Windows 8 is targeted to become as
the single operating system for multiple Eco-systems, and to do that the
OS design team has made some significant changes in this new version of
Windows.
The very first visible change is the new Start Menu page.
In Windows 8, if you hit the Windows Key on your keyboard, you will be
taken to the scroll-able page having thumbs (showing respective
information) of apps installed on your system. This new start screen
looks really good and I think it is the perfect screen for touch
devices. But you may find it a bit troublesome on normal desktop screens.
If you miss the old Windows 7, Vista or XP like Start Menu in Windows 8, you can get that by either of the 4 ways explained below.
You can either use third-party software to do that OR use some tricks to get similar features (like Start Menu with keyboard shortcut or Mouse Movement). Find these techniques listed below.
Third-party Software to get Start Menu in Windows 8
1. Start8
Stardock release an application to get the new, stylish start menu. You need to install the Start8 application to get that kind of Start Menu after hitting the Win Key
.
It brings the similar menu as we get after clicking the Search button
on right navigation of Windows 8. Once you get this menu, you can type
the name of application you want to open and run.
Windows 8 showing Start Menu on Win Key - Start8 Application
2. ViStart
Another third-party software to get traditional Start Menu. Once you install ViStart,
you get the traditional Start Menu (just like Windows 7 or Vista). Here
you get Control Panel, Recent Applications etc. as normal Start Menu.
Warning – When you install the ViStart application,
don’t forget to uncheck the “Babylon Search and Toolbar” installation
otherwise it will install this add-on of Internet Explorer as well which
is not required.
Windows 7 or Vista like Start Menu in Windows 8 - ViStart
Simple Tricks to get Start Menu without Software Installation
3. Right Click on Start Page
If you don’t want to install any third-party software to get the
Start Menu, you can still get that by simple trick. Go to the normal
start page and right-click on the left-bottom corner of the page. There
you get right-click menu as,
- Run
- System
- Device Manager
- Control Panel
- Task Manager
- Search
- Program and Features
Start Menu like options in Windows 8
I think they are sufficient as you can easily type the application
name inside the run box OR directly open the listed applications like
Control Panel.
4. Add Search and Run Prompt on Toolbar
If you use the Start Menu to open applications installed on your
computer, you can easily do that by having “Address bar” on your Windows
Toolbar. Right click on the Desktop or Explorer toolbar and select
Toolbars ==> Address.
This will add the address bar on the toolbar and you can search and
run applications from there only. You can also add Desktop, Computer
Drive etc. on Address bar for quick access.
Type and Run Applications in Windows 8 from Address bar
Bonus – You can also get the run prompt by hitting
+ R keys on your keyboard, and then type the application name to run that.