Windows 8 tips: How to get your Start menu back

[Guest reklawthgin]

Easily the most dramatic change made to the latest version of Windows was the decision to remove the Start button from the bottom left corner of the operating system’s Desktop view. While the change makes a lot more sense on a touch screen device, the choice to just flat out remove a staple of the OS has caused some coping issues with long time Windows users. .

If you’re using a mouse and keyboard, and are somehow unfamiliar with the Windows key on your keyboard, reaching the Start screen from the Desktop is a two step process. And then when you get to the new Metro-ified Start screen, it might not be what you want — those live tiles are great for new and social, but those aren’t always what you are looking for.

Fortunately, there are no shortage of software developers that have stepped up to the task of rescuing the Start button and it’s menu options from the depths of Windows 8.

Power 8

Because the Start Menu itself has changed quite a bit over the years, there’s a lot of flexibility to be had when developing a replacement for it. Power 8 is specifically designed for Windows 8, making sure to offer the Start button with tools and features that play well with the rest of the new OS. The first thing you see when you open Power 8 is a list of programs, with the ability to pin them quickly to your taskbar. Over time, you would probably be less likely to use the Power 8 button for everything, since your applications would all be pinned to the taskbar for rapid access.

There’s also a file manager UI baked into Power 8 that does a good job of letting you quickly navigate your file system without having to double click through a bunch of folders to get what you want. This would appeal to anyone who stores a lot of content locally and wanted a fast way of accessing things that were buried deep within other folders. Power 8 also includes one click access to things like the shutdown, hibernate, and lock screen functions, which aren’t quite so accessible in the stock configuration of Windows 8 with a mouse and keyboard.

Power 8 is available for free, with the source code available to anyone who contributes to the project.

Start Menu 8

If we were handing out awards for the neatest looking Start button icon replacement, Start Menu 8 would win it. The software is designed to be as flexible as you need when setting up your own personalized start menu. You could almost use Start Menu 8 as a complete fullscreen replacement for the desktop, though that is certainly not the intended purpose. Start Menu 8 includes a somewhat unique feature, in that it allows the computer to boot straight to the desktop to give the whole experience a feel that is much more like “traditional” Windows experiences.

The design is such that you should never feel the need to use the Windows 8 Start screen at all. Your programs, settings, and folder system are all accessible here, as well as all the Control Panel features and screen controls. Of course, there’s nothing stopping you from using the Windows 8 Start screen and switching between the two experiences is pretty simple. Pressing the Windows key on the keyboard will still return you to the new Windows 8 Start, which neatly allows yout o contain both experiences.

Start Menu 8 is available for free, but there are no shortage of hooks in the program to try and get you to upgrade to the pro version.

Classic Shell

Some users have been unhappy with the Start Menu for a lot longer than others. The team at Classic Shell have been implementing their own version of the Start Menu since Windows Vista. With that much time comes a lot more in the way of enhanced features and stability when faced with unique situations. It’s also translated in 35 different languages and offers a wealth of documentation for using the advanced features.

Everything about the UI for Classic Shell can be modified. The default UI reminds me of early Windows XP, even Windows 2000 in some areas. Every part can be skinned, themed, and altered to look however you like. The settings for this start menu are incredibly granular and even allows for control over the animations as you move from menu to menu. For Windows 8, you can do away with the Modern UI entirely with Classic Shell and come about as close as possible to completely reverting to a Windows 7 or earlier workflow. Of course, if you still wanted to take advantage of things like Windows Store and the apps that go along with it, Classic Shell makes that easy.

Classic Shell is free, and from what I can tell by browsing their website, very well supported by the community should you encounter any problems.

Start 8

One of the things about not having a Start button on the desktop that is so frustrating to many early adopters is that the very first public test release of Windows 8 actually had one! It still re-directed you to the Start Screen that we see today, but the button was there for anyone who wanted to use it. Start 8 took that one step further, and implemented an experience that gently blends the Windows 8 Start Screen and the UI that every Windows user is already familiar with.

Apps, using the same icons that are generated in the Start Screen, populate the Start 8 menu. Everything about the UI meshes very well with the rest of the Desktop UI, right down to the use of flat colors and simple animation. It also offers all of the same functionality that was available on the Start menu in Windows 7, including the Control Panel and shut down functions. In my opinion, Start 8 is what traditional Windows PC users would expect from the next version of Windows.

Start 8 has a free 30 day trial, but is available for $4.99 on the Stardock website or get it for free here

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ViStart

When Windows Vista came pre-loaded on PC’s, there were several companies that offered the ability to downgrade back to XP almost as an apology for including the OS on their products. ViStart looks and feels almost exactly like that for Windows 8, only it’s designed to work as far back as XP. Everything about the UI looks like the classic style Aero Glass experience out of the box, with open theme tools available so third parties can release custom UI’s for the program.

If you were to install ViStart on a Windows 8 system before handing it to them, the user would have a difficult time telling you that they were using Windows 8. Unfortunately, even on a high end system, there were points in which ViStart lagged out or crashed altogether. At one point, a complete reboot was required in order to restore ViStart to a functional state.

ViStart is completely free, but the quality is not great. To make matters worse, their installer includes a lot of pre-selected options to install unrelated third party software that many users would likely glaze over during installation.

Pokki

If you’re going to re-invent the wheel and bring back the Start menu, you might as well do it with some style and make sure yours stands out, right? Pokki is more than an unusual name, it’s a completely fresh take on a Start Menu. Pokki’s UI creates a self contained user experience that allows you to be as simple or as complex as you like. Your Start Menu can be just an application launcher, it or can be the launchpad for your twitter feed, the portal for your email, and a quick launch dock for your favorite apps.

Pokki takes the Desktop experience and adds notifications, just like you would expect in your mobile experience. As a Start button replacement it is a cool animated tool, but it is also designed to work well with touch. It takes all of the features of Windows 8 and bundles them up in a tool that is much easier for someone who has never seen Windows 8 to understand. Of course, if you’re just looking for a Start replacement, Pokki serves as a quick and pleasant to use menu that grants access to shut down as well as file management and Control Panel.

I would have expected to pay for Pokki, and was surprised to see that it was not only free, but requires the least effort to install and use out of the batch of Start replacements that were tested.

These options should be more than enough to quench your thirst for a Start menu in Windows 8. And, don’t forget, some PC vendors are including Start menu-like tools with their Windows 8 systems in an effort to differentiate their offerings and satisfy users who miss the operating system’s most prominent feature.

Say thanks if you found this post useful

[Guest uftguy001]

thanks! I should have read this tutorial before installing windows 8. I donno why microsoft has gone this way..love windows 7

[Guest sae24393]

Free Win8 Startup : http://www.startmenux.com/index.html

[Guest U2CAR]

Thanks for nice post :).

[Guest silver_fox]

great programs

[Guest lack1]

Free Win8 Startup : http://www.startmenux.com/index.html

thank you

[Mohandez Ahmed]

great info

[Guest Hijrew]

Thanx will help my customers that aren't used to win8 and also will try them all on my system gotta love dodads..