How to remove Windows start button?


QuicktellPro

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Hi,
I use the latest version of OpenShell. Because my PC is an Alienware, I use OpenShell's option to change the start menu button to the Alienware version. This worked fine in Windows 10, but since updating to Windows 11 24H2 the Alienware button is merely superimposed over the original blue Windows button. How can I remove it, please?

start_button.webp
 
Windows Build/Version
24H2

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Windows 11Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-10900K CPU @ 3.70GHz32,0 GBNvidia GeForce RTX2080 Super
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Alienware A51M R2
CPU
Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-10900K CPU @ 3.70GHz
Memory
32,0 GB
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Nvidia GeForce RTX2080 Super
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Realtek
Screen Resolution
4K
Hard Drives
2TB (2x 1TB PCle M.2 SSD) RAID 0 [Boot] + 2TB (2x 1TB
PCle M.2 SSD) Non-Raid [Storage]
Do you have the latest version?


Seems they were aware and looked to have fixed the issue long ago?


A Guy
 

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Yes, I have the current version which is 4.4.196 and the issue clearly has not been fixed. 🥺

OpenShell.v4.4.196.webp
 

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Windows 11Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-10900K CPU @ 3.70GHz32,0 GBNvidia GeForce RTX2080 Super
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Alienware A51M R2
CPU
Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-10900K CPU @ 3.70GHz
Memory
32,0 GB
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia GeForce RTX2080 Super
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Realtek
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4K
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2TB (2x 1TB PCle M.2 SSD) RAID 0 [Boot] + 2TB (2x 1TB
PCle M.2 SSD) Non-Raid [Storage]
Install Windows Taskbar Styler using Windhawk and enter:
Taskbar.ExperienceToggleButton#LaunchListButton[AutomationProperties.AutomationId=StartButton] in Target
Opacity=0 in Styles.
Screenshot (9).webp
 

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Windows 10.1 Ultimate (Custom OS)
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Gigabyte
Wouldn't this conflict with Open Shell?
Ditto Nexus Ultimate?
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-10900K CPU @ 3.70GHz32,0 GBNvidia GeForce RTX2080 Super
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Alienware A51M R2
CPU
Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-10900K CPU @ 3.70GHz
Memory
32,0 GB
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia GeForce RTX2080 Super
Sound Card
Realtek
Screen Resolution
4K
Hard Drives
2TB (2x 1TB PCle M.2 SSD) RAID 0 [Boot] + 2TB (2x 1TB
PCle M.2 SSD) Non-Raid [Storage]
Wouldn't this conflict with Open Shell?
No it does not, but possibly your startbutton is too small or too large so you would have to adjust the width of the original (invisible) button.
My settings for that part of the Windhawk Taskbar Styler are:

1. Startbutton: remove original button, but leave the space to be used by the startbutton of OpenShell
Target: Microsoft.UI.Xaml.Controls.AnimatedVisualPlayer
Height=0
alternative:
Opacity=0
You could replace that command by the command that @Nius posted in #4

2. Startbutton: adjust width / padding so it fits the space for the OpenShell Startbutton
Target: taskbar:TaskListButtonPanel#ExperienceToggleButtonRootPanel
Style: Margin=-8,0,0,0

Order of the Margin parameters: left margin, top margin, right margin, bottom margin
 

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Oracle VirtualBox 7 for testing software on Win 10 or 11
I also have this from time to time.
1. Try to repair Open-shell (re-run the installer or download Open-Shell again and run the installer again). It will ask you whether you want to repair teh existing installation or re-install completely. Chose "Repair". This does it for me most of the time.
2. You could also change the Start button in Open-Shell and then change it back (see screenshot 1).
3. Or you can tweak (resize) the start-button and see what happens (see screenshot 2).

Change.webpChange2.webp
 

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OS
Windows 11
Computer type
PC/Desktop
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Gigabyte H610M H V2 DDR4 (Rev. 1.0)
CPU
Intel Core i3 12 100 12th generation
Motherboard
American Megatrend F34
Memory
Kingston DDR4-3200 16 GBytes
Graphics Card(s)
Intel UHD 730
Same thing with StartAllBack, if you don't use the proper size, it's dickered.

12852.gif
 

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Works perfectly for me with v4.4.196 - I have a Win 7 orb (with glow effect) that I 'stole' from a skin pack.

As Edwin says, needs to be an appropriate icon.
 

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Windows 11 Proi7-8650U16GBIntel UHD 620
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Lenovo t480s
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16GB
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Intel UHD 620
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1920x1080
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C SN810 SDCPNRY-512G-1006
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Defender
I also have this from time to time.
1. Try to repair Open-shell (re-run the installer or download Open-Shell again and run the installer again). It will ask you whether you want to repair teh existing installation or re-install completely. Chose "Repair". This does it for me most of the time.
2. You could also change the Start button in Open-Shell and then change it back (see screenshot 1).
3. Or you can tweak (resize) the start-button and see what happens (see screenshot 2).

View attachment 167676View attachment 167677

I tried repair and it made no difference. According to the Github discussion on this issue, there is no fix for this.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-10900K CPU @ 3.70GHz32,0 GBNvidia GeForce RTX2080 Super
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Alienware A51M R2
CPU
Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-10900K CPU @ 3.70GHz
Memory
32,0 GB
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia GeForce RTX2080 Super
Sound Card
Realtek
Screen Resolution
4K
Hard Drives
2TB (2x 1TB PCle M.2 SSD) RAID 0 [Boot] + 2TB (2x 1TB
PCle M.2 SSD) Non-Raid [Storage]
I fixed it!
I resized the width of my icon from 81 to 120 px and changed the background colour from transparent to the same colour as my taskbar. Looks perfect now. 😁
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-10900K CPU @ 3.70GHz32,0 GBNvidia GeForce RTX2080 Super
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Alienware A51M R2
CPU
Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-10900K CPU @ 3.70GHz
Memory
32,0 GB
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia GeForce RTX2080 Super
Sound Card
Realtek
Screen Resolution
4K
Hard Drives
2TB (2x 1TB PCle M.2 SSD) RAID 0 [Boot] + 2TB (2x 1TB
PCle M.2 SSD) Non-Raid [Storage]
I tried repair and it made no difference. According to the Github discussion on this issue, there is no fix for this.
I think you're misreading that discussion. It comes down to using a correctly formatted icon as you've found and as we've said here.
 

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Windows 11 Proi7-8650U16GBIntel UHD 620
OS
Windows 11 Pro
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Laptop
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Lenovo t480s
CPU
i7-8650U
Memory
16GB
Graphics Card(s)
Intel UHD 620
Screen Resolution
1920x1080
Hard Drives
C SN810 SDCPNRY-512G-1006
Browser
Edge, Firefox
Antivirus
Defender
I think you're misreading that discussion. It comes down to using a correctly formatted icon as you've found and as we've said here.
As with Edwin's post, I use a 3 icon bitmap on my Alienware. Here's a png copy of the now working icon.

steel Alienware steel.6803.6807.6813.webp
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-10900K CPU @ 3.70GHz32,0 GBNvidia GeForce RTX2080 Super
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Alienware A51M R2
CPU
Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-10900K CPU @ 3.70GHz
Memory
32,0 GB
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia GeForce RTX2080 Super
Sound Card
Realtek
Screen Resolution
4K
Hard Drives
2TB (2x 1TB PCle M.2 SSD) RAID 0 [Boot] + 2TB (2x 1TB
PCle M.2 SSD) Non-Raid [Storage]
  1. Download and install Windhawk
  2. In Windhawk, install the Windows 11 Taskbar Styler mod
  3. In the mod's Settings, switch to Textual mode
  4. Replace the code in the box with this:
    theme: '' styleConstants: - '' controlStyles: - target: Taskbar.TaskListButtonPanel#ExperienceToggleButtonRootPanel > Microsoft.UI.Xaml.Controls.AnimatedVisualPlayer#Icon styles: - Visibility=Collapsed themeResourceVariables: - '' xamlDiagnosticsHandling: alert
  5. Click on Save settings
  6. Done!
 

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8+8GB DDR4
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RTX 4060 Mobile 8GB VRAM
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512+512GB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD
I already fixed mine by covering the Windows button with my Alienware button. Nonetheless, if I had removed the button altogether via your Windhawk option, would that not have removed the option to click on my replacement button?

OpenShell has the option to replace the start button with the image of your choice, however, Win 11 keeps the original underneath which looks terrible.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-10900K CPU @ 3.70GHz32,0 GBNvidia GeForce RTX2080 Super
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Alienware A51M R2
CPU
Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-10900K CPU @ 3.70GHz
Memory
32,0 GB
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia GeForce RTX2080 Super
Sound Card
Realtek
Screen Resolution
4K
Hard Drives
2TB (2x 1TB PCle M.2 SSD) RAID 0 [Boot] + 2TB (2x 1TB
PCle M.2 SSD) Non-Raid [Storage]
I already fixed mine by covering the Windows button with my Alienware button. Nonetheless, if I had removed the button altogether via your Windhawk option, would that not have removed the option to click on my replacement button?

OpenShell has the option to replace the start button with the image of your choice, however, Win 11 keeps the original underneath which looks terrible.
Congrats For Your Successful Workaround, I Get It Now As Disabling/Removing It Was Not The Solution
 

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At a glance

Windows 11i512450H8+8GB DDR4RTX 4060 Mobile 8GB VRAM
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Lenovo LOQ 15IRH8
CPU
i512450H
Memory
8+8GB DDR4
Graphics Card(s)
RTX 4060 Mobile 8GB VRAM
Screen Resolution
1920*1080
Hard Drives
512+512GB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD
, if I had removed the button altogether via your Windhawk option, would that not have removed the option to click on my replacement button?
The method that I described only removes the Windows 11 icon that would otherwise be hidden only partly behind Open-Shell's icon under certain circumstances (when partial overlap occurs). The actual button itself is left untouched.

overlap.webp
 
Last edited:

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    11 Home
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    Medion S15450
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    i5 1135G7
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    16GB DDR4
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    Intel Iris Xe
    Sound Card
    Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC Supreme; Emotiva UMC-200; Astell & Kern AK240
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia XR-55X90J
    Screen Resolution
    3840×2160
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The method that I described only removes the Windows 11 icon that would otherwise be hidden only partly behind Open-Shell's icon under certain circumstances (when partial overlap occurs). The actual button itself is left untouched.

View attachment 168391
Good to know, although my workaround basically provided a similar result.

win11-start.webp
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-10900K CPU @ 3.70GHz32,0 GBNvidia GeForce RTX2080 Super
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Alienware A51M R2
CPU
Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-10900K CPU @ 3.70GHz
Memory
32,0 GB
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia GeForce RTX2080 Super
Sound Card
Realtek
Screen Resolution
4K
Hard Drives
2TB (2x 1TB PCle M.2 SSD) RAID 0 [Boot] + 2TB (2x 1TB
PCle M.2 SSD) Non-Raid [Storage]
Good to know, although my workaround basically provided a similar result.

View attachment 168396
That's only because your taskbar background uses no texture nor uses an opacity level smaller than 1 so it matches. Otherwise the difference between the taskbar background and the solid background in your .png image would destroy the look.
 

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    11 Homei7 13650HX16GB DDR5GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile
    OS
    11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus TUF Gaming F16 (2024)
    CPU
    i7 13650HX
    Memory
    16GB DDR5
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile
    Sound Card
    Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC Supreme; Emotiva UMC-200; Astell & Kern AK240
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia XR-55X90J
    Screen Resolution
    3840×2160
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD internal
    37TB external
    PSU
    Li-ion
    Cooling
    2× Arc Flow Fans, 4× exhaust vents, 5× heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Internet Speed
    30Mbit/s up, 500Mbit/s down
    Browser
    FF
    Antivirus
    What's an antivirus?
  • At a glance

    11 Homei5 1135G716GB DDR4Intel Iris Xe
    Operating System
    11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Medion S15450
    CPU
    i5 1135G7
    Memory
    16GB DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe
    Sound Card
    Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC Supreme; Emotiva UMC-200; Astell & Kern AK240
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia XR-55X90J
    Screen Resolution
    3840×2160
    Hard Drives
    2TB SSD internal
    37TB external
    PSU
    Li-ion
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Internet Speed
    30Mbit/s up, 500Mbit/s down
    Browser
    FF
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