To change back to the classic Friends List appearance, we'll be passing an argument to Steam when it launches. How long this trick will work is unknown... it is possible that at some point an update to Steam will cause it to ignore this argument and it will use the default appearance, or it may behave unpredictably.

Should this happen, just follow the same instructions and undo the changes and all will be well.

If you use a shortcut to open Steam, or you are afraid of editing your registry... you can bring back the classic Steam Friends List by adding a simple argument to the end of the shortcut.

1. Right-click on the Steam shortcut, and select Properties.
   
2. In the Shortcut tab, click inside the Target textbox and add -nofriendsui to the end.
   
3. Click Apply, then Ok to close the window.

If you installed Steam to the default directory, the full line should read:
Now when you open Steam from the shortcut, your friends list will use the classic appearance you are used to! If Steam is already open, you will need to exit it first.

To change how Steam opens when you login to your PC, you will need to edit the Windows registry to pass the -nofriendsui argument to Steam.

This is for advanced users. Nonetheless, it is wise to create a backup of your Windows registry before making any changes, should anything go terribly & horribly wrong.

1. Open RegEdit by clicking on the Start Menu and entering regedit and press Enter.
   
2. Click File, and select Export.
   
3. Give it a name, and under Export Range, select All to make a full backup.
   
4. Click Save.

Should anything go wrong, you can double-click on this file to restore your registry to what it was before you altered it.

1. Open RegEdit by clicking on the Start Menu and entering regedit and press Enter.
   
2. Use the left pane to navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
   
3. Double-click on the entry for Steam on the right, and add -nofriendsui to the end of the textbox.
   
   Assuming you installed Steam to the default directory, the full line should be:
   
   "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steam.exe" -silent -nofriendsui
   
   
4. Click Ok, then close Regedit.

You can save some clicks by creating a .reg file which makes the change for you.

WARNING: I have only tested this on Windows 7, and this assumes that Steam is installed in the default directory, C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\.

1. Open Notepad and paste in the following text:
   
   Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run] "Steam"="\"C:\\Program Files (x86)/Steam/steam.exe/" -silent -nofriendsui"
2. Click File, and select Save As....
   
3. Give the file a name, but make sure it ends in .reg. Example: OldFriends.reg
   
4. Below the filename, expand the Save As Type pulldown menu and select All Files (*.*). This part is important!
   
5. Close Notepad and Double-click the file you just created to execute.

• How to disable and use old Steam Friends UI?[steamskins.org]
  
• How to Access or Modify StartUp Items in the Window Registry[blogs.msdn.microsoft.com]
  
• How to Create a .Reg File for Easy Registry Hacks[www.laptopmag.com]
  
• How to Restore the Windows Registry[www.lifewire.com]
  
• My .reg file[theakbarhou.se]: Download/use at your own risk! Only tested on Windows 7, with Steam installed in the default location. Windows 8/10+ compatibility unknown. Right-click on the file and select Edit to view in Notepad.