Win 7 classic start menu.
Menu "Start", which is located to the left of the taskbar, is visually implemented as a ball, clicking on which displays the most necessary system components and the last running programs to the user. Thanks to additional tools, the appearance of this button can be easily changed. This is what will be discussed in today's article.
Unfortunately, in Windows 7 there is no option in the personalization menu that would be responsible for setting appearance buttons "Start". This option only appears in the operating room. Windows system 10. Therefore, to change this button, you will need to use additional software.
Method 1: Windows 7 Start Orb Changer
Windows 7 Start Orb Changer is distributed free of charge and is available for download on the official website. After downloading, you just have to follow a few simple steps:
Method 2: Windows 7 Start Button Creator
If you need to create three unique icons for the start menu button, but you cannot find a suitable option, then we suggest using Windows program 7 Start Button Creator, which will combine any three PNG images into one BMP file. Creating icons is quite simple:
Fixing a bug with restoring the standard view
If you decide to restore the original appearance of the button using restore via "Restore" and received an error due to which the explorer stopped working, you need to use a simple instruction:
In this article, we took a detailed look at the process of changing the appearance of the Start button icon. There is nothing complicated in this, you just need to follow a simple instruction. The only problem you may face is damage. system files which happens very rarely. But do not worry, because it is fixed in just a few clicks.
Do you miss the pop-up menus of the old classic Start Windows 98 (2000)? If you don't know what we are talking about, these were menus that were organized by the type of displaying all subfolders in a submenu. With the help of them, a tree-like menu was created, which allowed one mouseover to move from the start button to specific programs or Windows components.
Of course, such a menu may not be to everyone's taste, but there are still many users who would like pop-up menus to return. In Windows XP and Vista, Microsoft allowed an alternative option called "Classic Start Menu" to be included, as long as the design of the menu was also changed.
Starting with Windows 7, Microsoft has decided to drop support for the classic menu entirely. However, it is still possible to partially restore functions.
Customizing the Classic Windows Start Menu
One of the changes you can make is tweaking some of the Start menu items, namely changing "display as links" to "display as menu".
To do this, open the Start menu customization dialog box (see ). And go through the entire list of items such as "Computer", "Documents" and others. Figure 1 below shows part of the settings. After you set all the settings, click the "OK" button. Now, some of the Start menu items will be displayed in a classic style. Below in Figure 2, you can see an example of what happens if you choose to display as a menu for the "Computer" item.
Of course, such a list will be limited only to the first nesting level (for example, for the same "Computer" only disks are displayed), but still this is a more classic style.
Figure 1. Configuring the properties of the Start menu
Figure 2. We look at the result. List display for "Computer"
Note: Slightly more complex methods will be discussed in the following articles.
Programs for creating a classic start menu in Windows 7
If you're craving to completely bring back the old style of the Start menu, then there is a good one for this. free program, which completely change the behavior of the standard menu. This program is " Classic Shell". You can download the program from Source Forge at this link. The program is quite easy to use and has a large number of settings, which gives it great flexibility.
Please note that the program has three "Classic Explorer" components ( windows explorer), "Classic Start Menu" (classic Start menu), and "Classic IE9" (IE9 browser add-on). You don't have to install them all. If you are only interested in the Start menu, then you will only need to install "Classic Start Menu".
- How to add the classic All Programs popup menu to the Windows 7 start menu?
Technical Tips
One of FAQ users who switched to a new OS - how to do Windows start 10 as in Windows 7 - remove the tiles, return the right panel of the Start menu from 7, the familiar "Shut down" button and other elements.
You can return the classic (or close to it) start menu from Windows 7 to Windows 10 using third party programs, including free ones, which will be discussed in the article. There is also a way to make the start menu "more standard" without using additional programs, this option will also be considered.
The program for returning the classic start menu to Windows 10 StartIsBack is also available in Russian, but you can use it for free only for 30 days (the license price for Russian-speaking users is 125 rubles).
At the same time, this is one of the best products in terms of functionality and implementation in order to return the regular Start menu from Windows 7, and if you don't like Classic Shell, I recommend trying this option.
Using the program and its parameters are as follows:
The program works flawlessly, and mastering its settings is perhaps easier than in Classic Shell, especially for a novice user.
The official website of the program is https://www.startisback.com/ (there is also a Russian version of the site, which you can go to by clicking "Russian version" at the top right of the official website and if you decide to purchase StartIsBack, it is better to do it in the Russian version site).
Start10
And another Start10 product from Stardock, a developer specializing in programs specifically for Windows design.
The purpose of Start10 is the same as that of previous programs - the return of the classic start menu to Windows 10, it is possible to use the utility for free for 30 days (license price - $ 4.99).
I don’t give a definite conclusion on the program: it’s worth trying if the other options didn’t fit, the developer has an excellent reputation, but I didn’t notice anything special compared to what has already been considered.
Free version Stardock Start10 is available for download on the official website https://www.stardock.com/products/start10/
Classic start menu without programs
Unfortunately, the full-fledged Start menu from Windows 7 cannot be returned to Windows 10, but you can make its appearance more ordinary and familiar:
- Unpin all the start menu tiles on the right side of it (right click on the tile - “unpin from start screen”).
- Resize the start menu using its right and top edges (drag and drop).
- Remember that additional start menu items in Windows 10, such as "Run", go to the control panel and other system items are available from the menu that is called by right-clicking on the Start button (or by pressing the Win + X keyboard shortcut).
In general, this is enough to comfortably use the existing menu without installing third-party software.
This concludes the review of ways to return the normal Start to Windows 10 and I hope that you will find the option that suits you among the presented ones.
Start menu in Windows 7
Let's start to eliminate the shortcomings of the new interface of Windows 7. First of all, we will cut out the monstrous Start menu and return it to the familiar XP look. Unfortunately, this is not done by regular means, updates or any other official means. But there are several individual programs third-party developers that allow you to return the compact look of the Start menu. Each of these programs has its pros and cons, so the final choice is yours.
Commercial program with a 30-day trial period. Registration solutions for latest version not yet found, but you can catch the release of the previous version on the Internet. The program converts the Start menu into a more compact form, but still very far from ideal, the transparency effect is supported. Exclusively for an amateur.
. A free version of the previous program, but the installer contains several advertising toolbars for the browser, which can and should be disabled during installation, and during operation CSMenu constantly wants to get into the Internet. It requires the .NET Framework to be installed. During the installation process, it copies program icons from the Start menu to some kind of internal cache, then folders and icons are added automatically when programs are installed. The documentation says that some kind of configurator comes with the program, but it was not possible to find it in the distribution kit, and through the icon in the system tray, you can only switch the interface language. The appearance of the menu is not bad, but the lack of settings is annoying, I will also add to the minuses the "stuck" backlight of the "Start" button after removing the cursor from it.
. In my opinion, the most good decision of all those tested. From offsite you can download versions of the program for 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems, as well as localized kits, including Russian. If desired, you can localize the interface yourself by editing the settings file as needed strings.xml. Right-clicking on the "Start" opens the program's settings menu, where you can easily edit menu colors, gradients, and other visual effects. The program is absolutely free, the only negative is that you have to run it manually every time or, again, manually register it in startup. Everything else is just great.
Aston2 Menu. The second version of the once best replacement for the worker Windows desktop, and now turned into a shiny and blinking squalor with minimal functionality. Questions of charitability are solved by purchasing a program or a free search result on the Internet. After installing the main Aston2 files, you can download and install the Classic Menu or Classic Menu Windows 7 skin. The Start menu looks like this:
"A pitiful sight... A heartbreaking sight..." (C) For some reason, the developers of Aston or the author of the skin did not foresee the fact that the user can simply select and disable some items in the main menu. Although the menu itself turns out to be really more or less pretty.
UPD. The forces of the collective mind found two more similar programs.
Windows 7 Classic Start Menu is a free program that replaces the standard windows menu 7 per classic menu. It has a tiny size, less than 60 kilobytes. Managed via the system tray icon, supports AeroGlass mode.
And it is a clickable ball containing the Windows logo. If you click on the ball, our eyes will be presented with a set of recent running programs and a list of the most needed items. To make your PC unique and personalized, check out how to change the start button in windows 7 all editions(Maximum, Home Basic, etc.) in this manual.
With, in most cases, the "start" remains unchanged, as it is tied to the explorer (explorer.exe). To fit it into the current design, use programs and pens to change the look.
Change the start button through the program Windows 7 StartOrbChanger (W7SOC)
Free program W7SOC, which is able to change the start button on Windows 7 with a couple of mouse clicks. W7SOC has a simple interface and is easy to operate. She works:
- With all DPI (if the image is too large or small, the utility will resize itself).
- With X86/32 - bit and X64/64 - bit OS versions.
- With graphic PNG formats and BMP.
To change the start icon in Windows 7, do the following tasks:
1. Download the program and extract it from the archive.
2. Right click on w7soc.exe and enable it as administrator.
3. At the main window, the interface is nowhere simpler. At the top, the 3 states of the start button are shown: default (default), on hover (hover) and when pressed (pressed).
After the states, there are 2 buttons:
- Change - helps to specify the path to PNG and BMP and changes the start button.
- Restore - Resets the changes and restores the default icon.
To expand the settings, there is an arrow at the bottom right.
4. Click on the arrow and you will see an additional menu. In the picture below the numbers, see the decoding. The menu has the following items:
- Changing the start button by making changes to the .
- Change the start icon by replacing the original file %WINDIR%\explorer.exe.
- Adds a "Start Orb" shortcut to context menu desktop, called by the right button. This way you can quickly turn on W7SOC.
- Adds a "Set As Start Orb" option to the menu when right-clicking PNG and BMP files. When you select this weave, the appearance of the start button instantly changes.
- Turns off the appearance of a success message.
- When starting the utility, it always displays the extended menu.
- Shows the process running in cmd. , a cycle is made and after pressing any key, the start changes and acquires a new icon.
5. Customize W7SOC for yourself and click "Change" and specify the path to the icons. There are already 11 different buttons in the "start buttons" folder, select any and click "open". You can also download from the web or draw your own.
The explorer will restart and start button change icon to the selected one. If you want to return the old icon, then click "Restore".
Important! If the taskbar and desktop have disappeared, click file - new task and type explorer.exe in the line and press Enter. If nothing works, then in cmd enter the command to restore the system files SFC / SCANNOW, press Enter and wait for the procedure to end.
Change with Windows 7 Start Button Changer (W7SBC)
You can change the start menu icon with another W7SBC utility. Worse than the first option, but the result is similar. It is advisable to create a system restore point, or skip this step and use the restore command in case of damage to system files.
1. Download the utility and extract the archive.
2. Run Windows 7 SBC.exe from the W7SBC folder as an administrator. Do not change the folder name, this action can lead to problems.
3. The current launch design will be displayed on the left side of the main window. With 1 line, it becomes possible to change the start button in Windows 7. The line below restores the default icon. Press line 1 with rounded logo.
4. Specify the path to the downloaded or ready (folder 10 Sample Orbs) bmp file. Click "open". Wait until the explorer restarts and see the result.
If you want to return the "start", then click on the explorer icon to restore the original files. Wait for the reboot of the explorer, then, if successful, you will see such a sign.
If you need to change the start button again, first restore the original, and then put a new icon.
If you have followed the steps and the start has not changed, do this:
- Close the program.
- Manually take ownership of the C:\Windows\explorer.exe path.
- Run the program, repeat the steps.
change start button in windows 7 won't be too stressful. For harmony, so that they are completely combined. Of the 2 programs, W7SOC is preferred, it has a number of flexible settings that expand the functionality.
