How to Get the Windows 7 Start Menu in Windows 10

Personally I love the Windows 10 Start menu I think this time Microsoft has hit the nail on the head by combining the simplicity of classic options with the endless possibilities of modern tiles and apps. However, in a matter of taste nothing is written, so it is normal that there are Windows 7 or Windows 8 users who prefer the Start menu or screen specific to each of these operating systems.

If we are nostalgic for Windows 8, we can bring back the old Start screen simply by going to Settings > Personalization > Start > Use full start screen .However, if we want to restore the Windows 7 Start menu we have several options, with a few extra steps in between, but nothing too complicated. Below we detail each of them.

Option 1: Start Menu without live tiles

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We start with the most spartan option of all, a Start menu with only the classic options: all apps, on/off, configuration, user, files and most used programs. To achieve something like this, you just have to right click on each of the live tiles or squares that are in the default menu, and then select the option Unpin from Start Menu "

Unfortunately, Windows 10 (still) doesn't allow you to select multiple tiles at the same time, so we have to unpin all the squares one by one .When we complete this task, there will be an empty space that we can eliminate by resizing the Start menu: just place the mouse over the right edge, and drag it to the left.

Option 2: A Start menu with the same shortcuts as Windows 7

Windows 7 fans will have noticed that with option 1 we lose certain shortcuts that were present in the right column of the Start menu: the buttons to access My Computer, Documents, Pictures, Music, Devices and Printers, etc.

The good news is that we can add these shortcuts back, but in the form of tiles . Below we explain how to do it with each of them:

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  User folder: Open File Explorer, type Desktop>"

• Documents, Pictures, Music, and Videos: In Windows 7 these charms pointed to the Libraries of each of these file types . To add them back you have to open the File Explorer, look for the Libraries section in the navigation bar on the left, and add each of these to the Start, as shown in the following screenshot.

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  Games: Game Explorer has been replaced by the Xbox app , in which we can add all our PC games, and which also offers many other options. To add it to the Start we just have to write Xbox>"

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  Devices and Printers: This was a special view of Windows 7 showing us the peripherals installed/connected to the computer.In Windows 10 it is still available, and to add it to Start we must type Devices and printers>"

• Default Programs: Same as Devices and Printers.

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  Run: Also available on Windows 10. Just search for Run in Search/Cortana and pin the first result. "

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  Control Panel: In Windows 10 Control Panel is being replaced by a new Settings app, which is already present in the Start menu. However, the transition>"

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  Help and Support: In Windows 10 help is delivered via Bing shortcuts, but there is still a Getting Started app> "

Option 3: Restore the Windows 7 Start Menu using Classic Shell

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Finally, an option for the most purists>, who seek not only to eliminate the tiles or restore the shortcuts that existed before, but also to use a menu with the same appearance than the old version of Windows."

To get this you just have to install the application Classic Shell, available for download here. This program is actually 4 applications in 1, and each one allows you to customize a different component of Windows. However, the only one we care about is Classic Shell Start Menu, and during installation we can choose to install only that component.

Once installed, Classic Shell offers the following view, where we can choose the Windows 7 style for the Start menu, and even a more retro one, with the same appearance as Windows XP or Windows 98.

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If we want the result to be identical to what we would see in Windows 7, we must also go to the Skin> tab"

Personally it gives me a little cancer just seeing Windows 10 with a menu of this type, but as we said above, everyone has their tastes , and if someone prefers something like that, there is also the option.