Solved Reg Hack to get old context menu no longer works

Slavic · Oct 6, 2021

Try3, you can read more about Undocking in this thread:
How To Make Windows 11 Taskbar Uncombined and Unlocked

This modification is safe and reversible, so you can try it any time and undo by input "0" instead of "1" if something will go wrong. I still don't see much disadvantages besides lack of "new" Start menu and its options. Maybe later the developers will find another way to add the traditional or new toolbars to taskbar, but right now for me this mod, which also restores classic look of Explorer's toolbar and classic context menus, is better.

I added only the Quick Launch toolbar, you can add more if need. Interestingly, browsers like Google Chrome and Edge still add shortcuts to Quick Launch in Windows 11 (like they use to add before), even though this toolbar is no longer visible in typical Windows 11 installation without such mods.

Try3 · Oct 6, 2021

dacrone said:
Yes, it allows taskbar toolbars but also breaks the start menu.
... StartAllBack

Thanks. That's the best Windows 11 news I have had.

I'll look into StartAllBack as well. Whilst my Taskbar Toolbar is my normal menu system, I do sometimes need a Start menu equivalent if I'm using an external monitor [since Taskbar Toolbars do not appear in Extended display modes].

All the best,
Denis

Try3 · Oct 6, 2021

Slavic said:
Try3, you can read more about Undocking in this thread:
How To Make Windows 11 Taskbar Uncombined and Unlocked

This modification is safe and reversible, so you can try it any time and undo by input "0" instead of "1" if something will go wrong. I still don't see much disadvantages besides lack of "new" Start menu and its options. Maybe later the developers will find another way to add the traditional or new toolbars to taskbar, but right now for me this mod, which also restores classic look of Explorer's toolbar and classic context menus, is better.

I added only the Quick Launch toolbar, you can add more if need. Interestingly, browsers like Google Chrome and Edge still add shortcuts to Quick Launch in Windows 11 (like they use to add before), even though this toolbar is no longer visible in typical Windows 11 installation without such mods.

Thanks for replying. I had noted that thread as one to study again properly once I'd set up my Windows 11 test computer [which I did yesterday].

I will try this method first [out of the many Taskbar Toolbar-ideas/threads I've kept links to].

All the best,
Denis

Try3 · Oct 6, 2021

@Slavic
@dacrone
@vannn

Thank you all for the suggested UndockingDisabled Registry edit. My Windows 11 test computer now has my Taskbar Toolbar "Menus" on it as the primary menu system just as my computers have had since WinXP.

The loss of the Start menu is just a bonus. My own Menus folder tree contains everything that I need.

Instead of setting up a fallback type of Start menu [StartIsBack etc], I've just pinned an explorer.exe type of shortcut to Menus on the Taskbar. So I'll be able to cope with any circumstances in which the Taskbar Toolbar is missing [viewing Menus through File explorer is not as neat or convenient as its Taskbar Toolbar but involves no additional configurations or learning].

Whilst I have lots of other tests to do, they are primarily familiarisation exercises. This was the only item of particular concern.

All the best,
Denis

vannn's was the earliest reference I could find to the suggested UndockingDisabled Registry edit but the wording used in that post implied that the idea had originally come from somewhere else. So I am also grateful to somewhere else.

Chuck22 · Aug 25, 2022

Use the original hack with one difference. After you create the InprocServer32 key and click default, do not leave the value blank. Give it the value of 2.

Brink · Aug 25, 2022

Still works for me in build 25188.

Disable "Show more options" context menu in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable having to click on "Show more options" to see the full context menu for your account or all users in Windows 11. When you right click on an item in Windows 11, you will see a new modern condensed context menu with Show more options...

www.elevenforum.com

Ghot · Aug 25, 2022

Works for me in 22000.918

glasskuter · Aug 25, 2022

I haven't tried the regedit since last Sept and just learned to work with 'show more options'. Not long afterwards I restored from a old backup to straighten out a driver. I just tried it and it now works. Guess I had some corruption going on at the time. Thanks guys.

gldndragn · Aug 25, 2022

If it has not been said, winaero tweaker should do the job

Chuck22 · Aug 25, 2022

The original hack did not work for me today when I reinstalled Win 11, so I gave it a value.

formerW11_hater · Jun 14, 2025

I have tried many ways to get rid of Show More Options and they all work.
BUT, it does not work for long, not even a day sometimes, and the Show More Options returns. WTF
The registry entry created to show the full Context menu is gone.
I even set the tweaks registry entry SYSTEM permission to Read Only to see if that 'protected' it but did not work.

Anyone else loosing the registry tweak?
Any idea as to why & how to prevent it?

It may just be my PC, but if it is, why & what.

Any assistance would be appreciated.

antspants · Jun 14, 2025

formerW11_hater said:
I have tried many ways to get rid of Show More Options and they all work.
BUT, it does not work for long, not even a day sometimes, and the Show More Options returns. WTF
The registry entry created to show the full Context menu is gone.
I even set the tweaks registry entry SYSTEM permission to Read Only to see if that 'protected' it but did not work.

Anyone else loosing the registry tweak?
Any idea as to why & how to prevent it?

It may just be my PC, but if it is, why & what.

Any assistance would be appreciated.

As far as I am aware, all the options in this tutorial still work.

Unless you have any 3rd party tweaking software of conflicting hacks you may have made.

Disable "Show more options" context menu in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable having to click on "Show more options" to see the full context menu for your account or all users in Windows 11. When you right click on an item in Windows 11, you will see a new modern condensed context menu with Show more options...

www.elevenforum.com

formerW11_hater · Jun 14, 2025

antspants said:
As far as I am aware, all the options in this tutorial still work.

Unless you have any 3rd party tweaking software of conflicting hacks you may have made.

Disable "Show more options" context menu in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable having to click on "Show more options" to see the full context menu for your account or all users in Windows 11. When you right click on an item in Windows 11, you will see a new modern condensed context menu with Show more options...

www.elevenforum.com

Thanks Sinto
Yes, all the tweaks tried work but then don't after a while.
I think it is something going on within my PC.
I will check all the programs etc i have installed for the obvious and/or start disabling them.

Maybe safe-more first.

Edwin · Jun 14, 2025

formerW11_hater said:
Any idea as to why & how to prevent it?

Do you run sfc or DISM often?

formerW11_hater · Jun 14, 2025

Edwin said:
Do you run sfc or DISM often?

Edwin

Yep, run both occasionally when trying to sort minor issues out.
More so lately trying to get this Context issue sorted.
Ran both routines yesterday and both found no issues. Good & bad really but not in the context (no pun intended) of my issue.

And, i just noticed that File Explorer has lost the setting i applied yesterday to run with the Ribbon as in the W10 version.
Something seems to be resetting the tweaks i am doing to W11 to get rid of the 'new' W11 formats that i don't like.
MS are monitoring me and messing with me :)

hdmi · Jun 14, 2025

formerW11_hater said:
Ran both routines yesterday and both found no issues. Good & bad really but not in the context (no pun intended) of my issue.

And, i just noticed that File Explorer has lost the setting i applied yesterday to run with the Ribbon as in the W10 version.
Something seems to be resetting the tweaks i am doing to W11 to get rid of the 'new' W11 formats that i don't like.
MS are monitoring me and messing with me :)

That's definitely not normal. I use ExplorerPatcher, a few Windhawk mods, Open-Shell, the Classic Explorer component of Open-Shell, Winaero Tweaker, Ultimate Windows Tweaker, some registry tweaks, and a few programs and scripts that I wrote myself. That's right... all of them at once. There's only a few minor glitches with this setup, and, almost all of these glitches are incredibly easy to avoid. I am running on Windows 11 version 24H2 build 26100.4351. I totally agree that all the 'new' stuff is an actual disaster of cataclysmic proportions. I talked to Copilot the other day about how bad it is. Now Copilot understands it too. But anyway. lol

If nothing seems to fix your problem, then maybe you should try to repair install Windows with an in-place upgrade.

Solved Reg Hack to get old context menu no longer works

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