Microsoft Disables Ability to Use Classic Start Menu in Windows 11

[Tsing]

Image: Windows Latest



Windows 11 users who aren’t happy with the operating system’s new mobile-inspired Start Menu will probably have to learn to love it or tolerate it on a permanent basis. As reported by users who have tested out Windows 11’s latest preview build (22000.65), Microsoft has removed the ability to restore the “classic” Start Menu design and its Live Tiles with a registry hack. Users used to be able to revive the older Start Menu by setting HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ Software\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Explorer\ Advanced\ “Start_ShowClassicMode” to 1, but that workaround is no longer effective. Microsoft’s decision isn’t all that surprising, as Windows 11’s new Start Menu design is one of its most marketed features...

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[Brian_B]

There will be third party options - Start8, Classic Shell, and others.

That said, I more or less just stopped using the Start menu with Windows 10. The ability to open the menu and just start typing has won me over, and frequently used items I pin to the Taskbar, but I don't use it as a menu-based application organizer any longer.

 

[MadMummy76]

I only used the start for searching too, but in the first version of W10 I tried even that was broken. I expect no less from W11, a lot of broken features, and a lot of deliberately hobbled features especially for home users.

 

[Zarathustra]

It's like they are just trolling now.

In what way could it possibly benefit them to force users to use a UI element they hate?

There is absolutely no reason for this other than being a dick.

That said, I remember trying this back when I first heard of it. Maybe I did it wrong, but I don't recall there being much of a difference between this registry hack and just manually deleting all the tiles and having the start menu shrink down to a tileless small version.

 

[Dan_D]

It's the same thinking that led to Microsoft forcing a touch screen interface on it's server OS for servers that almost never have dedicated monitors connected to them, much less touch screens.