One of the biggest complaints of Windows 8 is there’s no traditional Start menu. There are a couple of lengthy hacks you can do to get it back, but you want to do it the easy way. Here’s how.
I showed you one solution called Start8 from Stardock. Start8 gives you the best of both worlds, the Start menu with the Metro UI.
ViStart is another free program that brings back the Start menu to Windows 8 in a more traditional fashion.
When you start the installation, uncheck all of the boxes for the crapware it tries to install. Select Advanced Installation, then click Decline. You don’t need any of the extra software it tries to install.
On the next screen, the installer tries to offer you more crapware – click Decline.
After that, the traditional Start Orb will appear where it should be.
Here’s another view of All Programs >> Accessories.
Click the Start menu and the Shut Down arrow to get additional shut down commands and the Options menu.
Click Options so you can change a few settings. Here you can set your default Internet and Email programs. You can control other Programs Options too. Click OK.
ViStart has additional skins you can download too.
Remember, this is a skin. It doesn’t bring all the functionality of the Windows 7 Start menu. For instance, you cannot access all of the items like Help and Support, Recent Items, maintenance and a few others.
Another issue is after you install ViStart, hitting the Windows key doesn’t toggle between Metro Start and the Desktop. You’ll need to hover your mouse in the lower right corner to get back and forth.
There will undoubtedly be more Start menu replacement programs that are released in the future. We’ll cover them for you as they come along. So far, my favorite is Stardock’s Start8.
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