Win + X Key Menu.

Arraial · Oct 8, 2025

Windows 11 Version 24H2

The 3 Group folders are located in:
C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\WinX
C:\Users\Default\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\WinX

I can't believe that I can delete shortcuts in these folders, but I can't add any.

dacrone · Oct 8, 2025

you can only edit the target field of some. cannot rename or replace them completely.. see my example here:

Customizing the Win+X menu on 23H2?

I just tried a brand new install of this in a VM, and the WinAero program (version 3.0.0, the newest one) does not work at all. You can't add anything and attempting to restore the default settings just fails as well. Has anyone figured out a working way to do this? I'd like to change...

www.elevenforum.com

you can also use SAB or EP and restore the classic taskbar to re-enable editing of the WinX menu (for ease you can use Winaero's WinX Editor too)

neemobeer · Oct 8, 2025

Microsoft uses an undocumented hashing function to effectively sign the shortcuts that make up the WinX menu, so if there's no hash Windows won't display items added

neemobeer · Oct 8, 2025

This guy reverse engineered the hash function, so you can technically add new items using this to "sign" them GitHub - riverar/hashlnk: Utility to compute and apply a hash for "WinX" shortcuts

dacrone · Oct 8, 2025

neemobeer said:
This guy reverse engineered the hash function, so you can technically add new items using this to "sign" them GitHub - riverar/hashlnk: Utility to compute and apply a hash for "WinX" shortcuts

nice! i hadnt looked into this since that other thread was going. using SAB has made me quit paying attention to it lol. nice find

Brink · Oct 10, 2025

Unfortunately, hashlink no longer works to add custom shortcuts in the Win+X menu.

Add Custom Shortcuts to Win+X Quick Link Menu in Windows 11

The hashlink.exe app no longer works to allow using this tutorial to add custom shortcuts to the Win+X menu. The Win+X Quick Link menu (aka: Power User menu) is a pop-up menu from the Start button that includes shortcuts of common management, configuration, and other power user tools for...

www.elevenforum.com

dacrone · Oct 10, 2025

Brink said:
Unfortunately, hashlink no longer works to add custom shortcuts in the Win+X menu.

Add Custom Shortcuts to Win+X Quick Link Menu in Windows 11

The hashlink.exe app no longer works to allow using this tutorial to add custom shortcuts to the Win+X menu. The Win+X Quick Link menu (aka: Power User menu) is a pop-up menu from the Start button that includes shortcuts of common management, configuration, and other power user tools for...

www.elevenforum.com

ahh.. oh well. but this still works as a semi-way of adding desired by replacing a current unneeded shortcut:

just an update.. this menu can still 100% be edited. i opened

C:\Users\myname\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\WinX

went to Group 2, edited the "File Explorer" shortcut.
i replaced the default target:
%windir%\explorer.exe shell:::{52205fd8-5dfb-447d-801a-d0b52f2e83e1}
with
%windir%\explorer.exe shell:::{025A5937-A6BE-4686-A844-36FE4BEC8B6D}

and restarted Explorer. When i used winx menu to launch "File Explorer", it instead launched Power Options.
renaming the shortcut didnt work, but i'll figure it out.

*Still toying with it. ive replaced explorer with power options and search with control panel, so i know the shell commands work for any of them. i have tried Power renaming the shortcuts & modifying properties but no dice yet.

Arraial · Oct 11, 2025

dacrone said:
ahh.. oh well. but this still works as a semi-way of adding desired by replacing a current unneeded shortcut:

just an update.. this menu can still 100% be edited. i opened

C:\Users\myname\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\WinX

went to Group 2, edited the "File Explorer" shortcut.
i replaced the default target:
%windir%\explorer.exe shell:::{52205fd8-5dfb-447d-801a-d0b52f2e83e1}
with
%windir%\explorer.exe shell:::{025A5937-A6BE-4686-A844-36FE4BEC8B6D}

and restarted Explorer. When i used winx menu to launch "File Explorer", it instead launched Power Options.
renaming the shortcut didnt work, but i'll figure it out.

*Still toying with it. ive replaced explorer with power options and search with control panel, so i know the shell commands work for any of them. i have tried Power renaming the shortcuts & modifying properties but no dice yet.

Arraial · Oct 11, 2025

btw.
The path:
"C:\Users\myname\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\WinX"
doesn't change anything on my computer.
I can even delete the 3 Group directories.

Only:
"C:\Users\Default\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\WinX"
seems to be important.

HuasSimkio · Oct 12, 2025

For some versions, you can modify the Win+X menu through Group Policy or registry edits instead of direct file manipulation.

dacrone · Oct 12, 2025

HuasSimkio said:
For some versions, you can modify the Win+X menu through Group Policy or registry edits instead of direct file manipulation.

in 24 or 25H2? not that i am aware of

dacrone · Oct 12, 2025

with the combination of an ahk script used to redirect and winx editor to rename, i can modify the winx menu on windows 11 with no other mods (no ep or sab, etc to replace the taskbar). i'll get the redirect script to have a gui so users can do it without coding. the only caveat to this method is that you will be swapping the entries and not adding new ones entirely

ie - if you wanted control panel instead of settings, you can do that, but you cant keep everything currently and add control panel (make sense?). in this example i renamed and redirect Mobility Center to Google Chrome. works with no issues.

Win + X Key Menu.

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