What Start Menu replacement software do you use?

What Start Menu replacement software do you use? Possible answers include:

• Start11 v1 or v2 ( Start11: The ultimate Start menu replacement for Windows 10 and 11. Restore the classic look and add new functionality. )
• StartAllBack ( StartAllBack to fix all Windows 11 deal-breaking UI issues )
• Open-Shell ( Welcome to Open-Shell )
• ExplorerPatcher ( GitHub - valinet/ExplorerPatcher: This project aims to enhance the working environment on Windows )
• RetroBar ( GitHub - dremin/RetroBar: Classic Windows 95, 98, Me, 2000, XP, Vista taskbar for modern versions of Windows )

For the Start Menu replacement software that you use:

• What do you like about it?
• What don't you like about it?
• Does it noticeably reduce system performance?
• Is it compatible with the apps that you use for work and play?
• Has it been generally compatible with new versions/builds of Windows 11?
• If you've tried other Start Menu replacement programs in the past, why did you settle on this one?

For the Start Menu replacement software that you use: StartAllBack

• What do you like about it? = It resurrects all the familiarity and functionality of previous OS's.
• What don't you like about it? = Nothing, really.
• Does it noticeably reduce system performance? = No.
• Is it compatible with the apps that you use for work and play? = Yes.
• Has it been generally compatible with new versions/builds of Windows 11? = Yes.
• If you've tried other Start Menu replacement programs in the past, why did you settle on this one? = Basic cleanliness.

Or the most obvious answer that is probably by far the majority:

None.

Open shell in winpe

for example

cereberus said:

Or the most obvious answer that is probably by far the majority:

None.

Click to expand...

Party-pooper!

classic35mm said:

What Start Menu replacement software do you use? Possible answers include:

• Start11 v1 or v2 ( Start11: The ultimate Start menu replacement for Windows 10 and 11. Restore the classic look and add new functionality. )
• StartAllBack ( StartAllBack to fix all Windows 11 deal-breaking UI issues )
• Open-Shell ( Welcome to Open-Shell )
• ExplorerPatcher ( GitHub - valinet/ExplorerPatcher: This project aims to enhance the working environment on Windows )
• RetroBar ( GitHub - dremin/RetroBar: Classic Windows 95, 98, Me, 2000, XP, Vista taskbar for modern versions of Windows )

For the Start Menu replacement software that you use: Explorer Patcher

• What do you like about it? I use it for Start Menu, but even more important is that it lets me have a vertical task bar on the left.
• What don't you like about it? Nothing, really. It usually requires an update with each new version of Win11, but it's quick and easy.
• Does it noticeably reduce system performance? No. EP is a very light-weight program.
• Is it compatible with the apps that you use for work and play? Yes.
• Has it been generally compatible with new versions/builds of Windows 11? Usually need to update.
• If you've tried other Start Menu replacement programs in the past, why did you settle on this one?

Click to expand...

Some users have reported glitches and incompatibilities with EP, but it's worked very well for me.

cereberus said:

the majority

Click to expand...

I'm a simple men, and after using Start Menu after all these years, I find it to be too cluttered with stuff I don't want, so I've used Open-Shell and configured it in a way, it actually shows WinX menu with customized options instead. Yeah I know I'm a party pooper

cereberus said:

Or the most obvious answer that is probably by far the majority:

None.

Click to expand...

^This.

What Start Menu replacement software do you use?

• StartAllBack ( StartAllBack to fix all Windows 11 deal-breaking UI issues )

For the Start Menu replacement software that you use:

• What do you like about it? Everything. Other than too many choices/options. It's bugless. It's reliable. It's not in my face.
• What don't you like about it? I have no gripes.
• Does it noticeably reduce system performance? No
• Is it compatible with the apps that you use for work and play? Yes
• Has it been generally compatible with new versions/builds of Windows 11? I'm Beta Channel. Build 22635.3430 ni_release
• If you've tried other Start Menu replacement programs in the past, why did you settle on this one? I used to use Start 11but SAB seems more seamless. It is not in my face, it just makes Win 11 easier to use. I think I started with Win 3.1 in '91. That said, I own and like Stardock stuff.

I should add that I also use TrueLaunchBar as a Taskbar add-on. It is getting really long in the tooth and no longer supported. I dread the day it dies:

TrueLaunchBar

Open Shell - free, simple and no issues.

Open Shell , together with SAB..............

schneidernet said:

I also use TrueLaunchBar as a Taskbar add-on. It is getting really long in the tooth and no longer supported

Click to expand...

It sets up Taskbar Toolbars that ExplorerPatcher & StartAllBack can both enable for you [but leaving you to set them up yourself].
In the meantime, with the support of ExplorerPatcher & StartAllBack, Taskbar Toolbars can be set up using the TenForums procedures
Taskbar Toolbars - Creating and naming, customising, moving [post #20] - TenForumsTutorials

But MS might well remove the relic components that allow these utilities to do their jobs.

Removing Taskbar Toolbars would reduce my productivity significantly.


Denis

classic35mm said:

What Start Menu replacement software do you use? Possible answers include:

• Start11 v1 or v2 ( Start11: The ultimate Start menu replacement for Windows 10 and 11. Restore the classic look and add new functionality. )
• StartAllBack ( StartAllBack to fix all Windows 11 deal-breaking UI issues )
• Open-Shell ( Welcome to Open-Shell )
• ExplorerPatcher ( GitHub - valinet/ExplorerPatcher: This project aims to enhance the working environment on Windows )
• RetroBar ( GitHub - dremin/RetroBar: Classic Windows 95, 98, Me, 2000, XP, Vista taskbar for modern versions of Windows )

For the Start Menu replacement software that you use:

• What do you like about it?
• What don't you like about it?
• Does it noticeably reduce system performance?
• Is it compatible with the apps that you use for work and play?
• Has it been generally compatible with new versions/builds of Windows 11?
• If you've tried other Start Menu replacement programs in the past, why did you settle on this one?

Click to expand...

I run Open-Shell. It restores the old menus before Microsoft removed them with Windows 7.

pietcorus2 said:

Open Shell , together with SAB..............

Click to expand...

Why?

" Open Shell , together with SAB.............."
Coz I like this combi , works ( and looks ) very well on my 11-rig !

Steve C said:

Why?

Click to expand...

In my case I only use Open-Shell to replace Start Menu with WinX (Power menu), because I couldn't find anything else except AutoHotKey that could do that.

StartMenuX is the best.

Open Shell: freeware, compatible with Windows 11, easy to use, and no MS Start Menu Ads!

Open-Shell has many more options than I could wish for. It doesn't just bring the old menus back, but also lets me choose from all these extra options to add improvements each one of which can either be enabled or be left disabled/kept at its default. So, it puts the user in total control of how it behaves, diligently, but without any noticeable sacrifice in performance.

You might get lost due to having so many settings to try and experiment with, which, to some certain degree, can tend to become un-intuitive or intimidating at first, BUT... the settings and features are all well-organized and well-documented. Sure, it takes additional effort and time to figure it all out. BUT... it does pay off nicely in the end. And you can also conveniently export/import the settings so, there's no reason to panic.

In its main settings window, it has a Controls tab where you can customize the keyboard shortcuts and/or mouse actions that you want to use. As a result, it also lets me assign more than one action. For example, if you want the Win key to still continue opening the default Start menu of Windows 11 until you have gotten more familiar with the menu that you plan to soon use as a more permanent replacement for it, then it does allow you to do that. Because, it is designed by someone who CARES about what the user thinks.

As a real bonus, it streches far beyond a Start menu replacement. For that reason alone, it is worth getting. I find that, in a few certain ways, the Classic Explorer component of it is actually even more of an improvement than its ability to let me replace the Start menu. I should also note, I use the Classic Explorer component only in conjunction with ExplorerPatcher's option to, in the File Explorer part of the settings window that it has, select Control Interface: Windows 10 Ribbon. I also use ExplorerPatcher for various other things that I find extremely important, as that has a fairly direct impact on how I use the Start menu replacement of course. I'd say that, in a sense, ExplorerPatcher is specifically designed to be compatible with Open-Shell so they go hand in hand if you, like me, want them to go hand in hand. I haven't experienced any compatibility issues of any kind whatsoever, as instead these two different programs [Open-Shell and ExplorerPatcher] actually even help solve compatibility issues. Contrary to popular belief.

From its early inception in 2009 onwards, I had been using ClassicShell on Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 until, at the start of 2018, I finally moved to Windows 10, which was when I began to use Open-Shell, the successor to ClassicShell. Yes, that's fourteen years and a half and still counting. It really does merit its status, as it is the godfather of Start menu replacements, plain and simple. It broke only one time on Windows 11. When this happened, it no longer responded to pressing the Win key because Windows Update grabbed a power saw and amputated its leg. I downloaded the latest beta version of Open-Shell soon after, installed it, and voilà, Windows walks smoothly again.

As for comparing Open-Shell to all the other Start menu replacements. There is no comparison. I do, however, also use SystemTrayMenu alongside it (just for the sake of completeness).