Discussion on:

Add a self-made Start button to the Windows 8 desktop

With this little hack you can get your Start Menu back or at least a reasonable facsimile - are you going to try it?

In Windows XP, Vista and 7, "All Programs" off the start menu had folders for applications, or groups of applications (e.g., all Open Office apps in one folder, all my printer utilities in another folder, etc.) It seems in all the screen shots that the list of apps is a flat list. I have over 400 entries, all logically grouped in about 50 folders in my All Programs menu. To have to scroll through such a huge list seems very inefficient. Is there still a way of having similar behaviour in Windows 8?

Before anyone suggests it, I don't think that typing in the first few characters is very effective, because I cannot always remember the name of some oddly-named utility, which is why I have it in a folder named by function (such as Network Utils).

Open control panel ,go to personalization,click on task bar,click on desktop and apply. When now go to desktop you will find a desktop icon on the task bar that will list in one place everything you can think of from programs to settings. If you dont like just a few clicks and you are back to hunting around for things . I hope this helps you and others .

they are at C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
Make a shortcut and pin it to the start menu.

Yes!!!!! This is exactly my position, with 300+ programs and odd utils that I need, you describe the way I have my box organized. Another reason to avoid the Win8 UI.

Create a new toolbar (right click the taskbar -> toolbars -> new toolbar) with the link to the start menu (C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs). That was the solution offered in a previous one of these discussions and I find it a great answer.

Don't ever uncheck that box if you do all of your work constructing the "new toolbar" will be lost. At least that is what happened to me on the consumer preview.

Maybe someone will write a shell with the Windows 7 UI fully implemented?

After all, Linix has a few different shells. Why not Windows?

nt

How about just installing Windows 7 instead of a "shell"? You can still buy it AND it's still priced like it was new so you can feel like you're still relevant.

nt

the same is said about XP but you can still buy that, too. Just $100 for 7 Home Premium. Ernie, you can keep your dad's Cadillac Brougham. No need to go out and buy the XTS.

here's how I checked

www.microsoft. com - - click on the hot link 'Store' -- click on the hot link 'Windows'

and you get a full page ad about Win 8 with a line 'Like Windows 7 only better' with all the prices.

Hover over the hot link on the left that says 'Windows' and you get the choice of two links "Windows 8' or 'Windows 8 Pro' - nowhere in the store is there Windows 7 available for sale or download.

I have left countless links to purchase Windows 7. If you are searching on Microsoft's Australia site it might be a different case there. Though from what I hear your Chinese neighbors can get you Windows 7 for a few dollars... even Aussie dollars.

Update: The Microsoft Store has Windows Home Premium for $119 (http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msstore/pd/Windows-7-Home-Premium/productID.235488300/vip.true), Windows 7 Professional starting at $199 (http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msstore/pd/Windows-7-Professional/productID.216645600/vip.true), and Windows 7 Ultimate starting at $219 (http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msstore/pd/Windows-7-Ultimate/productID.216647200/vip.true).

go to the Microsoft store online, enter "Windows 7" in the search box. It's still there.

here's how I checked

www.microsoft. com - - click on the hot link 'Store' -- click on the hot link 'Windows'

and you get a full page ad about Win 8 with a line 'Like Windows 7 only better' with all the prices.

Hover over the hot link on the left that says 'Windows' and you get the choice of two links "Windows 8' or 'Windows 8 Pro' - nowhere in the store is there Windows 7 available for sale or download.

on the Microsoft online store is unclear?

about Windows 7 in the footer area, and even did some searching via their search box and they did turn up some downloads for extras and the like. They also found some pages that no longer link in to anything else, as if they're old ones that are no longer valid.

Are you suggesting Microsoft are NOT showing everything for sale in their Store in the proper Store pages?

Anyway, average users will follow the basic front door access, which is what I did, and MS do not have Win 7 for sale any more.

BTW My son has an old link for a free three month trial version of Win 7 Enterprise that still takes you direct to the page which has no other links to it or from it.

You can still purchase Windows 7 from Microsoft.

In the store enter a search for Windows 7 and you will see links for the various versions of 7. Click on the link and purchase.

Example:

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msstore/en_US/pd/ThemeID.27509700/productID.216645600

nt

I even put a copy of windows 7 pro in my virtual shopping cart to prove it to myself. I can even order it from my smartphone.
End of discussion

The Microsoft Store has Windows Home Premium for $119 (http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msstore/pd/Windows-7-Home-Premium/productID.235488300/vip.true), Windows 7 Professional starting at $199 (http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msstore/pd/Windows-7-Professional/productID.216645600/vip.true), and Windows 7 Ultimate starting at $219 (http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msstore/pd/Windows-7-Ultimate/productID.216647200/vip.true).

here's how I checked and found Microsoft don't sell Win 7 any more - despite some old pages that aren't part of their shop now.

www.microsoft. com - - click on the hot link 'Store' -- click on the hot link 'Windows'

and you get a full page ad about Win 8 with a line 'Like Windows 7 only better' with all the prices.

Hover over the hot link on the left that says 'Windows' and you get the choice of two links "Windows 8' or 'Windows 8 Pro' - nowhere in the store is there Windows 7 available for sale or download.

I can't believe this Deadly Earnest guy, creating more "heat" than "light." CLEARLY..... Win7 is available for sale, from multiple weblinks. And all of them appear to be from the official microsoftstore.com website, as many respondents have already pointed out, to no avail. The earth is still turning, the sky has not fallen, and Win7 has not disappeared. Yet this guy just goes on and on, harping on about how you cannot buy this stuff that's obviously for sale, regardless of whether it was bought through "basic front door access" (whatever that means -- a jumble of words that can mean anything to anyone). AGAIN... for those a little slow or hard of hearing.... search by the method that JJFitz helpfully recommended (above).

Q. "Are you suggesting Microsoft are NOT showing everything for sale in their Store in the proper Store pages?"
A. Yes. Obviously Microsoft, like most corporations, has one hand not knowing what the other hand is doing. And does not cross-list every Win7 link on every page (nor should they, when Win8 is the main promotion). As JJFitz said, end of discussion.

A week or so ago I would have been all over this.

I'm getting tired of aiming for where the Start button used to be and clicking the first icon on the tool bar instead. Also, I've moved my Taskbar to left side, but of course the Start Screen hotspot remains in the bottom left. Now when habit sends me to the top left for the Start menu, I get neither it nor the Start Screen option. This button would eliminate both of those problems. But I took an oath to learn how MS intended this product to be used. Still, it feels like I'm fighting with it every inch of the way.

As i asked elsewhere, if all I'm going to do with the Start Screen is use it as an overgrown Start menu, is there any reason to not schedule the traditional desktop at boot and add this button? Maybe the Start Screen is capable of more and I'm just not aware of it. Maybe I'm aware of all it does, but nothing besides starting programs fits the way I use a computer.

I continue to maintain that removing all Start button functionality is sheer idiocy. People keep creating these types of hacks to get the "Start Menu" back, or writing programs that bring it back when all we really need is for MS to restore the functionality and give desktop/laptop users the choice of which one they want to use.

OR, hear me out, OR people can just install Windows 7 and use that.

I'm bookmarking this, might use it in our images.

Gods of us all, you're not deploying this, are you? What are you using, Ghost? Supposedly SCCM won't capture a W8 image yet.

A future plan maybe. To ease the transition. Also, this is a good idea for people using touch as well, touching is easier than "flicking?".

seems like a lot of hand-wringing over a minor change to me.... the future is coming, better to go with it than try to hold on to the past...

nt

nt

Palmetto gave me this link before.
It is very helpful in understanding where windows has come from and where it is going.
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2012/05/18/creating-the-windows-8-user-experience.aspx

and they don't really care about the desktop or the traditional business environment productivity processes at all. Well, that's what i get from the blog.

Thanks for the link.

"The Windows 8 user experience is forward-looking, yet respectful of the past. It reimagines what a PC is capable of, the scenarios for which it is optimized, and how you interact with it. It enables tablets and laptops that are incredibly light and thin, with excellent battery life, which you can use with touch and keyboard and mouse in any combination you prefer. It is also the most capable, lean, and usable OS ever to power desktop PCs and gaming rigs."

It may be capable and lean but it is NOT the most usable OS for a desktop PC or gaming rig

I am using Windows 8 on my custom built gaming PC. I upgraded the OS from Windows 7 to Windows 8 and I use it to play Call of Duty Black Ops II. The PC performance and game response are superb.
The PC boots up seconds and I am in the game in less than one minute.
Windows 7 on the exact same machine was never that fast.
I call that very usable.

I tried using a Win 8 trial copy and found it took longer to reach the applications and was horrid to look at due to the huge icons on the desktop. I've seen it on a tablet and it looked OK on the eight inch screen, but on the 24 inch monitor it was just ugly. The decreased productivity in regards to non touch applications were a major issue, and I hate to think how big a problem trying to use a large touch screen would be for my arms and shoulders.

(nt)

what I and many others have experienced with it. Who wrote made it a definitive statement as if it was a law of nature or a fact, and it isn't.

nt

the replies, don't it. And when you hit the take off line everyone gets confused about what the hell is going on in the new thread.

Are you listening TechRepublic?

nt

Weird how that works, innit?

Hold onto the past but whine incessently about the present (8 is here right now).

nt

Look what happened to Vista. There is no reason to whine, you either use what Microsoft puts out or keep using what you have. There is no law saying you have to use Windows 8. They will support Windows 7 for another 5 years, you can pick the newer version, Windows 9. They may have had time to notice the shrinking numbers and made a better version.

to consider alternatives, thus the need to comment.

BTW I do not use Windows at all now.

Edit to add - but am rebuilding a Win 98SE box to play some old games that won't work on any latter version of Windows.

"Edit to add - but am rebuilding a Win 98SE box to play some old games that won't work on any latter version of Windows."

So you're happy with an alternative OS and you are building a box with an unsupported 14 year old Windows OS.

Does that about sum it up?

Thanks

older games I'd like to play again and the best way to play them will be on the original OS which is Win 9x - thus I'm rebuilding a box, not yet put it all together due to other constraints on my time. The Win 9x games system will NOT be connected to the Internet, although it's likely to be safer than most of the modern Windows systems as the viruses that attack modern systems won't work on it.

So, I do NOT use a Windows system at all now - very plain and true, but am planning to have an old one for a games box - which is why I mentioned it. It is possible I may end up making the games box a DOS 6 one instead of Win 9x, it will depend on what will run on it after I build it.

nt

I then said I plan to build an old Windows game box - but that's for the future and not what's happening now - why is that so hard for you to work out and understand?

When corporate leaves MSoft, they will not come back. Many are still angry at Vista. No, I think this is the end of MSoft as the big guy.

Most companies just stuck with XP until Windows 7 came out. Microsoft has a strong foothold on the Enterprise. If you want corporate to drop Microsoft desktop, you will need a replacement that works significantly better than it on a Microsoft corporate network because Microsoft dominates the front end and the back end.
Linux has made some in roads but it's still very small compared to Microsoft.

I've visited businesses still using Vista. Once all the bugs were service packed they simply remained with Vista. I tend to upgrade my organization after a period of time but most businesses will continue until replacement parts are scarce or new technology is absolutely required.

Is run on most internet hosting companies computers, it's run at IBM, and other large companies. 8 of ten servers runs Linux. It's just the sheep are convinced that ms Windows is the "only game in town" for business desktops because it's all they've ever seen at home, except Apple, which isn't very strong in business AT ALL.
With Microsoft's now introducing an App store likke Apple (basically) where you have to pay for each and every component, it simply doesn't make sense to use them anymore, when free alternatives are sufficient. They're in it for the money, not for the vision of the future. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise, they have NEVER had their customers needs in mind, just the almighty dollar.
Time to stop the madness.

Need a shut down better more than a start button. Any way to do that?

Win 8 on my Aspire One has a shutdown button already pinned to the Taskbar. Maybe that's just something Acer did for its netbook version. I haven't seen any other versions of Win 8.

I'll try this hack because I like having a legacy Start screen for the netbook. Thank you, Greg. I don't like the idea of paying to add a Start screen.

The New Win 8 Start screen with its smartphone tile interface is a problem on my netbook because I have to scroll to the right to see the tiles over there, which is as pointless to me as having a touchscreen monitor on a desktop. After I moved all the important tiles to the left, I was able to access the Acer Desktop tile as soon as the tiled Start screen showed up.

Except for the missing legacy Start screen, I don't have any problems with Win 8's GUI. It seems intuitive enough, but because it was built for touch screens, it's not convenient for desktops or notebooks and netbooks.

And since I'm on the topic of touchscreens, I have to say that I bought an ASUS- Google Nexus 7 the other day, tried it out for an hour, got really POed by having to put my fingers all over the screen, and then just gave it (and the 3G SIMM card it needs) to my 16-year-old for Xmas. He loves Android and knew just what to do with it, but I hated it. Give me Windows any day (that doesn't mean that I love MS, just that I have no problems whatsoever understanding how to use Windows even though some of the ways in which the OS and its (and MS Office's) contemporary Win7 & Win8 GUIs have changed are annoyingly whimsical and pointlessly novel.

Make a shortcut to shutdown.exe.
Right click on the desktop screen and choose New > Shortcut.
Fill in the "Type the location of the item:" box with one of the following:
shutdown (logs of the current user)
shutdown -s (shuts down the computer)
shutdown -r (reboots after shutdown)
shutdown -t xx (sets the timer for system shutdown in xx seconds. The default is 20 seconds.)
You can combine the switches and have fun
For example: shutdown.exe -r -t 10 reboots the computer after 10 seconds.

Make the button pretty.
Right click the shortcut
choose properties
choose Change Icon
click OK if it complains
browse for an appropriate icon
click OK
click OK

Put it on the taskbar
Right click the shortcut
Choose Pin to Taskbar

Put it on the Start Screen
Right click the shortcut
Choose Pin to Start

Now you can shutdown from the desktop, taskbar, and start screen.

Have fun!

If you go into the Settings, Control Panel, System and Security, you'll see "Change what the power buttons do" under Power Options. You should be able to configure it for Windows 8 physical installations. On my Hyper-V install it is locked to either "Shut down" or "Do nothing".

I may not know what's new in W8, but I know what's already there in W7 and before.

Its a very old feature.
I'm not sure i 95 supported it, all my 95 machines had the old switch style.

But for about a year, I ran win98 on a 2.6 ghz machine before I finally got XP on it.

Goggle "superfast shutdown" - and install. Two quick ways to: reboot or shutdown. It's been on every machine I have had since XP.

As for the missing Start Button and menu, google "iobit startmenu8" - you'll never look back: almost the same and free...

Thanks for this: exactly what I was missing (from Win 8 pro). Everything I want in one easy place; truly excellent thank you.
Next pain is how to get out of some programs that take up the whole of the screen; at present the only way out is to use the Windows key - grrrrrrrrrrrrrr

it sounds like you're trying to close some of the new 'Metro-style' applications. If that's the case, move your cursor to the top center of the display. Click and drag down to the bottom of the screen, then release.

No, there is absolutely nothing in any previous Windows experience that would have prepared you for that.

If you want to close something, how about a big red "X" If you want to minimize it how about a nice minus button? and to resize how about a grab bar that YOU CAN SEE at the corner of a window? That way you can resize multiple windows to fit on one screen. Also, why would you want a menu to take up the whole screen and obscure open programs, when you could simply have cascading menus operating off of a simple button, such as .. whoa, what a concept.. a START button?
Also, I object to EVER using the Windows key, it's too easy to hit accidentally while typing, interrupting what you're doing. Making it NOW OBSCURE THE ENTIRE screen makes me want to RIP IT OFF the keyboard even more than I ever have before (and I've ripped them off of multiple keyboards, believe me.)

Go through all these steps, for something that should NEVER have been removed.

WIN 8 is not productive nor are any of the METRO styles, for our business style, we DON'T use touch and phones are phones not computers.

Microsoft have lost us as a client, here is what we have done....

Moved our users (115) to a flavour of Linux "Zorin 6" which has a UI that looks and works like WIN7.

We purchased Zorin 6 Ultimate with DVD media for NZ$30.00 and it has applications also When we can move to Linux flavor Zorin 6 Ultimate, "http://zorin-os.com/premium.html" for NZ$30.00 with DVD and Support per seat.

This includes Libra Office and a full range of Applications Business, Multimedia, Gaming, you don't need to purchase anything else.

And we will also be purchasing Ubuntu Server Advanced loaded or Zental Server "https://store.zentyal.com/" with all options.

The cost saving per user is around NZ$800.00 per user, and the server well we were very surprised, and our accountant loved the savings to the balance sheet.

Simple answer. Because of people like you. The Start Menu is a left over. With more people using tablets and smartphones the concept of looking for your applications in a menu is old school. Microsoft made the change because people complained the Start Menu was to messy, slow and basically not needed. If change makes you uncomfortable then IT may be the wrong career for you.

Changing from Windows to a Linux distro is no change at all, status quo really. Clearly change makes him uncomfortable. You certainly told him off didn't you...

Sorry but by enlarge, Computing is still done on desktops. Even the majority of laptop users never actually move their machines so they are just stylish desktops.. I have yet to see any professional write out a proposal or a presentation on a tablet. While these portable devices "may" have a place in the market, this is not where the work gets done. I have a great and powerful tablet... where is it? Sitting next to the stack of AOL CD's with dead batteries because after all the bling bling cool factor wears off, I am forced back to my desktop to actually get my work done. If I need access to files for quick reference... My new android phone (something I can carry without a huge fanny pack) fills that hole. I am forever seeing people trying to justify their expense and go through great pains to find some usefulness in them but eventually they end up back at the desktop. Touch based systems are great for handhelds.. but the laptop and desktop? We are going to have a whole lot of people with aching arms and shoulders from stretching to touch their nice ridiculously expensive touch screen monitors. As for the Start menu. All Operating systems including Ubuntu and MAC have an application launcher that does NOT steal the entire screen when you want to use it. Every time you hit the start button you get the impression that you just dumped out of when you were working in. EVERY OS has an application launcher. MACs have the bar and the Apps fly out ubuntu has their whacked version too and Gnome and KDE have standard application menus (start menu). The windows 8 start screen is nothing but a poorly planned, poorly organized, "slap a coat of paint on it and hope no one notices" attempt to be different. Virtually everyone from the developer preview to the consumer preview had been saying the metro interface was a colossal mistake. They could (and in my opinion should have) offered it as an "add-on" theme... made default on touch devices but not on the desktop version.

Assume by "by enlarge" you meant "by and large"...

Where it still categorizes the start menu, but doesn't make it look click-able, they just look like a few text entries in the start menu?

they're imitating. I'm using the Windows 2000 imitation at the moment and it looks and works exactly like my old Won 2K start menu does.

I noticed that the start menu...
when opened....

the right side looked the same as XP, but the left side showed software categories as plane text. giving no indication that they are click-able or expandable. A very windows 8 like problem. If I knew how to take screenshots in Zorin I would get a screenshot for you.

folder, it should open up with the apps - the same as that menu did in the Windows version.

I can show you what I mean when I get back to work where my Zorin disc is.

program called Save Screenshot, then just enter a name etc and save. You may have to check if you have it loaded or not.

The start button opens a text list of hot links, some a links to other lists and some are program launchers. If it has a black triangle on the right-hand side of the list, it's a folder type link. Hovering over a link should cause the list it opens to appear beside it, if you've not got the hover capability activated in the Properties, then clicking on the text link should open the list. The same process applies with the text items in the sub-window list too. If you have a few folders or levels it continues that way until you click on an application launcher.

I've got to rebuild and convert an old system I was recently given, so I'll try to remember and take screen shots as I go and do them up as a document to put up for people to look at.

I'd send you screenshots of my system, but I've got mine done up in a very personalised way that's very little like any of the standards. Might do that anyway.

Maybe the windows 2000 one has more visual cues to what is click-able.

You don't have to.
It looks like you found your solution.

Why did you switch to Zorin to get a Windows 7 interface? Couldn't you have stayed with Windows 7? When you get new peripherals will you be writing device drivers in-house? How much would it have cost to stay with Windows 7?

I use the Windows 7 Interface as I don't like the Gnome one and didn't pay for the version with Windows 2000 / Classic Interface, of the four available I prefer the Win 7 to look at over the Vista.

I have a client who has the Premium set up with the Win XP Interface and he uses WINE to run a few XP applications he needs for his business. They run well in WINE but don't run well in Win 7 XP Mode. Most of his staff don't realise Zorin OS isn't a new Windows version as it looks so like what they're used to.

The cost saving is great as well.

I suspect it's a good business strategy for you - staying out of the mainstream - because it makes your clients dependent on YOU. Not so sure it's a good business strategy for the clients, however. But, hey, the revolution has to start somewhere, doesn't it?

of the service calls to fix glitches etc. And they're happy that all their older peripherals work again.

It's probably saving them thousands of dollars. Even paying for the premium release of Zorin, they're saving software costs, as there are no (or minimal) licensing costs for the server seats, office suite, and other application software.

The vast majority of business users only need basic text and spreadsheet functions. Wordpad provides the first, and any basic spreadsheet program provides the second. For my part, I've never used the more complex functions available in any office suite. Heck, I don't know any spreadsheet users who have used more functions than sum() and count().

nt

My suggestion that a Zorin implementation might not be good for clients stems from my own situation. I'm basically a retired Data-Center, Desktop, Database manager for a very large company, who now supports a handful of small businesses, mostly for fun and to provide enough pocket change to support my tech habit. In my case, I'm keenly aware of the need for continuity for my clients, for when/if I decide to pull out of the game, altogether. Thus, I am not prone to leading clients down a non-mainstream path. Instead, I steer them down a path of simplifying their Microsoft environments by removing unnecessary servers and/or services (especially Exchange) and moving them to a cloud environment instead (e.g. Office 365). Note: They are all very small businesses, of 10 users or less.

I admit I have no experience with Zorin, and little experience with Linux, other than the Ubuntu Server I am running at home. Mea culpa...

Certainly a useful shortcut for the task bar. Combined with the fact that users can move the mouse to bottom left of the screen to get back to the start screen it gives users a nice experience and satisfies those who love to complain everytime something changes.

People, people, people

Time to change - and if you really like the start menu (same as me), I now just have to go with my mouse (no touchscreen yet) to the bottom left hand corner and the start screen - so much better than a start menu casue of the the brilliant functions) - appreas and I can click on it!!!

Also my desktop button on my start screen is bottom left - so it is easy to move to desktop mode!!

What a lovel Operating system - this Windows 8!!!!!

I would never use Windows 8 - I am a Linux lover - however I respect people who see a problem for users and then find a solution - looks nice and uses the OS features - god work.

Nice Article.
When will Microsoft realise that The speed gained in start-up is lost in the first few minutes of use. More movements to do the same, You now need two hands, so one hand on the phone and one hand on the mouse to do things is impossible. I predict the most used phrase for 2013 will be
"Do you mind being put on hold while I use two hands on the keyboard?"

Don't even get me started on Office 2013 headache - Literally!