Most every longtime Windows user knows the sad saga of the lowly Start menu. Born as a button in Windows 95, modified in XP and Vista, and blossoming into its most usable form in Windows 7, the Start ...

A reader wrote to say she had been using a Windows XP computer forever. But recently she bit the bullet and bought a Windows 10 machine. Ouch! The wound still hurts. Mainly, she hates the clutter in ...

Open Shell, originally known as Classic Shell, is open-source software that allows you to replace the standard Start Menu on Windows 10 and Windows 8. Open Shell originally came out as Classic Shell ...

This software not only restores the old Windows Start menu but also does a lot more. You can change the configuration so that everything looks like Windows 7. It also reels in features of Windows ...

A reader wrote to say she had been using a Windows XP computer forever. But recently she bit the bullet and bought a Windows 10 machine. Ouch! The wound still hurts. Mainly, she hates the clutter in ...

If you miss the Start menu on Windows 8, try Classic Shell before spending a dime on commercial alternatives. You’ll probably want to stick with it. Windows 8 doesn’t have a Start button. If you don’t ...

I’m not looking forward to Windows 8—and with good reason. If you don’t have a touchscreen, there’s not much to like about the Interface Formerly Known as Metro. The fact that this hobbled version of ...

Windows 8 no longer includes the traditional Start Menu that Windows users have become associated with using. Instead they replaced it with a new interface called the Windows Start Screen that many ...

Several third-party utilities can serve as Start menu replacements for Windows 8 users who aren't as keen on the new Start screen. Lance Whitney is a freelance technology writer and trainer and a ...

A reader wrote to say she had been using a Windows XP computer forever. But recently she bit the bullet and bought a Windows 10 machine. Ouch! The wound still hurts. Mainly, she hates the clutter in ...