Windows 11 Start Menu Sucks


My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦22631.3374 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 4702)
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    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
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    Dell U3011 30"
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    2560 x 1600
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    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
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    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
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    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
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    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
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    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
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    300/300
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    Firefox (latest)
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    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1
  • Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
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    PC/Desktop
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    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
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    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
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    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
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    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
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    Onboard
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    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
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    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
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    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
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    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
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    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
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    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
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    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
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    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
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    300/300
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    Firefox 3.x ??
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    Symantec (Norton)
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    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 13 years?
Windows 11 will give them plenty of things to improve on in Windows 12.
It seems as if that is the way things work in Microsoft Land.
Just look at the history of their operating system releases. It's history repeating. :giggle:
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Stigg's Build
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-10900X
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    GIGABYTE X299X DESIGNARE 10G
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    Corsair 64 GB (4 x 16 GB) CMW64GX4M4C3000C15 Vengeance RGB Pro 3000Mhz DDR4
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    GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1660 Super Mini ITX 6 GB OC
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    Realtek ALC1220
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    Samsung 27" FHD LED FreeSync Gaming Monitor (LS27F350FHEXXY)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 Pro Series 1TB M.2 2280 NVMe SSD
    Western Digital Red Pro WD8003FFBX-68B9AN0 8 TB, 7200 RPM, SATA-III
    Western Digital Red Pro WD8003FFBX-68B9AN0 8 TB, 7200 RPM, SATA-III
    PSU
    Corsair HX1200 1200W 80 Plus Platinum
    Case
    Fractal Design Define 7 Black Solid Case
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    Noctua NH-D15 Chromax Black
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    Razer Ornata V2
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    Razer DeathAdder Essential
    Internet Speed
    FTTN 100Mbps / 40Mbps
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    Mozilla Firefox
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    N/A
    Other Info
    Logitech BRIO 4k Ultra HD USB-C Webcam
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS ROG Zephyrus M GM501GS
    CPU
    Core i7-8750H
    Motherboard
    Zephyrus M GM501GS
    Memory
    SK Hynix 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) HMA82GS6CJR8N-VK 16 GB DDR4-2666 DDR4 SDRAM
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC294
    Monitor(s) Displays
    AU Optronics B156HAN07.1 [15.6" LCD]
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung MZVKW512HMJP-00000 512 GB, PCI-E 3.0 x4
    Samsung SSD 860 QVO 4TB 4 TB, SATA-III
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    N/A
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    N/A
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    N/A
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    Razer DeathAdder Essential
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    PC/AT Enhanced PS2 Keyboard (101/102-Key)
    Internet Speed
    FTTN 100Mbps / 40Mbps
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    Mozilla Firefox
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    N/A
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    USB2.0 HD UVC Webcam
Two main things that need to be configured - remove the search bar and remove the Recommended section. That is clearly impossible. Grouping or organizing icons in any sensible way is not possible either, although I did notice two nested folders in a screen shot from one of the posts in this thread - I'm going to see if that's possible, this did not work in Windows 10 and was annoying as hell.

Sure, one can live with it or come up with workarounds or install third-party software. Question is, why? The answer that was repeated many times already in this forum (that main paying customers, i.e. corporations, want things locked down) does make sense but is in fact the opposite of progress ...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i5-10600K
    Motherboard
    Asus Rog Strix Z490-A Gaming
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce GTX 1650
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung U32J59x 32" 4K
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160
Two main things that need to be configured - remove the search bar and remove the Recommended section. That is clearly impossible. Grouping or organizing icons in any sensible way is not possible either, although I did notice two nested folders in a screen shot from one of the posts in this thread - I'm going to see if that's possible, this did not work in Windows 10 and was annoying as hell.

Sure, one can live with it or come up with workarounds or install third-party software. Question is, why? The answer that was repeated many times already in this forum (that main paying customers, i.e. corporations, want things locked down) does make sense but is in fact the opposite of progress ...

Well they could have still locked things down without changing the start menu. And Microsoft does provide a mechanism for corporations to do what they want and lock things in particular they want locked and that is group policy, so they could have used that. So question is, why the change?
 

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System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    DIY Photoshop/Game/tinker build
    CPU
    Intel i9 1300KS
    Motherboard
    Asus ROG Maximus Z90 Dark Hero
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    64GB (2x32) G.skill Trident Z5 RGB 6400 MHZ 32-39-39
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    Asus ROG Strix 4070 Ti OC
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    Onboard Audio, Vanatoo Transparent One; Klipsch R-12SWi Sub; Creative Pebble Pro Minimilist
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    Eizo CG2730, ViewSonic VP2768
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440p x 2
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    WDC SN850 1TB nvme, SK-Hynix 2 TB P41 nvme, Raid 0: 1TB 850 EVO + 1TB 860 EVO SSD. Sabrent USB-C DS-SC5B 5-bay docking station: 6TB WDC Black, 6TB Ironwolf Pro; 2x 2TB WDC Black
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    850W Seasonic Vertex PX-850
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    Fractal Design North XL Mesh, Black Walnut
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    EKWB 360 Nucleus Dark AIO w/Phanteks T30-120 fans, 1 Noctua NF-A14 Chromax case fan
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    Glorious GMMK TKL mechanical, lubed modded
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    Logitech G305 wireless gaming
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    380 Mb/s down, 12 Mb/s up
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    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender, Macrium Reflect 8 ;-)
  • Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Apple 13" Macbook Pro 2020 (m1)
    CPU
    Apple M1
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1600
    Browser
    Firefox
It's very configurable, and it's not such a hard task.
And I've had mine more or less this way since day 1, it's gone through two version changes, and nothing whatsoever on the 18-icon page or in the taskbar has been "set back." And the two Start Menu\Programs folders are easy to edit, with added shortcuts and folders, and even folders inside folders, as you wish, to change the All Apps list.
View attachment 9482
Thank you for your post. I agree. being able to pin apps and shortcuts right there is great, did I like windows 10 start menu the A - Z list(Inconvenient). This is better by miles than that plus a huge favorite for me in Win 11 is the centering of everything. Placing the icons center screen, combining lots of things and with huge visual and organizational aspects of Win 11, I love it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro Version 22H2(OS Build 22621.963)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    AMD
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 8 Core
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte X570 Aorus Pro WiFi
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    PCI Express 3.0 x16: PowerColor RX Vega 56 Red Dragon
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    Realtek ALC1220 and AMD Greenland - High Definition Audio Controller
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    2 - 27 inch Westinghouse
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    2 SSD - 2 TB each
    1 HDD - 2 TB
    Keyboard
    logitech
    Mouse
    logitech
    Internet Speed
    1 GB
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Avast Premium
This one signature of Windows, you'd think they'd learn to stop completely messing with it. Because it seems to be the #1 gripe every time they change it. They can easily make the UI flyout and do all the pretty stuff they want, but should just keep the main Programs tree that has always been with Windows there. The new interface makes you click an extra small button to view the whole tree. Whereas previous iterations you can just click start menu and see the tree.
 

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System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home
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    PC/Desktop
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    Samsung Galaxy Book Flex2
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-1165G7
    Motherboard
    Samsung
    Memory
    16GB
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    Intel UHD
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    Realtek
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    Samsung 4K TV and Built-in Laptop Screen
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    4K
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    N/A
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    Samsung
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    Samsung Laptop
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    OEM
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    Laptop
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    Trackpad
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    800 mbps +
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    Brave, Chrome, Edge
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    Windows
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    Windows 11 Pro
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    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
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    i7-13700K
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    ASUS Z790-A
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    32GB DDR5
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    EVGA RTX 3070 Ti
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    Denon AVR-X3500H
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    TCL 65R635, Viewsonic Elite UW 34" 1440P
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    4K, 1440P
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    Solidigm P44 Pro 2TB, SKHynix P41 1TB, SKHynix P31 2TB, WDSN750 2TB, Intel 320 600GBx2, Sandisk Professional G-Drive 12TB
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    Phantek Evolv X
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    Phantek 120mm/140mm
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    Razer Deathadder V3 wireless, Razer Deathadder V2 wired
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    Logitech G815, G915TKL(wireless)
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    800Mbps +
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    Brave, Edge
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    Windows Defender
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    Monoprice Stage Right 5-inch Powered Studio Multimedia Monitor Speakers, B&W 603 S2 Anniversary Edition Tower Speakers, PSA Sub, Panasonic UB9000 Bluray Player, Xbox One X, Ipad 11 Pro, 2018 Mac Mini i5
Well they could have still locked things down without changing the start menu. And Microsoft does provide a mechanism for corporations to do what they want and lock things in particular they want locked and that is group policy, so they could have used that. So question is, why the change?
The only other thought that comes to mind is that Windows 11 is being made by a different generation of programmers. They might not see things exactly the same way I (or people of my generation) do. For me it's important to keep things organized. That's why for me a list of programs or a collection of shortcuts has to be configurable so that I can organize them in a way that makes sense to me and makes life easier for me. They might think that's not necessary since you can search for anything and that's more effective so these lists are not needed. For me that's nonsense, I have the Search service disabled and Cortana not allowed in Group Policy since I don't use them and I don't want to use them. But they are not doing it for me ...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
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    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i5-10600K
    Motherboard
    Asus Rog Strix Z490-A Gaming
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce GTX 1650
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung U32J59x 32" 4K
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160
I suppose you could go through and rearrange everything but that is a pain.

You have to do that with phones. They just don't ship 'your' way.

But I agree with everything else you said.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    11 if on this site
Some just drop down sub-folders right in the All Apps list, or show several apps shortcuts. But I understand your dissatisfaction with what can be done in there.

To each his own. I'm going to live with it until I get my TLB back. Maybe I'll try one of the blank-blank-Back programs, but not yet.

View attachment 9523
how on gods green earth are you getting subfolders to show up? my workflow was 1-2 punched out of existence with windows 11. between the inability to move taskbar/tray to another monitor and the inability to display subfolders in the start menu (or so i thought?) its been awful.

I have had things meticulously sorted since ever and was using open-shell up until windows 11. now whether i use the native start menu or start 11 with the windows 11 style, i cant get any of my subfolders to display.
for example I have a "games" folder thats broken into subfolders, emulators, launchers, standard games, virtual reality games, steam games, and when i transplanted my backed up programdata\microsoft\windows\start menu\programs\games folder into win11 it just lumped them all into one giant folder. while another mark against 11 for me, if i had to that could be worked around.
my development folder has about a dozen subfolders and lumping all that together is a complete non starter.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
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    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel i7 9900K
    Motherboard
    Asus Maximus X Formula
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    64GB G.Skill DDR4
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    EVGA 2080ti
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    U2718Q
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    4K
    Hard Drives
    2TB Samsung 970 EVO Plus
    1TB Samsung 970 EVO Plus
    ~200TB worth of spinners in a DAS via LSI HBA
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    EVGA 1500 supernova
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    Corsair 900D
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    Custom Water
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    Razer Blackwidow Chroma v2
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    Razer Naga Trinity
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    Gigabit Fiber
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    Brave

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