How to Get Back WordPad in Windows 11 24H2 and higher

WordPad is deprecated and has been removed in Windows 11 24H2. This article tells you how to restore WordPad to Windows 11 24H2 and higher.

Here’s the official announcement from Microsoft.

WordPad is no longer being updated and will be removed in a future release of Windows. We recommend Microsoft Word for rich text documents like .doc and .rtf and Windows Notepad for plain text documents like .txt.

[Update – March 2024]: WordPad will be removed from all editions of Windows starting in Windows 11, version 24H2 and Windows Server 2025. If you’re a developer and need information about the affected binaries, see Resources for deprecated features.

WordPad: WordPad is removed from all editions of Windows starting in Windows 11, version 24H2 and Windows Server 2025.

References:

Restore WordPad to Windows 11 24H2

Option 1: Extract the WordPad binaries from the ISO

You can get the WordPad binaries from the 23H2 ISO. After getting the 23H2 ISO, see how to extract files from the Windows ISO using 7-Zip or DISM.

Extract all the files from the “\Program Files\Accessories\Windows NT” folder from the Install.wim or Install.esd inside the ISO.

│   wordpad.exe
│   WordpadFilter.dll
│
├───en-GB
│       wordpad.exe.mui
│
└───en-US
        wordpad.exe.mui

After extracting the files from the ISO, copy them to C:\Program Files\Windows NT\Accessories.

Accessories Windows NT folder contents

Note: en-GB and en-US for English versions of Windows 11. For other language OS, you’ll see the respective subfolder (e.g., zh-CN for the Chinese language and ja-JP for Japanese.)

If necessary, create a shortcut to WordPad in your Start menu or Pin it to the Start menu or Taskbar.

Launch WordPad.

Wordpad 24H2

Option 2: Download the WordPad files

Download WordPad.zip, which contains WordPad.exe, WordpadFilter.dll, and the respective .mui file for en-US and en-GB.

Unzip and extract the contents to your desktop.

Copy all files to C:\Program Files\Windows NT\Accessories.

Click Yes when prompted for the UAC confirmation.

If necessary, create a shortcut to WordPad in your Start menu or Pin it to the Start menu or Taskbar.

Launch WordPad.

Option 3: Download the WordPad installer from Win7Games

You can download the WordPad installer here.

https://win7games.com/#wordpad

(VirusTotal analysis.)

Related Posts

How to Get Windows 10 Classic Paint in Windows 11

How to Restore Old Classic Notepad in Windows 11

Get Old Classic Calculator in Windows 10 or 11

One small request: If you liked this post, please share this?

One "tiny" share from you would seriously help a lot with the growth of this blog. Some great suggestions:
  • Pin it!
  • Share it to your favorite blog + Facebook, Reddit
  • Tweet it!
So thank you so much for your support. It won't take more than 10 seconds of your time.

Ramesh Srinivasan is passionate about Microsoft technologies and he has been a ten-time recipient of the Microsoft MVP award in Windows Desktop Experience (Windows Shell), from 2003 to 2012. Ramesh founded Winhelponline.com in 2005.

...

1 thought on “How to Get Back WordPad in Windows 11 24H2 and higher”

  1. Want to install Word Pad, but the process is too complex. It asks for options I am unaware of (like click/tap) Moreover, some of the requested steps (like Download) do not respond to the cursor.
    I need help – but what I’m getting is confusion

    Reply

Leave a Comment