You like the new Windows 8 mouse cursor scheme, but you are not quite ready to switch to the new OS? Well then, in this quick How-To article you’ll learn step-by-step how you can easily extract the cursor files and use them, in Windows 7 or a previous version Microsoft’s operating system.
Instructions
1. You’ll need to have access to an installation of Windows 8 Release Preview, then navigate to C:\Windows\Cursors, select and copy to a new folder all the .cur and .ani files where names start with aero_.
2. Rename all the .cur and .ani files by adding a letter or a number (e.g., 8) to the beginning of the file names. You need to do this so you don’t overwrite Windows 7′ default cursor files.
3. Move the mouse cursor files to a thumb drive and go to your Windows 7 PC. Connect the USB drive and then copy all the .cur and .ani files.
4. Navigate to C:\Windows\Cursors in Windows 7 and paste all the new files.
5. Now, go to the Control Panel and open Mouse.
6. From Mouse Properties, navigate to the Pointers’ tab and under Scheme select (none).
7. Under Customize you’ll see a list with all the different pointers, now just select each one, click Browse and select from the new cursor files. Once you are done, click Apply and OK to finish.
That’s all there is to it.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].