Replace Your Windows 10 Start Menu With these Alternatives

The new Start menu in Windows 10 is definitely one of the biggest upgrades to previous versions; right behind Cortana. It’s sleek, heavily customizable, and comes with cool live tiles that show live information from apps.

No matter how powerful it may be, I personally don’t like the Windows 10 Start menu; it just looks like it got beat up by a rainbow. To make it simpler, I tried getting rid of the whole live tiles section, but it wasn’t the right call as I still need it to pin important apps. Thankfully, I found a third-party replacement for the Windows 10 Start menu that allowed me to customize the Start menu exactly as I wanted.

If you are one of those classic folks who prefer the elegant and straight forward design of the Windows 7 era, then I know just the right alternatives to help you. Below you’ll find some of the best Windows 10 Start menu alternatives that will let you completely change the look of the Start menu and even add extra features you never knew you needed.

IObit Start Menu 8

It’s a free app, but IObit does advertise its other programs while installing and in the new Start menu on first use. It does have a paid version that offers automatic updates, but it’s not compulsory to buy it. Start Menu 8 has two Start Menu styles, one is based on Windows 7 style and the other is a bit flat similar to Windows 8 menus.

It has over a dozen built-in Start menu buttons that are actually very high quality. Like other apps, the Start menu is fully customizable and you can add remove items and change icon sizes as you please.

Open Shell (Classic Shell)

Classic Shell has been the staple alternative to Windows default Start menu for many years. Unfortunately, the Classic Shell developer had to leave the project so he made it open source. Open Shell is the same Classic Shell app, but it’s updated by volunteer developers to stay up-to-date with Windows 10 updates. The main purpose of Open Shell is to replace the Windows 10 Start menu with a Windows 7 like Start menu that can be further customized with skins.

When you first launch the app, you should pick a Start menu style (single or double column) and then apply a skin you prefer (try Metallic, it’s really good). This is sufficient to get a new Start Menu that is simple and functional. However, if you want to further customize, then there is so much more you can do.

The Basic Settings and Customize Start Menu tabs will help configure which buttons to show in the Start menu and which menu to open when you right-click on the Start menu or press the Windows key. You can also replace the Start Menu button with a custom image and change its size too.

When you are ready to take full control over the Start menu, check the checkbox next to Show all settings at the top. This opens a dozen more tabs to fully customize the Start menu. You can control the Start menu button, change main menu items, select right-click menu behavior, change menu design and animations, switch language, manage search box behavior, and much more.

I might be a bit biased being a Classic Shell user for over 5 years, but in my opinion, it’s the most customizable start menu alternative that is also completely free.

StartIsBack

StartIsBack definitely has a much better user interface than Open Shell, but it’s a little less customizable. This Windows Start menu alternative is for both the Start menu and the Taskbar of Windows. Any changes you make will affect both the Start menu and the Taskbar.

It comes with 3 Start menu styles which are mostly inspired by the Windows 7 Start menu. You can also select a custom image for the Start menu button or use the Windows 7 button provided by the app. More importantly, it lets you change the color of both the Taskbar and Start menu to any color you like.

If you move to the Configure behavior section, you’ll find a bunch of options to configure how you interact with the Start menu. You can select what apps and items to show in the Start menu by default and also change the power button behavior. Furthermore, it’s search option allows you to take your query to Cortana if nothing is found in programs and folders.

StartIsBack is a paid app to replace the Windows 10 Start menu and you can get a lifetime license for $3.99 for a single PC. Although, it does have a 30-days trial version that contains all the features for you to evaluate.

Start10

Start10 takes a little different approach to Start menu style. Instead of exactly copying the Windows 7 style, it makes Windows 10 Start menu style simpler. There is a Windows 7 inspired style that uses the basic frame of Windows 7, but well incorporates Windows 10 icon styles and app choices. And also a modern style that functions the same but uses the Windows 10 Start menu background.

A more interesting feature of Start10 is the ability to add cool themes and images as the Start menu and taskbar background. You can even upload a custom photo and apply it as a Start menu background. Just like other Start menu apps, Start10 also lets you configure icon size, pin apps, show recent apps and add programs as links or menus.

If you move to the Control section of the app, you will find many options to control how you open the Start10 menu. For example, you can decide whether the Windows button or clicking on the Start menu icon opens the Start10 menu or Windows 10 default Start menu. This can be extremely useful if you intend to use both the Start10 menu and the default Start menu at the same time.

Start10 is also a premium app and you’ll have to pay $3.74 to get the lifetime license. Although you can use the fully functional 30-days trial version before buying (requires email signup).

Start Menu X

If you are looking to make your Windows 10 menu even more functional than Start Menu X might intrigue you. Instead of dumbing down to the Windows 7 style Start menu, Start Menu X upgrades the Start menu to quickly access apps and folder data. It basically turns any folder or Windows setting here into a searchable menu that shows all its contents by hovering over.

You can access folders and their items right from the Start menu and even access subfolders. The app utilizes the live tiles section of the Start menu to list all the sub-items of folders and apps, and you can adjust the location of each item right from here as well.

Another interesting feature of Start Menu X is its ability to set timer-based power options, such as restart, shutdown, and log off, etc. You can set a specific timer and your PC will use one of the power options when the time is up. This can be extremely useful to shut down the PC while you are away if a program needs to complete a task.

Similar to other apps, it comes with a handful of skins and styles to customize the look of your Start menu. Most of the Start Menu X features are available in the free version, but its One-Click-Launch feature is only available in the paid version for $9.99.

More Windows 10 Start Menu Alternatives

I find the above as the best alternatives for Windows 10 Start menu. Each of them has its own unique features that make them worth picking depending on your preference. However, there are some more apps as well that can work as an alternative to the Windows 10 Start menu. Although some of them are not being updated anymore, so there is a chance they may break in the future. And others don’t offer enough exciting features that I may put them in the spotlight.

I am still listing them here as some of you might find them useful depending on your needs.

ViStart

A very simple Windows 10 Start menu alternative that lets you get a Windows 7 or Windows 8 style Start menu. I must say the Windows 7 theme Start menu looks exactly like the real Windows 7 Start menu, and the Windows 8 one also copies the menu styles perfectly. You can also download more skins if the current ones don’t please you. ViStart is also completely free and open source.

Start Menu Reviver

This app works similar to the default Windows 10 Start menu, but it has its own interface and limitations. Start Menu Reviver comes with tiles feature that supports up to 64 tiles that you can scroll through. The tiles are also not limited to apps and settings, you can add just about any file; including media files and websites. A bunch of important settings and folders are listed on the left side, and you can use the All Apps button to view all the installed apps on your PC.

Unfortunately, the Start menu size is very small and there seems to be no way to resize it. This makes it very difficult to navigate the Start menu as titles take a lot of space.

Ending thoughts

I personally use Open Shell as I like its double-column style Start menu and the customization it offers is just mind-blowing. In case you don’t know, Microsoft is also working on simplifying Start Menu and many changes are already shipped to the insider build. If you like those changes, then soon you might not even have to get an alternative for Windows 10 Start menu.

Устранение ошибок меню «Пуск» и начального экрана Troubleshoot Start menu errors

Начните сбои можно организовать в этих категориях: Start failures can be organized into these categories:

• Проблемы с развертыванием и установкой . Легко определить, но трудно восстановить. Deployment/Install issues — Easiest to identify but difficult to recover. Этот сбой является последовательным и, как правило, постоянным. This failure is consistent and usually permanent. Сброс, восстановление из резервного копирования или откат для восстановления. Reset, restore from backup, or rollback to recover.
• Проблемы с производительностью. Чаще всего это встречается с более старыми аппаратными машинами с низким питанием. Performance issues — More common with older hardware, low-powered machines. К симптомам относятся: высокая загруженность ЦП, раздор на диске, ресурсы памяти. Symptoms include: High CPU utilization, disk contention, memory resources. Это делает запуск очень медленным для ответа. This makes Start very slow to respond. Поведение прерывно в зависимости от доступных ресурсов. Behavior is intermittent depending on available resources.
• Сбои . Также легко определить. Crashes — Also easy to identify. Сбои в хозяйской или связанной с ней оболочке можно найти в журналах событий System или Application. Crashes in Shell Experience Host or related can be found in System or Application event logs. Это может быть дефект кода или связанный с отсутствием или изменением разрешений на файлы или ключи реестра программой или неправильными конфигурациями ужесточения безопасности. This can be a code defect or related to missing or altered permissions to files or registry keys by a program or incorrect security tightening configurations. Определение проблем с разрешениями может отнимает много времени, но средство SysInternals под названием Procmon покажет отказ в доступе. Determining permissions issues can be time consuming but a SysInternals tool called Procmon will show Access Denied. Другой вариант — получить сброс процесса при сбое и в зависимости от уровня комфорта, просмотреть отладку в отладке или просмотреть данные в службе поддержки. The other option is to get a dump of the process when it crashes and depending on comfort level, review the dump in the debugger, or have support review the data.
• Зависает — в хосте Shell Experience или связанном. Hangs — in Shell Experience host or related. Это самые сложные проблемы, которые необходимо определить, так как регистрируется мало событий, но поведение обычно прерывистое или восстанавливается при перезагрузке. These are the hardest issues to identify as there are few events logged, but behavior is typically intermittent or recovers with a reboot. Если фоновое приложение или служба зависают, у Start не будет ресурсов, чтобы вовремя реагировать. If a background application or service hangs, Start will not have resources to respond in time. Чистая загрузка может помочь определить, связана ли проблема с дополнительным программным обеспечением. Clean boot may help identify if the issue is related to additional software. Procmon также полезен в этом сценарии. Procmon is also useful in this scenario.
• Другие проблемы — настройка, политики домена, проблемы развертывания. Other issues — Customization, domain policies, deployment issues.

Устранение основных неполадок Basic troubleshooting

При устранении основных проблем Начните (и по большей части, все другие приложения Windows), Есть несколько вещей, чтобы проверить, если они не работают, как ожидалось. When troubleshooting basic Start issues (and for the most part, all other Windows apps), there are a few things to check if they are not working as expected. Для проблем, в которых меню «Пуск» или субкомпонент не работает, можно сделать несколько быстрых тестов, чтобы сузить место, где может находиться проблема. For issues where the Start menu or subcomponent isn’t working, you can do some quick tests to narrow down where the issue may reside.

Проверка оснащаемой оси и обновления версии Check the OS and update version

• Работает ли система с последним обновлением Feature и Cumulative Monthly? Is the system running the latest Feature and Cumulative Monthly update?
• Проблема началась сразу после обновления? Did the issue start immediately after an update? Способы проверки: Ways to check:
  • PowerShell:[System.Environment]::OSVersion.Version PowerShell:[System.Environment]::OSVersion.Version
  • WinVer из CMD.exe WinVer from CMD.exe

Проверьте, установлен ли start Check if Start is installed

Если запуск не удается сразу после обновления функции, необходимо проверить, не удалось ли успешно установить пакет App. If Start fails immediately after a feature update, on thing to check is if the App package failed to install successfully.

Если Start работал и просто сбои с перерывами, то, скорее всего, Начните установлено правильно, но проблема возникает ниже по течению. If Start was working and just fails intermittently, it’s likely that Start is installed correctly, but the issue occurs downstream. Чтобы проверить эту проблему, необходимо искать выход из этих двух команд PS: The way to check for this problem is to look for output from these two PS commands:

get-AppXPackage -Name Microsoft.Windows.ShellExperienceHost

get-AppXPackage -Name Microsoft.Windows.Cortana

Сообщения о сбое будут отображаться, если они не установлены Failure messages will appear if they aren’t installed

Если start не установлен, самое быстрое решение — вернуться к известной хорошей конфигурации. If Start is not installed, then the fastest resolution is to revert to a known good configuration. Это может быть откат обновления, сброс компьютера по умолчанию (где существует выбор для сохранения для удаления пользовательских данных) или восстановление из резервного копирования. This can be rolling back the update, resetting the PC to defaults (where there is a choice to save to delete user data), or restoring from backup. Не поддерживается метод установки файлов Start Appx. No method is supported to install Start Appx files. Результаты часто являются проблемными и ненадежными. The results are often problematic and unreliable.

Проверьте, запущен ли start Check if Start is running

Если любой компонент не может запуститься в загрузку, проверка журналов событий на случай ошибок или сбоей во время загрузки может указать на проблему. If either component is failing to start on boot, reviewing the event logs for errors or crashes during boot may pin point the problem. Загрузка с ПОМОЩЬЮ MSCONFIG и использование выборочного или диагностического запуска позволит устранить и/или определить возможные помехи из дополнительных приложений. Booting with MSCONFIG and using a selective or diagnostic startup option will eliminate and/or identify possible interference from additional applications.

• get-process -name shellexperiencehost
• get-process -name searchui

Если он установлен, но не запущен, проверьте загрузку в безопасный режим или используйте MSCONFIG для устранения сторонних или дополнительных драйверов и приложений. If it is installed but not running, test booting into safe mode or use MSCONFIG to eliminate third-party or additional drivers and applications.

Проверьте, является ли система чистой установкой или обновлением Check whether the system a clean install or upgrade

• Является ли эта система обновлением или чистой установкой? Is this system an upgrade or clean install?
  • Выполнение Run test-path «$env:windir\panther\miglog.xml»
  • Если этого файла не существует, система является чистой установкой. If that file does not exist, the system is a clean install.
• Проблемы с обновлением можно найти при запуске Upgrade issues can be found by running test-path «$env:windir\panther\miglog.xml»

Проверьте, регистрируется или активируется start Check if Start is registered or activated

• Экспорт в CSV следующего журнала событий и поиск по ключевым словам в текстовом редакторе или в таблице: Export the following Event log to CSV and do a keyword search in a text editor or spreadsheet:
  • Microsoft-Windows-TWinUI/Operational для Microsoft.Windows.ShellExperienceHost или Microsoft.Windows.Cortana Microsoft-Windows-TWinUI/Operational for Microsoft.Windows.ShellExperienceHost or Microsoft.Windows.Cortana
    • «Пакет не найден» «Package was not found»
    • «Недействительные значения для реестра» «Invalid value for registry»
    • «Элемент не найден» «Element not found»
    • «Пакет не может быть зарегистрирован» «Package could not be registered»

Если эти события найдены, Начните активировать неправильно. If these events are found, Start is not activated correctly. Каждое событие будет иметь более подробную информацию в описании и должно быть исследовано далее. Each event will have more detail in the description and should be investigated further. Сообщения событий могут отличаться. Event messages can vary.

Другие вещи, которые следует учитывать Other things to consider

Когда возникла проблема? When did the problem start?

• Срабатывает проблема сбоя меню «Пуск» Top issues for Start menu failure are triggered
  • После обновления After an update
  • После установки приложения After installation of an application
  • После присоединения к домену или применения политики домена After joining a domain or applying a domain policy
• Многие из этих проблем, как Many of those issues are found to be
  • Изменения разрешений в клавишах реестра или папках Permission changes on Registry keys or folders
  • Запуск или связанный компонент сбои или зависает Start or related component crashes or hangs
  • Сбой настройки Customization failure

Чтобы далее сузить проблему, следует отметить: To narrow down the problem further, it’s good to note:

Что такое фон установки? What is the install background?

• Это было развертывание, установка из мультимедиа, другие Was this a deployment, install from media, other
• Использование настроек? Using customizations?
  • DISM DISM
  • Групповой политики или MDM Group Policy or MDM
  • copyprofile copyprofile
  • Sysprep Sysprep
  • Other Other

Подключился к домену Domain-joined

• Параметры групповой политики, ограничивающие доступ или разрешения к папкам или клавишам реестра, могут вызывать проблемы с производительностью Start. Group policy settings that restrict access or permissions to folders or registry keys can cause issues with Start performance.
• Известно, что некоторые групповые политики, предназначенные для Windows 7 или старше, вызывают проблемы со start Some Group Policies intended for Windows 7 or older have been known to cause issues with Start
• Непроверенные настройки меню пусков могут вызвать неожиданное поведение, как правило, не завершая сбои в пуске. Untested Start Menu customizations can cause unexpected behavior by typically not complete Start failures.

Виртуализирована ли среда? Is the environment virtualized?

Проверьте журналы событий, которые записывают проблемы с запуском: Check Event logs that record Start Issues:

Журнал событий системы System Event log

Журнал событий приложения Application Event log