Windows 8 start button - easy fix

krutoi

krutoi

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This has been mentioned elsewhere, but just had to share again. The biggest thing clients have been bitching about on Win 8 is the missing start button. Finally occurred to me that there must be a way to get it back in some form, and sure enough there are actually multiple products out there that can do varying degrees of the same thing.

Classic Shell seems to do the job quite well, and it is open source to boot. Sent someone home with a new tower yesterday who I still haven't heard back from in 24 hours - pretty good considering he was jumping from XP straight into 8 :-)
 
I've switched to startisback. Has the closest emulation of the Win 7 start menu out there IMO. Classic shell doesn't use the white box area correctly like a real start menu does. Looks ugly.
 
Have you used the two? Classic shell well puts a ShELL as the start button plus the start menu isn't populated properly. In addition it's v easy to get back to metro. With startisback you can disable all links / ways to get back to metro.

You can trial startisback for 30 days. Trust me you won't go back. Lol
 
The best one is the Metro Start page, I understand some of your client may need those replacements, but I hope as tech you don't need them, if so it's just you are too late in the game, Windows 8 Developper Preview was release in October or November 2012, a lot of time to learn how to use it. Don't get me wrong on this, Windows 8 is the worst OS MS as release
 
I've learned to use windows 8 as is, but wow. My biggest gripe is Microsoft not giving people a choice. Classic shell is ok, I use metro I knew eventually I'd have to learn but makes some tasks on my desktop PC feel clunky, even something simple as opening control panel or a program. I also hate how default apps such as PDF reader and picture viewer are all metro. I feel like I have to hack the os to make it usable in some ways. Starting to hope enough people get fed up that Linux gets a chance. This is coming from someone who's been using windows since windows 95.
 
pc-quebec said:
...but I hope as tech you don't need them, if so it's just you are too late in the game...
...a lot of time to learn how to use it.
Click to expand...

"Need" has got nothing to do with it.
In 1987 (1986 actually) my Jeep had an automatic transmission. I drove it for 15 years like that. Plenty of time to learn how to use it.
When I pulled the tub and rebuilt it from the ground up, I put a standard in it.
Because that is what I was used to, and that is what I wanted.
 
I just wish they put a button to open the start screen. Shoving your mouse in the corner is stupid but i quickly learned to just push the windows button on the keyboard so no big deal
 
Absolutely necessary to remember.

I find it ironic that a Windows box almost forces you to learn keystrokes again. As a technician I find that the Windows Key + "X" is the most useful keystroke to learn under Win 8.

It's not really a Start Button but comes close for a Tech.
 
I've got Win 8 on my bench machine now and I actually prefer starting apps from Metro than I do from desktop short-cuts now. Taken about a week of solid use to get used to it.

The tiles are really easy to group and organise.

Some customers cannot work it out but I think most people will in time. They key thing they need to understand is that the start menus IS there but instead of a scrolling column of every single app they have, it's now an easy to read full-screen start menu that they can have as simple or complex as they like. Just stop looking for it in the bottom left and hit the Windows key instead which is much quicker anyway.

The search is great too. If you've not got a tile for something because you don't use it all that much then on the start page you can start typing say Powerpoint and within two letters it's there to click on. It's faster than going doing a list of every app or clicking into the search box and then typing.

There is a nice power button tile called ShutdownWin8 Button. The website says it's an XP style but mine isn't, it's Win 8.

So I'm making sure they get the two or three key concepts and then encouraging them to stick with it for a week rather than jumping to turning it back into something it isn't
 
I put start8 on a customer's machine. as far as I can see its exactly the same as the 7 start menu. It even activates with ctrl-esc and win keys

I was very impressed actually, expecting it to run like most 'hacks'. its not like that at all. Its identical in all respects.

definitely worth the $5 I reckon for anyone looking for a total swap out for metro.

Jim
 
Anyone try the Iobit version yet?
http://www.iobit.com/iobitstartmenu8.php

What does

Start Menu 8 do?
Start Menu 8 is specially designed for Windows 8. It offers a perfect solution for users who work with Windows Start Menu all the time and are not accustomed to the new Metro start screen in Windows 8. This smart tool brings back both the start button and Windows Start Menu, and offers the option to skip Metro start page, allowing users who only work on desktop to boot to Windows 8 desktop directly. It's the best start menu replacement for Windows8.

It's free
 
I don't use iobit software.

They nicked MBAM's database a while back ......allegedly.

Although they strenuously denied it, they did eventually delete "suspiciously" similar code from their own product.

I read that by doing this, it reduced their own database by 40%.
 
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