Is it possible to bring back the XP Start Menu in Vista?

[Rigby]

If you have trouble finding programs you really need to learn to organize your start menu. I can't believe how many people just leave all the entries the way installers place them. I've seen start menus so huge they stretch 4 or 5 columns across the entire screen, it's insane. Here's my start menu:

Accessories

Applications

Games

Multimedia

Networking

System Tools

That's it. Every installed program has a place in one of those, and nothing is ever hard to find. I still use the classic start menu also. It may be old but nothing works better. :D

[kolonabout]

If you have trouble finding programs you really need to learn to organize your start menu. I can't believe how many people just leave all the entries the way installers place them. I've seen start menus so huge they stretch 4 or 5 columns across the entire screen, it's insane. Here's my start menu:

Accessories

Applications

Games

Multimedia

Networking

System Tools

That's it. Every installed program has a place in one of those, and nothing is ever hard to find. I still use the classic start menu also. It may be old but nothing works better. :D

But that works just as good with the new start menu. Even better with the new, since you don't have to move the cursor sideways, making it easier to navigate. And by the way, I'm not sure I completely understand the concept of having an applications folder under all programs.

[Rigby]

I'm not sure I completely understand the concept of having an applications folder under all programs.

Well?imo moving the cursor sideways slightly is just?as?easy?as moving it up and down. Applications is for large programs like Microsoft Office or?Photoshop.?Accessories?is?for?little?utilities?like?Notepad,?Calculator,?WinRAR,?etc. It seems a lot simpler to me and?definately?more?responsive?than?the?lag:)?new?start?menus.? :)

?

Edited January 20, 2008 by TRC

[tablet_user]

I don't understand how people use the all programs menu that often. Hell, if it was up to me, I would remove the menu altogether in Vista. A good 90% of the apps I use frequently are all in the startmenu pane on the left. On XP, if the program wasn't there, I would go look for it in the all programs menu. On Vista, I type in a few letters and the search feature finds it for me. Much faster than looking for it manually :)

+100

If you have trouble finding programs you really need to learn to organize your start menu. I can't believe how many people just leave all the entries the way installers place them. I've seen start menus so huge they stretch 4 or 5 columns across the entire screen, it's insane. Here's my start menu:

Accessories

Applications

Games

Multimedia

Networking

System Tools

That's it. Every installed program has a place in one of those, and nothing is ever hard to find. I still use the classic start menu also. It may be old but nothing works better. :D

then when you remove stuff you gotta backtrack because the uninstaller only removes where it placed it initially unless the installer has the option to place the start menu entry (some dont).

[Skyfrog]

+100

then when you remove stuff you gotta backtrack because the uninstaller only removes where it placed it initially unless the installer has the option to place the start menu entry (some dont).

That's true but it's really a simple matter of deleting the programs shortcut if needed. CCleaner will also remove invalid shortcuts for you. All in all it's no big deal. I still use the classic start menu myself, never have liked the new ones.

[Echilon]

I'd love to have a 9x start menu with a find box at the bottom. I really miss hitting start, then typing the first few letters when I'm not using Vista.

[mhungry]

I don't understand why people don't want to change for the better

Once you get used to use the "Search" in Vista start menu, why would you want to go back to the horrifid organisation of folders/menus/programs like in XP??

Want to run word? Type: word and even before you finish, you can already see it in the start menu

run nero? type burn

etc etc

in XP:

want to run word? Click start menu, click on a the folder Microsoft Office (assuming you can find it), click Word

So... somehow... typing 4 letters, having to move your hands off the mouse in the process (assuming you didn't use the keyboard shortcut key, which would make it 5 keys pushed), is faster than 4 simple mouse clicks? I don't get that. I grant you that different people's minds work differently, but I liked the XP style menus too. It was a nice balance I felt. I don't like Vista's being contained in the window when I go to all programs, which is frequent for me because I do a lot of video editing, audio editing, cad, gaming, and much more than will stay put in the initial quick links menu. Being contained makes it harder to read for me, and thus, harder to find what I'm looking for.

It's the same logic that some websites have adopted for inputting phone numbers, etc into forms. They will use multiple fields for the 2 or 3 number fields, but unlike the rest of the form where you have been hitting tab to go between fields (first name <tab> last name <tab> address <tab>, etc), you get to the tele. number, and suddenly it skips fields on it's own; but you've hit tab on instinct because that's how the form has worked until now... so now you're actually a field too far and have to go back... and such forth.

Personally, i'm also a linux fan, and I use SUSE a lot. I don't like the new menu style there either because of the same idea of constraining the menu to a given space.

Back to Vista, I also don't want to go all the way back to a win98 style menu, because the most used list DOES still come in handy a lot of the time. I see the logic used for this menu structure, and how it's more useful to some people. I just wish that they had made xp style an option. Just like with the desktop/window theme, I wish XP style was there. They give you an old school '98/2k theme, but no xp style.

[Nebuchadnezzar]

Bump.

Bought a new laptop with Vista, till now, I hate it and I'm trying to un-vista-fy it as much as possible.

People here posted about Windowblinds being able to revert to the XP menu system, are there some example blinds out there?

[sbelmont]

Here's what I did, I went into the user folder where Documents, favorites, etc... is and I moved my Downloads folder to another drive, D:\ can be anything you want. Vista left a copy of the folder in my User folder, so I renamed it All Programs. Then I moved all my shortcuts and folders from the start menu into there, this can be done by right clicking the start button explorer, this will open you up a windows explorer window at the start menu, navigate to the "program" subfolder directly inside the start menu folder, then ctrl-a which selects all, Hold ctrl and click on start and the desktop.ini within the program folder which will deselect them, you will have all the other files and folders still selected, ctrl-x to cut and go back to the new "All Programs" folder under the user folder and ctrl-v to paste all the files. I did this for both all users and the unique user, the instructions above just completed the unique user, now follow the same instructions above again but when you right click on the start button select "explorer all" to grab the global "All users" start menu files. I've made a screen shot which I have attached - what the end results will look like, see below. One cavaete, if you install any new programs you will have to go through these same steps to move the new shortcuts over.

Can't find an option to upload the image, it's on my system and not on any web server. Basically the all program at the bottom of the Vista start menu will be empty (you may have to log off and back on for icons to refresh properly) Now on the right side of the start menu above control pannel and computer there is a folder with the name of you logon "Sally, David, etc...., and I have the taskbar properties set to expand it as a context menu which shows "like the XP style All Program menu" Documents, Favorites, Pictures...ect and All Programs. I haven't had a chance to play with Win7 yet, but I assume it will work very much the same way... I'm a die hard XP fan, do fix what isn't broken....

~Just found the attach file option, the image should be attached.

Cheers!

SBelmont

Another day Ssswacking the Mole!

(Including this for google search indexing): XP VISTA Windows 7 start menu startmenu classic all programs menus taskbar customize properties