If you don’t like the Windows 11 start menu, you can switch to the good old Windows 7 start menu thanks to Open Shell.
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Many Windows 11 users are dissatisfied with the new start menu.
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Open Shell is a replacement for the Windows start menu, which has already proven itself under Windows 8.1 and 10. This allows a menu in the style of Windows 7 to be implemented. The tool was not yet released for Windows 11 at the beginning of November 2021. In our tests, however, there were no functional problems and only insignificant display problems.
Before installing Open Shell, however, check whether there is an update for Windows 11 in the meantime. During the installation deactivate the options “Classic Explorer” and “Classic IE”. When starting for the first time, the “Settings for Open Shell Menu 4.4.160” window appears. Select the menu style you want and check the box in front of “Replace Start Button”.
Optionally, activate the “Custom” option and click on “Pick Image”. Select an image file for the Start menu button. The “Windows 11 for 10 by niivu – August 07 2021 Start Orbs” folder in the Theme Customizer Pack contains the “Large Orb Windows 11” file with a matching Windows logo.
However, there are now two buttons for the start menu. The one on the left opens Open Shell and the previous one opens the Windows 11 start menu. You can align the taskbar to the “left” via the “taskbar settings”. The two start menu symbols are then slightly offset next to each other. Right-click the Open Shell menu button, select Settings, and click Advanced button options. Enter about 54 after “Button size” to enlarge the button a little. The original button is then barely visible. To open the Windows 11 start menu, click the Open Shell menu while holding down the Shift key. Alternatively, Shift-Win also works.
More about Windows 11:
Windows 11: The new start menu in the test
Windows 11 loses features of Windows 10
Windows 11 in the mega test: unnecessary Windows 10 successor?
