How do I get the start button back in Windows 8?

With the release of Windows 8, Microsoft wanted everyone to use the Start screen instead of the Start button and the Start menu found in previous versions of Windows. However, there are a few ways to mimic the Windows Start button and Start menu combination. Read through the following to find the best option to suit your needs.

If you want to access the command prompt, Event Viewer, or Windows Explorer, try using the shortcut Windows key + X before trying the suggestions below. This shortcut key combination opens a menu containing these options and more.

The Start button

With the Windows 8.1 update, Microsoft has added a Start button that takes you to the Start Screen. This update does not, however, return the Start menu found in previous versions of Windows. If you’re ok with the Start Screen and only want the Start button, we recommend updating to Windows 8.1, as it is the fastest solution and updates are important. If you still want the Start menu (not the same as Start screen), proceed to the following sections of this page.

Create a Windows Start menu toolbar

The Start menu can be made into a toolbar, which allows you access to all the programs you would normally see in All Programs. To do this, follow the steps below.

Adding this toolbar will not look like the normal Windows Start menu. It will be on the right side of the Windows Taskbar as a little arrow that shows a list of programs.

1. Make sure show hidden files is enabled.

• How do I view hidden files in Windows?

1. Right-click the Taskbar and click Toolbars and then New toolbar.
2. Browse to C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows and select Start menu and choose Select Folder

Once these steps are completed, a new Start menu section on the Taskbar appears. This new section contains all of the programs located in the Programs folder in the standard Windows Start menu.

Install a third-party add-on

There are multiple third-party tools that can be installed in Windows 8 that can mimic the Start button and Start menu found in previous versions of Windows. Below are our suggestions on which third-party tools to try.

• ViStart 8 — A great, free utility to add a Start menu almost identical to what was in Windows 7. It also includes the ability to skin and lots of other features.
• Classic Shell — Another free, open source, software tool to add the Start menu and other previous Windows features to Windows 8.
• Start 8 — Another great tool for adding the start button to the Taskbar.

Freeware to add Start Button & Menu to Windows 8

Windows 8 introduces the Start Screen instead of the traditional Start Menu, which most Windows users have been used too, for years and years! While most have liked the Start Screen, there are some who have not. We will discuss today a few free software that will – sort of – add the Start Menu and the Start Button to Windows 8.

While personally, I may not want to use these freeware, I am sure that this post will interest those who are missing the start menu or start button in Windows 8.

Start Button for Windows 8

1. Classic Shell

Classic Shell is a popular software many use on Windows 7 too, to get the classic start menu back or to add Up button, show title bar, get classic feel, etc, in Windows 7 explorer. Classic Shell adds a new customizable start button and a working start menu to Windows 8. Probably your best bet would be to use this program first and see if it suits you, before trying the others.

2. StartMenu8

The Start menu of Iobit StartMenu8 is very identical to the start menu of Windows 7. One good feature about the program is it lets users automatically skip the Metro UI screen and immediately gain access to the desktop when Windows 8 loads. Also, it offers an option to directly switch to the Start Screen via its ‘Switch to Metro’ option.

3. StartMenu 7

There are some utilities out there in the market that are capable of delivering both, the feel and look of Windows Start Menu. One such utility is StartMenu 7. The application allows you to right-click on shortcuts but does not support the drag and drop feature.

The basic version of the program can be downloaded free. If you like getting more features, you can buy the Pro version which costs around $20.

4. ViStart

ViStart is a start menu replacement for Windows and works on Windows 8 too. It provides shortcuts to Computer, Documents, Pictures, Music, Videos, Control Panel, the Run command and the Network. The left side includes the Internet browser, the email client, the most recent ten programs that you used and the list of all the programs installed on your computer – and more.

While installing ViStart, you may want to decline offers to install RegClean or Babylon toolbar, etc.

5. MetroStart8

Well, MetroStart8 is simply a button that launches the start screen. If you like to have a button on your taskbar to launch the start menu/start screen, then this one is for you. It doesn’t do much else as I said, except launch the start screen in Windows 8. It is a small executable, which you have to pin to your taskbar like any other program. It comes in five different flavors, and it’s distributed in both 32 and 64 Bit channels.

6. Start8

Start8 too tries to bring the Start menu back to Windows 8. It adds Start Menu to the Windows 8 taskbar, enables quick access and searching of your installed applications, adds Run option via right-click menu, adds Shutdown… option via right-click menu and lets you choose a custom Start button image.

7. Start Menu X

Start Menu X is an app that gets the Start button and its menu back to Windows 8. The freeware app is a replacement of the system menu for professionals. Start Menu X offers flexible configuration. How? It adds a Start button that can be customized as per one’s requirements.you can create your own start button and use it in Windows 8 as the application is compatible with Windows 8.

8. StartW8

StartW8 is yet another option that can also make your PC directly login to desktop, rather than the Start Menu. The start menu embeds amazingly into the taskbar as well as in the system. Once you’ve installed this start menu freeware, whenever you press the ‘Win’ key from your keyboard, you would not be taken to the start screen, but StartW8 will pop out.

9. Windows8 Start Button

The Windows 8 StartButton’s menu displays commands for search, run, and Help. Besides, it has a Shut Down option too. Right-clicking on the orb brings up the application settings. You can select a particular Start menu style.

10. Windows8 Start Menu gadget

If you’d like to switch between the Windows 8 style start menu and Windows 7 style classic start menu, you can do so in a click, with the help of this desktop gadget. Windows8 Start Menu gadget for Windows 8 makes it easy for you to effect the change. In one click you will able to change from the Windows 8 start menu to the Windows 7 start menu and vice versa.

11. Pokki

Pokki lets you add Start Button, Start Menu, Web apps, and Gadgets to Windows 8 desktop. You can use Pokki as a social network tool, entertainment tool, business application, or a utility. Pokki has a really cool interface, without many GUI components on it. Moreover, the gadgets that install on Pokki have an awesome interface too.

12. Power8

Power 8 is another start menu replacer for Windows 8, styled and integrated inside the taskbar. When you use this tool, you do not need to patch system files or add hooks over system objects. No app- init DLLs; additional services, drivers, registry keys, etc are added. It is an open-source project.

13. PSMenu or Portable Start Menu

PSMenu or Portable Start Menu lets you launch important tools and applications quickly from the System Tray of your Windows PC. While it may not exactly be a Windows 8 start menu offering, this tool can find use on Windows 8 computers too.

14. Start Menu 8

Start Menu 8 is another Start Menu offering for Windows 8, that provides a quick and convenient way for users to bring back both the Windows Start Menu and the Start button, while also disabling things like Windows 8 Hot Corners, the Metro Sidebar and hotkeys.

15. Spencer

Spencer brings back the Classic Windows XP Start Menu to Windows 8. It is a free tool that lets you enjoy the Windows XP style classic Start menu on your Windows 8 PC.

Well, these are some freeware which tries to – sort of – add the start menu to Windows 8. Take your pick and let us know your favorite!

My advice? Stop fighting the start screen and get used to it. Most of these freeware will not offer the same functionality, that you were used to in Windows 7. It would be nice if Microsoft were to give users options to choose the start screen or the start menu, but as of date, it doesn’t look like Microsoft is going to do away with the start screen.

Windows 10 start button not working

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Thank you for posting on Microsoft Communities.

I will be glad to help you with the issue you have with the computer. I understand the frustration when things don’t work the way it should.

Please follow the below methods to troubleshoot on the issue:

Method 1: Perform a sfc scan on the computer to check if there are any corruptions on the computer. Please follow the below link to perform a sfc scan on the computer.

Method 2: Try to perform a DISM commands on the computer. Please follow the below link to know how to perform DISM in Windows.

This issue can be fixed by Windows Updates. Please refer to the suggestions by Sharath Srinivasa replied on January 23, 2015 in the link given below.

Hope this information is helpful. Feel free to get back to us for any further assistance.

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1. Launch Task manager

Press the [Ctrl] + [Alt] + [Del] keys on the keyboard at the same time, or right click the Taskbar, and select Task manager.

2. Run a new Windows task

When the Task manager window opens, click the More details option to expand it, then select Run new task from the File menu.

3. Run Windows PowerShell

When the Run new task dialog box opens, type powershell, tick the box for Create this task with administrative privileges and click OK.

4. Run the System File Checker

Type sfc /scannow into the window and press the [Return] key. The scan may take some time and will end with one of three results. Windows did not find any integrity violations and Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and repaired them mean there are now no corrupt files, but Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some (or all) of them indicates a problem.

In this latter case, type (or copy and paste) DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth into the PowerShell window and press the [Return] key. This will download files from Windows Update to replace the corrupt ones and, again, this may take some time.

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A treatment for the symptom would be to restart Windows Explorer every time this happens. This may allow you to use the Windows button until the next time that it freezes up.

-open task manager (alt-ctrl-del or right click on taskbar and choose it)

-find and select «Windows Explorer»

-click Restart button on bottom right

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It means log out and log back in. will restart Windows services.

I honestly don’t know how this is still a problem that Microsoft hasn’t fixed in Falls Creator edition. Seems like a flaw in pretty basic functionality.

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I’m shocked. a YouTube comment fixed this problem with me. I narrowed it down to some conflict between (I believe) Dropbox and the Windows 10 Task Host Manager.

Followed this Dropbox thread here: https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Installation-and-desktop-app/Stuck-on-quot-starting-quot/td-p/88494/page/5

To this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILni3TO6ITc

And the first comment says this:

After hours of searching and trying, Finally I GOT IT I found a solution that fixed the issue for me and I think it should work for you and all who suffer from the problem. It is very easy. Just by these steps : 1- Right click on start menu and click on Run. «For those who the start menu does not respond with right click, right click on taskbar — click on Task Manager — from File menu on the left upper corner select Run new task». 2-White the command regedit and click Enter. 3- Go to path [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WpnUserService]. 4-Double click on Start from the right side. 5-Change the value data to 4 then OK. 6-Reboot. That’s it. Or just download the attached registry file and run it. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1AZJPia-kpxz_t2DrBKYY6xwMs5D-f9Ft

All credit to Ayman Askar

Someone else responded in the comments below and said this:

onegp I just talked to Microsoft. The 0 is «default» for the Windows Push Notification service (wpnservice) to push notifications from some corresponding WNS server. I guess that depends on your location. Changing it to 1 makes Windows get it’s notification from iCloud servers, 2, 3, 4. x, I don’t know and neither did the tech I talked to. For that you get to have access to registry service codes. So either this guy works for Microsoft or just guessed the code because Microsoft had no answer as to why entering 4 worked. If you type in the registry key directly into the search engine bar, you will get results for that service but not the codes and how they repetitively affect the system. I hope this helps.

No idea why this widely reported issue isn’t fixed yet with a proper Windows Update. Seems pretty easy to recreate.