Windows 8 Start Menu

Hi.

Googling around I noticed that some third party programs bring back the old XP/Vista/7 start menu button to W8.

So far I've found:
ViStart
Classic Shell
StartMenu7
Start8

Do some of you use this apps? Are they any good?

Thanks.

 

Classic Shell is nice. I did not care for Start8 as all it did was condense the start screen into a smaller window. But that is my opinion and may not be shared by anyone else. I have not tried the others.

 

Thanks for these Apps!

 

i tried almost all possibly solution and for me classic shell is the best, plus you can use a start icon of your choice if you need (and deviantart site have a lot of bmp start to choose)

 

I've used Classic Shell on all my Windows 7 computers. It updates seamlessly and makes searching for programs, folders and files a breeze. I hated the Windows 7 Start Menu which made it twice as hard to find what I was looking for. The most familiar element works for me and I predict Windows 8 users will also migrate back to a familiar menu, despite Microsoft's efforts to get rid of it.

 

You may want to take another look at Start8. The Windows 7 start menu is now the default option. And there are a few other enhancements that make this program a real contender. The big question hear may be will Stardock keep the program FREE or charge for it.

http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/

 

Yes, classic shell does the trick. It makes 8 usable enough that I may take advantage of the inexpensive upgrade - maybe dual boot it with 7.

I also found Start8 to not be much of a solution, but apparently the latest version has changed and may be worth another look?

 

FYI that link doesn't work. Try this:

http://stardock.com/products/start8/

 

I use Classic Shell. Really nice piece of work.

 

Well, after trying all the above,
only Classic Shell
was a keeper!

 

I only tried "Classic Shell" and it works fine for me.

 

I had tried the latest. I didn't find any compelling updates. Woohoo, I can change the appearance of the start button...

 

I have tried a few, but decided Classic Shell for me was the best.

 

Classic Shell brought back something people always liked about Windows - I predict the Metro interface will flop even worse than the Windows 7 Start Menu. Nothing is intuitive about it. It makes computing harder than it has to be. I can see it might have a place on tablets but desktop and laptop users still work with a mouse and keyboard and nothing has been found that works better than old keyboard + mouse driven type hardware. People hate change and they hate change if they have to relearn how to do things.

Microsoft didn't listen to end users and that's why Windows 8 will flop. They'll have to try again to get it right instead of forcing on users an ugly interface no one wants.

 

Cannot agree more with you on that!
Windows 8 Start Menu SUCKS!

 

Start 8(Stardock) works nicely..




and don't forget Win Key+X




Lots of good stuff at
WinAero
Tweaking with Vishal
Start Button 8/Start Menu X

 

StartMenu8

 

I can't really tell that from Start8.

Also, I see that Start8 is not going to be free. Last I saw they were charging $5 for it. Not a lot but it is making Classic Shell look better.

 

Classic Shell IS free - you can't beat the price!

Its made Windows 7 tolerable for me.

 

Handy Start Menu

Not tried. Maybe someone else can be interested in it. Free.

 

I've found even more :
Pokki Start Menu
Vistart
Classic Shell
Win8StartButton
Revel BringBack
Spesoft Windows 8 Start Menu
Power8
Start Menu X
IOBit StartMenu8

I've tried all of them ( execpt the paid ones) and I believe Classic Shell seems to be the best among them. See this review for Windows 8 Start Menu.

 

Start is Back seems to be one of the better ones. No longer in beta - $5 for five licenses or $3 for two. Developer's website

 

start8 is no-longer free. Iobit startmenu8 is beta and buggy (flickers) classic shell does not have right click ability of drag and drop.

Which to use is the question?

 

Using Ex7forW8 here with no problems.

http://forums.mydigitallife.info/threads/35189-Windows-7-explorer-for-Windows-8

 

This one brings back the original start menu code. I'm not sure if it enables what was left in the Win8 libraries or if it loads win7 code. It's the real deal, in any case. I got it for $1 on black friday.