Solved Do You Use A Third Party Start Menu?

Stigg · Feb 26, 2024

It's been a while since I looked at this poll.
The "No" vote is almost double that of the "Yes" vote.

It's solved. A lot of people are happy with, or at least tolerate the Windows 11 start menu.

Edwin · Feb 26, 2024

I'm in the minority!

abactuon · Feb 26, 2024

I don't use it at all. Not Microsoft, not third-party.

hdmi · Feb 26, 2024

If you always wear the same clothes, then you also don't need a wardrobe.

Edwin · Feb 26, 2024

Lots o stuff in W11 is a p-i-t-a!
The Control Center, Taskbar, Start Menu, Media OSD...

Welcome to Windows 11, better performance, fewer clicks...

Fewer clicks my a$$!!!

MilesAhead · Feb 26, 2024

Hmm, maybe we should do a poll. I prefer a) a multi-gig OS or b) a 64KB Windows.com file on top of Dos 5.
Either way you can double click stuff with the mouse to run it.

Stigg · Feb 27, 2024

I've tried a few, but I've settled with both. Start11 gives me a functional start menu, but also gives me the option to use the crippled Windows 11 menu.

Stexred · Feb 27, 2024

i did use several
but stopped using them after some problems
not worth the hassle to fix it
and having to restore to a previous image
now i just disable the stuff i do not like
and that is it
now i am only using TranslucentTB
to change a few windows stuff

monkeylove · Feb 27, 2024

I use Open Shell with ExplorerPatcher to make it look like Win 7.

pietcorus2 · Feb 27, 2024

Open Shell with SAB , works fine on my Win11-rig ( latest ).............. :wink:

jvickers · Feb 27, 2024

Stigg said:
I've tried a few, but I've settled with both. Start11 gives me a functional start menu, but also gives me the option to use the crippled Windows 11 menu.

Same here - Start11.

oldschool · Feb 27, 2024

I use the regular Windows 11 Start with SAB only for its colorization and dark magic features.

MsAnthrope · Mar 4, 2024

Stigg said:
Do you use a Windows third party start menu? In particular, do you use one with Windows 11?

Absolutely! Metro is a colostomy bag rupture of a design philosophy, and has been actively user-unfriendly (let's be honest, it's user-antagonistic to the point of being user-exclusory) literally since its inception. Have tried several options, but been a fan of ClassicStartMenu for years now.

The advent of w11 however, necessitates something more comprehensive, it turns out; as even O&O's ShutUp doesn't fully purge the system of spyware, greyware, bloatware, and unauthorised functionality Microsoft thinks it can get away with hijacking my hardware for.
I need something to eliminate the interface spacing optimisation for fingerpaint interfaces, for example. Touchscreens are fine for Koko the gorilla, but I don't want fingers on my screen. Something to fix the absurd lack of frames and edges everywhere, and the invisibly thin scrollbars that give you ZERO clue where you are in the document. Something to return the lost menu bars, local program documentation, and banish the repugnant ribbon. The list grows longer and longer, day by day. I'm still shopping around to find something to fulfill this need. Does anyone know of such a utility? Perhaps a build of Ameliorated?

Hazel123 · Mar 4, 2024

I agree with you about the thin scrollbars

But there is a work around to make them thicker - I believe it's a tutorial on here.

Other than that, I've got used to using the Windows 11 start menu and it doesn't bother me any more. I keep it in the centre and pin my most used programs to the taskbar - so then it's a bit like when it used to be XP

I pin some to the start menu as well. So rarely have to do the "backwards" click to look at the full menu.

hdmi · Mar 4, 2024

@MsAnthrope
Open-Shell (former ClassicShell) not only retains the Classic Start Menu component [of ClassicShell], but also retains the Classic Explorer component [also of ClassicShell]. Especially when combined with ExplorerPatcher's Windows 10 taskbar and when also combined with ExplorerPatcher's File Explorer ➜ Control Interface: Windows 10 Ribbon, Classic Explorer already goes a very, very long way. E.g., if the ribbon of Windows 10 bothers you in File Explorer, then you could always decide to simply collapse it by clicking on the little expand/collapse triangle button on the right, and maybe also consider enabling the button bar of Classic Explorer so that you can use that one instead with all the various customization options that it still has in store even after all those years. BTW, Open-Shell still comes with the original helpfile (.chm) that Ivo Beltchev wrote. In it, you'll find the explanation (complete with batch code examples) of how to use Classic Explorer's command bar features to build your own advanced custom commands. Just to give only one example of what's possible with Classic Explorer.

It gets even better when you also add on a few additional tweaks of Winaero Tweaker and of Ultimate Windows Tweaker. That is, also in addition to several other tweaks, e.g., some of Windows registry tweaks, a lot of which can be found in the Tutorials section, here on the Elevenforum website.

Berton · Mar 4, 2024

No on most all third-party customizations, I have to see what my clients see. \

For the scrollbars I use the built-in setting, quite acceptable.

Jose Hidalgo · Mar 6, 2024

I've been using Open-Shell (previously Classic Shell) since Win 7, and now with Win 11. I love it.

I just with the menu itself was transparent. It used to be, then transparency was lost with some Win 11 update and they've been unable to get it back.

hdmi · Mar 7, 2024

Jose Hidalgo said:
transparency was lost

It's not that important IMO, as background pictures can also help to make it look nicer. I ditched TranslucentTB because Open-Shell has taskbar opacity and taskbar texture, which works well if you use ExplorerPatcher to bring back the Windows 10 taskbar on Windows 11.

Jose Hidalgo · Mar 7, 2024

@hdmi in my case I have also icons on the desktop, which would be a problem with full menu transparency.
On Win 7 with Classic Shell, this wasn't a problem. The menu was just opaque enough (see the icons below?):

On Win 11 I have yet to find this kind of semi-opaqueness on my Open-Shell start menu. And I won't be using another start menu because I just like Open-Shell for that purpose.

BTW sorry for the question, but why bring back Win 10 taskbar on Win 11? I don't even know what ExplorerPatcher is, so...

larc919 · Mar 7, 2024

Started with Classic Shell when Windows 8 came along. Later switched to Open-Shell. Like the extensive customization options. No plans to ever rely on boring Windows Start Menu again.

Solved Do You Use A Third Party Start Menu?

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