What's your favorite Start menu alternative?

FuturDreamz

Spacemonaut
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Just trying to see what everyone's preferred method is.
 

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    Asus Tansformer Book Flip TP500LN
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    Intel i5-4210U
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All the programs I tried were very poor, none is like the real Start menu, so I am using Metro Start. It takes two clicks, it is even faster than the W7 menu when you place your icons near. I don't have so many programs installed, so I reach them all very fast.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 x64
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    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus X501A
    CPU
    Pentium 2020M 2.4GHz Ivy Bridge
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    ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. X501A1 (SOCKET 0)
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    4 GB RAM
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    Always touchpad with Asus' Smart Gestures
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I use the Metro Start screen.

Once you add the apps you like to the Start screen, organize the apps into groups, and name the groups, it's not so bad. It just takes getting used to over the old way. Plus, you can always add folders as toolbars to the taskbar as well.

I do find myself using the Windows key more often to toggle between Start and the desktop though. LOL
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
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    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
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    Thermaltake Core P3
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    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
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    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
I use the Metro Start screen.

Once you add the apps you like to the Start screen, organize the apps into groups, and name the groups, it's not so bad. It just takes getting used to over the old way. Plus, you can always add folders as toolbars to the taskbar as well.

Cheers for posting the links to those 3 tutorials... Just about to start customising my start menu :thumbsup:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64
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    PC/Desktop
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    Self Built
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-2500K @ 3.30GHz - S1155
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    Asus P8P67 LE Rev3, Intel P67, S115
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    8GB Corsair DDR3 XMS3, PC3-12800
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    On-Board
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    3 x 24" {Extended Display}
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    1920 x 1080
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    300GB Seagate Barracuda 7200
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    Logitech K120
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    World of Warcraft Cataclysm MMO Gaming Mouse
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    80MB
    Browser
    Chrome
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    MSE / Windows Defender
I mostly use Executor but I also have a customised desktop context menu. Metro is just far to limited.
 

My Computer

System One

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    Windows 7 x64 Ultimate/Windows 8.1/Linux
    CPU
    FX-8350
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    GA-990XA-UD3
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    16GB DDR3 Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    HD7860
    Sound Card
    Xonar Essence STX
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
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    Various
    PSU
    Corsair HX 850W
    Case
    Corsair Obsidian
    Cooling
    Thermalright
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    50/50
    Browser
    firefox
For the moment I use the Metro start screen until something better comes along.
 

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    Windows 8 CP
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    I7 -2600k @ 4.8 ghz
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    AZROCK Z77 Extreme6
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    Dell Ultrasharp U3011
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    Enermax MAXREVO 1350 Watts
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    Antec Lanboy Air with NZXT Sentry LXE Controller
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Start Menu 7 works pretty well.

Executor looks interesting.

They aren't in the poll.

I was looking for Start Menu 7, but I couldn't find it.
Eight forums doesn't allow me to update polls :( That's one thing I really loved about an other forum I go to.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus Tansformer Book Flip TP500LN
    CPU
    Intel i5-4210U
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce GT 840M
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" Touchscreen
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    1TB Hybrid
    Mouse
    Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000
Start Menu 7 added to poll. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
I could have sworn I selected 'Other' when I voted...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 x64 Ultimate/Windows 8.1/Linux
    CPU
    FX-8350
    Motherboard
    GA-990XA-UD3
    Memory
    16GB DDR3 Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    HD7860
    Sound Card
    Xonar Essence STX
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Various
    PSU
    Corsair HX 850W
    Case
    Corsair Obsidian
    Cooling
    Thermalright
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    50/50
    Browser
    firefox
Uggh. The poll appears to have not properly updated for the new option. I reset it, so everyone please vote again. :(
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Hi,

Voting "Native" assumes this option (registry hack) will work under the RTM somehow?....

Cheers, ;)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W2K8S R2 STD, W7 ULTIMATE X64
    System Manufacturer/Model
    DELL OPTIPLEX 745
    CPU
    INTEL Q6600
    Motherboard
    DELL
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    INTEL INTEGRATED CHIPSET Q965
Uggh. The poll appears to have not properly updated for the new option. I reset it, so everyone please vote again. :(

Thank you :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 x64 Ultimate/Windows 8.1/Linux
    CPU
    FX-8350
    Motherboard
    GA-990XA-UD3
    Memory
    16GB DDR3 Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    HD7860
    Sound Card
    Xonar Essence STX
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Various
    PSU
    Corsair HX 850W
    Case
    Corsair Obsidian
    Cooling
    Thermalright
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    50/50
    Browser
    firefox
I customized the Start Screen and find it a lot better then the old Windows Start button. Its not very pretty but that will probably change in the future. Function wise it is a lot easier to use.

Jim :cool:
 

My Computer

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  • OS
    Windows 7 HP 64bit, Windows 8.1 Pro w/Media Center 64BIT
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    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS - Home Built
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X6 1100T
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    ASUS M5A99X EVO
    Memory
    Crucial Balistic DDR-3 1866 CL 9 (8 GB)
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    MSI R6850 Cyclone IGD5 PE
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    On Chip
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    ASUS VE258Q 25" LED with DVI-HDMI-DisplayPort
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
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    Two WD Cavier Black 2TB Sata 6gbs
    WD My Book Essential 2TB USB 3.0
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    Seasonic X650 80 Plus GOLD Modular
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    Corsair 400R
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    Antec Kuhler H2O 620, Two 120mm and four 140mm
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    AVS Gear Blue LED Backlight
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    Logitech Marble Mouse USB, Logitech Precision Game Pad
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    15MB
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    NIS, Malwarebytes Premium 2
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    APC UPS ES 750, Netgear WNR3500L Gigabit & Wireless N Router with SamKnows Test Program,
    Motorola SB6120 Gigabit Cable Modem.
    Brother HL-2170W Laser Printer,
    Epson V300 Scanner
in hindsight, I should've had "Native hack" as the first option, as I'm worried people thought I ment Metro Start.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus Tansformer Book Flip TP500LN
    CPU
    Intel i5-4210U
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce GT 840M
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" Touchscreen
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    1TB Hybrid
    Mouse
    Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000
I'm actually using a shortcut pinned to the taskbar that opens the search screen. (I prefer the search screen to the start screen) I changed the background color of the desktop to match the start/search screen so the transition between the two seems less jarring.

If you look inside C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\WinX\Group2, you should see a shortcut for search - it's a shortcut to a simple script file (.scf) that contains the following:

[Shell]
Command=2
[Taskbar]
Command=ImmersiveSearch

I've been trying to figure out the command to show the start screen, no luck so far.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 CP
I use the Metro Start screen.

Once you add the apps you like to the Start screen, organize the apps into groups, and name the groups, it's not so bad. It just takes getting used to over the old way. Plus, you can always add folders as toolbars to the taskbar as well.

I do find myself using the Windows key more often to toggle between Start and the desktop though. LOL

I use the Start screen too. There is a very small Metro Apps section and a section for links you would find on the right side of the Win7 opening Start menu and another section for utility programs that I kept in a folder on my Win 7 desktop. The Apps screen has all the installed programs just like the All Programs on the Win 7 start menu.

I keep icons for my heavily used programs on the left side of my desktop and the very heavily used programs pined to the Task Bar.

Bottom line... the Start screen is simply replaces the opening view of the Win 7 Start menu with a few (very few) metro apps added.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Dual Win 7-8 64-bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Studio XPS8100
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 3.2 GHz
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GeForce GTX 260
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Dell 24" LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    900GB and 1.5TB
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell Optical
    Internet Speed
    10 Mb/s down 1.5 Mb/s up
    Other Info
    I worked my up from a virtual machine, to a slow 32-bit celeron and now two monitors on my XPS8100. Works great!
Start Menu 7, combined with an enabled Quick-Launch

I'm happy(ish) with that.

Apart from the odd (temporarily) pinned program, I like to keep
the 'main' taskbar for stuff that's actually running.

One man's meat, however....
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Enterprise 64-bit (7 Ult, Vista & XP in V-Box)
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire Ethos AS8951G 'Super-Laptop'.
    CPU
    Intel Sandy-Bridge i7-2670QM quad-core
    Motherboard
    Acer
    Memory
    8GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel 3000HD / Ge-Force GT555M 2 gigs
    Sound Card
    Realtek/5.1 Dolby built-in including speakers.
    Monitor(s) Displays
    18.4" full-HD
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1024
    Hard Drives
    2x750GB Toshiba internal, 1x500GB Seagate external, 1x2TB Seagate external, 1x640GB Toshiba pocket-drive, 1x640GB Samsung pocket drive.
    PSU
    Stock
    Case
    Laptop
    Cooling
    Air-cooled
    Mouse
    I/R cordless.
    Internet Speed
    Borderline pathetic.
I use the Metro Start screen.

Once you add the apps you like to the Start screen, organize the apps into groups, and name the groups, it's not so bad. It just takes getting used to over the old way. Plus, you can always add folders as toolbars to the taskbar as well.

I do find myself using the Windows key more often to toggle between Start and the desktop though. LOL

I use the metro start also. I have customized it the same way. I like it better than the Win7 start and have been telling people I know to take the time to customize it.
 

My Computer

Using the Metro Start screen, with some personalization it's better for me than the Win7 start menu.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64/ Windows 7 Ult x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    76~2.0
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-3570K 4.6GHz
    Motherboard
    GIGABYTE GA-Z77X UD3H f18
    Memory
    8GB (2X4GB) DDR3 1600 CORSAIR Vengeance CL8 1.5v
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire HD 7770 Vapor-X 1GB DDR5
    Sound Card
    Onboard VIA VT2021
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LCD Dell SP2208WFP
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Samaung 840Pro 128GB, Seagate 500GB SATA2 7200rpm 32mb, Seagate 1TB SATA2 7200rpm 32mb,
    PSU
    Corsair HX650W
    Case
    Cooler Master Storm Scout
    Cooling
    Corsair H80 w/Noctua NF P12 12cm fan, case fans 2X14cm
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave
    Mouse
    CM Sentinel
    Internet Speed
    Abysmal
    Browser
    Opera Next
    Other Info
    Dell Venue 8Pro: Baytrail Z3740D, 2GB Ram, 64GB HDD, 8" IPS Display 1280 x 800, Active Stylus.
    Haswell laptop: HP Envy 17t-j, i7-4700MQ, GeForce 740M 2GB DDR3, 17.3" Full HD 1920x1080, 16GB RAM, Samsung 840 Pro 128GB, 1TB Hitachi 7200 HDD,
    Desktop: eSATA ports,
    External eSATA Seagate 500GB SATA2 7200rpm,
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