Where Customization Begins 

  • Start Button Back in Windows 8

 #23716  by TheAslan
 02 Oct 2012, 00:14
Almost all of us are very well aware of the fact that Microsoft has removed the Start button and Start Menu from its latest OS Windows 8 Start Menu has been replaced by the new Start Screen which shows live tiles of built-in programs, 3rd party programs installed by you and a few useful tools such as weather, RSS feed, etc. Start button has been replaced by a small Start Screen thumbnail which appears when you move your mouse cursor to bottom-left corner of screen.

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lthough Start Screen was designed to provide easier access to programs and better organizing capabilities for users but many Windows 8 users find the new Start Screen a little bit difficult to use and understand.

We have posted a tutorial in past which allows you to create a new toolbar in Windows 8 Taskbar which works similar to Start button and Start Menu and provides quick access to all installed programs. You can check it at following link:

How to Enable Good Old Start Button (ORB) and Start Menu in Windows 8?

We have also shared a few freeware which can bring the Start button and Start Menu back in Windows 8. Today in this article for your convenience, we are going to list all free software which can add the missing Start button and Start Menu in Windows 8.

So without wasting time lets share the list of freeware:

1. Classic Shell


Classic Shell is one of our favorite tools for Windows 7 and Windows 8. It can bring back the Start button and Start Menu in Windows 8. It also allows you to get the good old classic Explorer features such as classic navigation pane, fully functional status bar, shared folder overlay icon and much more. It works in both Windows 7 and Windows 8.

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You can read more about it and download it using following link:

Download Classic Shell

2. ViStart


ViStart was one of those first freeware which were created to provide Windows Vista look-like Start Menu in Windows XP. Then it was updated to mimic Windows 7 Start Menu and now it can also bring the same Start Menu and Start button to Windows 8.

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You can read more details at following link:

Download ViStart

3. Start8


Start8 is great software developed by Stardock which adds a nice looking Start Menu and Start button to Windows 8. It also allows you to access new Metro apps right from the Start Menu. The Start Menu features Aero glass UI matching with Taskbar background color.

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It was a great freeware for Windows 8 but sadly it is no longer a free software. Now Stardock is charging $4.99 to purchase a full version for Start8. To be honest this software is worth this money. You can grab a beta version of Start8 using following link:

Download Start8

4. Taskbar Classic Start Menu


This software is a little bit different from others. It allows you to access the Start Menu using its icon present in system tray (aka system notification area). You can download it using following link:

Download Taskbar Classic Start Menu

5. A Few More Freeware


There are a few more free software to add Start button and Start Menu back to Windows 8. We are providing links to their homepage so that you can read more about them and can download them:

Spesoft Windows 8 Start Menu
IObit StartMenu8
Power8

That's all for now guys. Feel free to try them and let us know your feedback. If you know about any other similar tool, please let us know and we'll add it to the list...

We'll keep updating this topic whenever a new freeware is found, so keep checking this page regularly.


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 #23717  by Neuropass
 02 Oct 2012, 01:23
Startmenu x is another good one. Start x