serious UI revamp

Character Map is a legacy part of the Windows 11 OS that pools together symbols, special characters, accented letters, and other lesser-used glyphs within a single, centralized location. The utility can come in handy when the occasional need to type an obscure character arises, but its end-user experience is regrettably quite antiquated. As with other entries on this list, Character Map’s user interface hasn’t been touched in years, and it sticks out like a sore thumb in 2025.

To be fair to Microsoft, it does provide a modern character selection tool in the form of the Emojis and more panel, which allows you to select emojis, GIFs, symbols, and more from within a flyout that also contains your recent clipboard activity. Of course, this isn’t a full-fledged replacement for Character Map, nor is it trying to be. For the time being, if you’re looking for a truly modern character picker experience for Windows 11, consider downloading the third-party Character Map UWP app for free from the Microsoft Store.

Mobility Center

Does this even need to exist anymore?

Windows Mobility Center is a single-windowed dashboard that provides quick access to display brightness, volume, power profiles, screen orientation, and several other useful tools, each contained within its own tile. The feature first arrived on the scene in the Windows Vista days, serving as an analog to modern-day quick settings panels with the intent of being used primarily on tablet PCs.

Unfortunately, Mobility Center failed to evolve with the times, now existing as a relic of Windows’ storied past. Today, the feature has been well and truly superseded by the Windows 11 Quick Settings panel, making for the obvious question: why keep this eyesore of an interface around when it serves such little purpose? To be fair, Mobility Center does allow third-party OEMs to plug into it with additional quick settings tiles; I’d personally love to see an analogous developer API for third-party tiles make its way over to Windows 11’s modern Quick Settings experience.

Screensavers

Lost but far from forgotten

I’ve lamented Microsoft’s shunning of the Windows screensaver experience in the past, but it bears repeating. The feature hasn’t been updated in years, to the point where the flyout displays a hilariously old-fashioned graphic of a cathode-ray tube (CRT) monitor within its user interface. The flyout itself is downright ancient looking, with no modern design principles or integration with Windows 11’s modern Settings application.

Worse still, the out-of-box selection of screensavers provided by Microsoft in fresh installations of Windows 11 is downright depressing. Over the years, many iconic screensavers like Pipes, 3D Maze, Flying Windows and Starfield Simulation have been gutted from the operating system, leaving the present-day selection an emaciated shell of its former self. Sure, screensavers might not be a technical necessity in today’s day and age, but I can’t be the only one who loves a good idle display animation on my PC.