A List Of Start Menu Replacements for Windows 8

[mlauzon76]

Can you add Ex7forW8

No, because Ex7forW8 was deprecated by the developer, and StartIsBack is his new app.

 

[jamiekong112]

I bought start8. Olny costs $5, works great

 

[mlauzon76]

For $3 you could've gotten a 2 PC license for StartIsBack, and for $5 a 5 PC license.

So, for 2 it would've worked out to $1.50 per license, while for 5 it comes to $1.00 per license.

 

[markdvdman]

I use Vistart and being free - it does a very good job to be honest!

 

[HeXen]

I stopped being stubborn years ago and quickly retrained myself to use the new GUI. Took me 10 minutes to figure out, a few days to train muscle memory and presto, I can do perform all the same tasks I ever did before.

 

[WelshBloke]

I stopped being stubborn years ago and quickly retrained myself to use the new GUI. Took me 10 minutes to figure out, a few days to train muscle memory and presto, I can do perform all the same tasks I ever did before.

Well done, would you like a cookie?

 

[ttott]

Does this kind of program need a update to work with Windows 8.1? I noticed that some have to be updated and not sure about the one(Start Menu 8) I'm using. Anyone who has updated to 8.1 and using this prog, please let me know? I don't want to mess up the new OS.

 

[fire400]

I bought start8. Olny costs $5, works great

when windows 8 first debuted... i went with all the reviews and purchased start8. later i tried classic shell free, and i was like... i just got ripped off.

classic shell just updated... very recently as of this post, and i will never go back to start8, and never again pay for a start menu.

btw, 8.1 comes with a right click option for it's start menu... stock windows 8.0, if you move the mouse cursor all the way to the far left corner of the screen and right click?, similar right click options appear in a pull out menu - this was never discussed in our windows 8 technology debut training, of both 8.0 and 8.1 - explains how much microsoft is pushing for no-start-menu.

it's a damn option-list-interface assistant... you should be able to just disable it as much turning the terrible tile screen off.

http://www.extremetech.com/computin...can-microsoft-finally-make-progress-in-mobile
two weeks after the release of 8? investors probably looked at this sh!t, and was like, WTF... get rid of this motherfvker.

 

[homebrew2ny]

Classic shell is free, highly customizable, and seamlessly flawless.

A no brainer...

 

[geekbear]

Great post. I am using "Start Menu 8".

 

[mikeymikec]

Should we have an 8.1 compatible list?

 

[capeconsultant]

Start8 was first and best! I would NEVER use Win8 without it. MS really screwed the pooch on this one.

I am sure others are good, but Start8 got me back to work first!

 

[mlauzon76]

Should we have an 8.1 compatible list?

They should all be compatible with 8.1 by now, although I could be wrong. I do know that StartIsBack & Start8 are.

 

[Iron Woode]

Taskbar Classic Start Menu:
<removed>

unfortunately this links to some Russian casino site.

Good catch, link removed from OP. --AnandTech Moderator mechBgon

 

[mechBgon]

On the general topic, I upgraded the work fleet from Win8 to Win8.1 and am using StartIsBack+ (and at home too). The hokey Win8.1 Start button is NOT mechBgon-approved &#3232;_&#3232;

 

[mlauzon76]

unfortunately this links to some Russian casino site.

Good catch, link removed from OP. --AnandTech Moderator mechBgon

It didn't originally when I posted the link, seems the developer somehow lost his domain, tried finding a replacement domain, but doesn't look like there is one, or that the app is being worked on anymore.

 

[mckeonkent]

I bought start8. Olny costs $5, works great

Thats very cheap. Where's you bought it ?

 

[homebrew2ny]

Thats very cheap. Where's you bought it ?

Don't waste your $5, classic shell is as good as it gets, fully automatic as well as customizable, for free.

 

[htne]

I have used both (Classic Shell and Start8). To me, Start8 is worth the $5.

 

[TheMiscRenMan]

Thanks for the list. That is awesome.

 

[ZippyDan]

So far I've tried Start8, Classic Shell and RetroUI, and like Start8 best. It would be even better if it could run Metro apps in a window, which RetroUI can do. Maybe they'll add that eventually. RetroUI's start menu turns me off visually, and also lacks useful capabilities like, say, right-clicking Computer and choosing Manage.



They were thinking that you'd really like a cellphone with a 27" screen, instead of a desktop PC. They were also thinking of themselves first... let's force this new UI on people so we can unify our UI across desktop, tablet and phone platforms and reestablish ourselves as THE industry standard.

Personally, after seeing the netbook fad come and go, I'm going to believe the tablet hype when I see it, and not before. Phones are phones and there's no reason a desktop PC needs to operate like a phone does, particularly not to stroke Microsoft's self-serving agenda. If they want to throw that option out there, that's fine, but they shouldn't be arbitrarily forcing it on us. [/soapbox]

Stardock (the same company that makes Start8) offers what you are describing in RetroUI. They call it ModernMix. If you google it, they offer a Start8+ModernMix package for $8/license. It might be pricey for casual home users, but I found the combination invaluable for an office deployment of Win 8.1 Pro.

 

[Underclocked]

The links in the OP need to be reviewed and edited as needed.

ps: Classic Shell works on the latest Win 10 TP build by simply renaming the downloaded installer to Shell.exe or something similar.

 

[TechWiz365]

Great list, thank you very much!

Won't need this in Windows 10 though.

 

[ArisVer]

The topic is for Windows 8.

I use ClassicStart8. I like it because it is added as an extra button on the taskbar which leaves the original start button there to access the metro screen or its right click options.

 

[Puffnstuff]

I love CS and use it on all of my post 7 installs.