Get back Classic Sticky Notes After Installing Windows 10 Anniversary Update

With the Redstone update, Sticky Notes has been transformed into a modern (UWP) program with new features added. The original desktop version of Stick Notes is discontinued and the last desktop version of the StikyNot.exe is 10586.494.

stick notes modern vs classic desktop
The above is the minimum width you can set for the modern Sticky Notes, which can be very inconvenient for users.

To learn how Sticky Notes has transformed in the Windows 10 Redstone update, check out The Ink Canvas and Ruler: combining art and technology | Building Apps for Windows and New and improved Sticky Notes.

Sticky Notes Old vs New – Which one do you prefer?

Modern Sticky Notes

If you prefer the new Sticky Note UWP app and want to convert your legacy Sticky Notes data file (StickyNotes.snt), there is a neat trick to transfer/convert it to the new database file format. Check out the article Convert Old “Sticky Notes” Data to New format in Windows 10 for more information.

Classic Sticky Notes

If you’re not going to use the new features (Cortana integration, Ink) of the modern Sticky Notes app, you can get the classic desktop version (StickNot.exe) after upgrading to the Windows 10 anniversary update (v1607) build.

If the C:\Windows.old…Windows\System32 directory is still intact, simply copy “StikyNot.exe” to your Windows\System32 folder and create a shortcut to it on your desktop. Also, make sure you copy StikyNot.exe.mui file from “Windows\System32\en-US” folder (for English language version of Windows), and place it in the same path in the target computer. The program still works in Windows 10 version 1607.

Another option would be to obtain the ISO image of 10586.494 (preferably) and extract the two files StikyNot.exe and StikyNot.exe.mui using 7-Zip or similar archive utility.

If none of those options are feasible, you may download it from this site.



Download StikyNot.zip (StikyNot.exe file version 10586.589).

Related Articles

Backup and Restore “Sticky Notes” Data File in Windows 10

Convert Old “Sticky Notes” Data to New format in Windows 10

Re-Enable Sticky Notes Delete Confirmation Prompt in Windows


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Ramesh Srinivasan is passionate about Microsoft technologies and he has been a consecutive ten-time recipient of the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional award in the Windows Shell/Desktop Experience category, from 2003 to 2012. He loves to troubleshoot and write about Windows. Ramesh founded Winhelponline.com in 2005.

40 thoughts on “Get back Classic Sticky Notes After Installing Windows 10 Anniversary Update”

    • @Andres: I noticed that as well. Only way to close it is by pressing Alt + F4. No idea about colors though.

  1. I upgraded my PC, new everything, installed fresh Windows 10 onto my new SSD. Now i’m in the process of transfering files and programs from my old HD to my SSD, and i can’t find the actual Stickynotes app to move over. I can open the modern version on my SSD but i hate it, and it wont link to my StickyNotes.snt which has my data on it, i don’t really want to lose those. If i run my machine off my old HD all my Sticky notes pop right up on my desktop like normal, i’d like to know how to access that data from my SSD

    Reply
  2. Put your .snt file in both the old and new locations after you move the stikynot.exe to the system diretory before you run it. It adds your old notes. Any new notes added using the old app, you will need to cut the font from an old note to change it. New notes added using the old app can’t seem to be deleted but who knows what will change with each new update?

    Reply
  3. I have the same issue as Andres. I can no longer change the color of the notes nor delete any notes which is really frustrating. Any way to solve this issue?

    Reply
  4. I had the Windows update but there was no windows.old file that I can find anywhere. I managed to hunt down the stikynot.exe file but can’t find the SNT file anywhere. Please help!

    Reply
  5. Please ignore my last comment. I have officially tried all of the steps including using information from the provided links such as techflute and deskmodder but still can’t delete the notes. I have 4 notes open and only want to delete 2 of them, not them all.

    Reply
  6. Please help me! I still have the same issue as before. Everything is perfect now except I still cannot delete any of my sticky notes. I have 4 open and want to get rid of 2 (not all) of them.

    I have done every single thing listed here including any instructions from other links that were given and I have checked that I did all the stops properly. Also, my mui file is in the en-US folder…Any other suggestions?

    Reply
  7. Hi,

    Your instructions were great, I have the old stickynotes back and I like it much better than the new updated version. However I am having trouble with being able to delete a note. Every time I open a new note, it will not let me get rid of it so they keep accumulating…any way to help that? I don’t want to delete them all.

    Reply
  8. I would also like to pitch in and confirm that it’s impossible to close any notes made. Also, you can’t change the colour of the notes either. Until this is rectified, I suggest you add a disclaimer to the guide that it isn’t fully functional at the moment.

    Reply
  9. Stopped working after December 2018 feature update to Windows 10 Home 1809 (OS build 17763.194). I copied it into the System32 folder (including the mui file to the en-US folder) as usual after bigger update, but it won’t run. The task is starting for a second or two, either displaying name Sticky Notes when MUI file is present, or no name at all f I delete it, there’s no icon and it silently ends without ever showing anything. Any ideas how to fix it?

    I tried downloading SNTSearch.dll, doesn’t help.

    Reply
  10. So, apparently you need old dui70.dll (b2e22260e4238371b90a1ad8d85804d1) and en-US\dui70.dll.mui (53c978bed543b4716925f6a361887fda) as well in the executable folder. The new dui70.dll is incompatible, so you’d better move it out to different folder. Just put these four anywhere (like C:\Program Files (x86)\stikynot\) and you’re golden:

    b2e22260e4238371b90a1ad8d85804d1 *dui70.dll
    42e7a1e58b1708de50db56dfbe061ab3 *StikyNot.exe
    53c978bed543b4716925f6a361887fda *en-US\dui70.dll.mui
    a4ba35f4eb39a76e3067d840258bcd94 *en-US\StikyNot.exe.mui

    (if you use another language of Windows, you need the corresponding .mui files, or to rename the folder to your language code obviously)

    Reply
  11. I hit a dead end because my *en-us is restricted to the administrator.
    Being a stand-alone, I AM the administrator. (Yes, I have the permissions.)
    I can’t change nor modify permissions, either, because (wait for it) I must be an administrator.
    So I’m dead in the water here. Any suggestions on this step? Make me ACTUALLY an administrator?

    Reply
  12. The new one takes too long to open and stores notes when closed, I don’t like that. There’s already a program for taking notes that I want to keep, it’s called notepad.

    Reply

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