Solved Missing Start Button Workaround

shawn46

New Member
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4
i have taken part with the many other to download the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, however the missing start button erks me everytime, and it's hard to open the charms on my tablet.

anyways, i made a small executable that simply launches metro, if you pin it to the bottom left of the taskbar, it makes a nice stand in for that missing start button.

you can hit the link bellow to try it for yourself

hope this helps someone :)

Windows 8 Missing Start Button Work-Around!
 

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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus EEEPC T101MT
    CPU
    Intel Atom N455
    Memory
    2GB
Thanks will give it a try.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 7 64
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP 6585
    CPU
    I5
    Motherboard
    standard HP
    Memory
    4 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    STANDARD
Nice to know users are working on the problems for us desktop users. But what is the point of this? The ability to switch to the Metro interface is already available.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Other Info
    Use several different computers during a day, so specs are irrelevant.
Really, i made it for my tablet. it has a thick border that makes it really dificult to open the charms, so instead of diging my finger in to the corner, i decided to make a nice, on screen button to solve my issue. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus EEEPC T101MT
    CPU
    Intel Atom N455
    Memory
    2GB
There is a freeware program that works terrific. It is called Vista Start Menu version 3.88. The free version does not have aero glass or the ability to have the sleep, shutdown, etc buttons on the top of the screen. Try out the freeware version and it should be enough but the Pro version is $20 and look like this: 2012-03-02 Start Menu.jpg

do a Google search for "vista start menu version 3.88"
I stuck mine on my True Launch Bar (quick bar with steroids) but you could pin it first to the toolbar.

WARNING WARNING See those little icons like Desktop and Store. They don't work in the this program but when I deleted them, it deleted the APP IN METRO. Now I do not have a Desktop App in Metro anymore!
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64 bit GA
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i7-4770K Haswell
    Motherboard
    ASUS Z87-PRO
    Memory
    16 GB of Corsair 1866
    Graphics Card(s)
    GTX 780
    Sound Card
    Cooler Master Storm Headphones
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 27 inch U2711 IPS
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    2560 by 1440
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 840 Pro 250GB SSD plus 2 3 TB drives
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    Corsair-750
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    Corsair White Graphite Series 600T
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    Corsair H00i Water
    Keyboard
    Corsair K90
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser
    Internet Speed
    6.3 MBps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    MS
Another trick to bring up the start menu apps in Windows 8 ............ go to the lower or upper right corner to bring up the charms bar .. click on the search icon, it will bring up all apps :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Intel
    CPU
    Ci5
WARNING WARNING See those little icons like Desktop and Store. They don't work in the this program but when I deleted them, it deleted the APP IN METRO. Now I do not have a Desktop App in Metro anymore!

its easy to get them back. just search them in metro start screen and pin them back!!!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
Abhiji, Ahh, if it was only that simple. If you right click on an app, you have the choice of UNPINNING or UNINSTALLING. What I did was the equivalent of UNINSTALLING. No easy way to recover from that but I managed!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64 bit GA
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i7-4770K Haswell
    Motherboard
    ASUS Z87-PRO
    Memory
    16 GB of Corsair 1866
    Graphics Card(s)
    GTX 780
    Sound Card
    Cooler Master Storm Headphones
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 27 inch U2711 IPS
    Screen Resolution
    2560 by 1440
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 840 Pro 250GB SSD plus 2 3 TB drives
    PSU
    Corsair-750
    Case
    Corsair White Graphite Series 600T
    Cooling
    Corsair H00i Water
    Keyboard
    Corsair K90
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser
    Internet Speed
    6.3 MBps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    MS
Now we can uninstall multiple programs at the same time :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 x64 Home Premium / Commodore OS Vision / Windows 8 Release preview
    CPU
    AMD Athlon x2 Dual Core 7750 BE 2,7Ghz (2/4)
    Motherboard
    Asus M2N-e
    Memory
    4Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    GIGABYTE (ATI) Radeon HD 6870 (1Gb)
    Sound Card
    Do i have one?
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2
    Screen Resolution
    1x HD1080 1x SXGA
    Hard Drives
    1x Samsung 500 Gb
    1x Samsung 30 Gb
    1x LaCie 1Tb Hard drive.
    PSU
    Antec 500W
    Case
    Antec three hundred
    Cooling
    3 fans + psu and cpu + gpu
    Keyboard
    Logitech G19
    Mouse
    CM Storm Xornet
    Internet Speed
    110mb/ s
    Other Info
    Look, what i've created... just a few visits at the recyclement center was enough...
Abhiji, Ahh, if it was only that simple. If you right click on an app, you have the choice of UNPINNING or UNINSTALLING. What I did was the equivalent of UNINSTALLING. No easy way to recover from that but I managed!
which apps did you uninstall?? you can always get them from the store...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
WARNING WARNING See those little icons like Desktop and Store. They don't work in the this program but when I deleted them, it deleted the APP IN METRO. Now I do not have a Desktop App in Metro anymore!
anyway... how in hell did you manage to DELETE the DESKTOP app????
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
anyway... how in hell did you manage to DELETE the DESKTOP app????

Abhiji, Oh, deleting the desktop app was easy! Go back and take a good look at the VISTA START MENU photo I posted. You will see three items that I deleted from the list because they did not DO anything in the start menu( desktop, store,PC Settings). Turns out that deleting from the START MENU PROGRAM also deleted them from the METRO INTERFACE. The damn PC SETTINGS deletion hurt enough that I REFRESHED WIN8 to get it back.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64 bit GA
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i7-4770K Haswell
    Motherboard
    ASUS Z87-PRO
    Memory
    16 GB of Corsair 1866
    Graphics Card(s)
    GTX 780
    Sound Card
    Cooler Master Storm Headphones
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 27 inch U2711 IPS
    Screen Resolution
    2560 by 1440
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 840 Pro 250GB SSD plus 2 3 TB drives
    PSU
    Corsair-750
    Case
    Corsair White Graphite Series 600T
    Cooling
    Corsair H00i Water
    Keyboard
    Corsair K90
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser
    Internet Speed
    6.3 MBps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    MS
I have had the Vista Start Menu icon on my desktop for a week now and I NEVER USE IT. Turns out that I never used the Start globe on Win7 either 'cept for occasional hits on control panel or Windows update. Going to delete my Start and never look back.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64 bit GA
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i7-4770K Haswell
    Motherboard
    ASUS Z87-PRO
    Memory
    16 GB of Corsair 1866
    Graphics Card(s)
    GTX 780
    Sound Card
    Cooler Master Storm Headphones
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 27 inch U2711 IPS
    Screen Resolution
    2560 by 1440
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 840 Pro 250GB SSD plus 2 3 TB drives
    PSU
    Corsair-750
    Case
    Corsair White Graphite Series 600T
    Cooling
    Corsair H00i Water
    Keyboard
    Corsair K90
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser
    Internet Speed
    6.3 MBps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    MS
There is an alternative to Vista start Menu. From the same people Start menu 7 which has some windows 8 support.

screenshot006.png

The start "orb" and the Main display have several skins. The start orb sort of works but occasionally dips below the task bar. You can operate without the "orb" and use the tray icon instead.

You can get it here. Start Menu 7
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 x64 SP1 Home Premium/Win 8.1 in VBox
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    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Hewlett-Packard/G62 Notebook
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU M 330 @ 2.13GHz
    Motherboard
    Hewlett-Packard 1425
    Memory
    8 GB DDR3
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    Intel(R) HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
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    Builtin
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768 x 32 bits (4294967296 colors) @ 60 Hz
    Hard Drives
    250 GB SATA Hard Disk Drive 7200 rpm
    2TB Seagate GoFlex USB 2 Drive
    1TB Iomega Prestige USB 2 Drive
    1.5TB Iomega Prestige USB 2 Drive (Samsung)
    1TB Iomega NAS.
    Mouse
    Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000
    Internet Speed
    20Mb/sec
Hi kado,

Good to know such a program works in Win8.

Thanks


Hopachi
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy DV6 7250
    CPU
    Intel i7-3630QM
    Motherboard
    HP, Intel HM77 Express Chipset
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD4000 + Nvidia Geforce 630M
    Sound Card
    IDT HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6' built-in + Samsung S22D300 + 17.3' LG Phillips
    Screen Resolution
    multiple resolutions
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 250GB + Hitachi HDD 750GB
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    120W adapter
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    small
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    Backlit built-in + big one in USB
    Mouse
    SteelSeries Sensei
    Internet Speed
    slow and steady
    Browser
    Chromium, Pale Moon, Firefox Developer Edition
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    That's basically it.
Yes, I have been using Start Menu 7 for a while.

The search box at the bottom works - it does not throw you back to the kiddie screen.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    7/8/ubuntu/Linux Deepin
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
Yes, I have been using Start Menu 7 for a while.

The search box at the bottom works - it does not throw you back to the kiddie screen.

I noticed that too. Do you also have problems with the "orb" not behaving?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 x64 SP1 Home Premium/Win 8.1 in VBox
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Hewlett-Packard/G62 Notebook
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU M 330 @ 2.13GHz
    Motherboard
    Hewlett-Packard 1425
    Memory
    8 GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel(R) HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Builtin
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768 x 32 bits (4294967296 colors) @ 60 Hz
    Hard Drives
    250 GB SATA Hard Disk Drive 7200 rpm
    2TB Seagate GoFlex USB 2 Drive
    1TB Iomega Prestige USB 2 Drive
    1.5TB Iomega Prestige USB 2 Drive (Samsung)
    1TB Iomega NAS.
    Mouse
    Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000
    Internet Speed
    20Mb/sec
WARNING: START 7 MENU CAN MESS UP critical icons in the METRO SCREEN. Protect the shortcut icons in the screenshot below in a new file called Protect or Hidden or something. If you delete them (which I did a while ago from Vista Start Menu), you may be screwed in Metro!
K, I am running the Start Menu 7 program. Nice program, better than VISTA Start Menu program. 50/50 if Pro is worth it. No issues with orb(?). I can add or subtract some folders but there is no way to pin, for instance, Check for Updates like I used to have with Win7. Search works fine. Things are missing from the programs menu like Paint and Media Player and a bunch of others. still, its a keeper.

2012-03-15 Watch out.jpg
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64 bit GA
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i7-4770K Haswell
    Motherboard
    ASUS Z87-PRO
    Memory
    16 GB of Corsair 1866
    Graphics Card(s)
    GTX 780
    Sound Card
    Cooler Master Storm Headphones
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 27 inch U2711 IPS
    Screen Resolution
    2560 by 1440
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 840 Pro 250GB SSD plus 2 3 TB drives
    PSU
    Corsair-750
    Case
    Corsair White Graphite Series 600T
    Cooling
    Corsair H00i Water
    Keyboard
    Corsair K90
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser
    Internet Speed
    6.3 MBps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    MS
WARNING: START 7 MENU CAN MESS UP critical icons in the METRO SCREEN. Protect the shortcut icons in the screenshot below in a new file called Protect or Hidden or something.

That's useful to know.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 x64 SP1 Home Premium/Win 8.1 in VBox
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Hewlett-Packard/G62 Notebook
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU M 330 @ 2.13GHz
    Motherboard
    Hewlett-Packard 1425
    Memory
    8 GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel(R) HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Builtin
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768 x 32 bits (4294967296 colors) @ 60 Hz
    Hard Drives
    250 GB SATA Hard Disk Drive 7200 rpm
    2TB Seagate GoFlex USB 2 Drive
    1TB Iomega Prestige USB 2 Drive
    1.5TB Iomega Prestige USB 2 Drive (Samsung)
    1TB Iomega NAS.
    Mouse
    Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000
    Internet Speed
    20Mb/sec
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