Restore the Classic 'All Programs' Menu in Windows 7

Vista offered the option of restoring that "classic" Start Menu, but Windows 7, inexplicably, doesn't. Fortunately, there are at least two ways to accomplish this: one, a simple Registry tweak; the other, a shareware utility.

I'll start with the latter first, as it's arguably the easier of the two. Classic Start Menu replaces the Windows 7 Start Menu with, well, you can probably guess. Just install and run the utility, then click Start for a blast from the XP past.

As you can see, Classic Start Menu also leverages Windows' Aero features, so you get some of the best of both worlds.

Now for the bad news: CSMenu is nagware for the first 30 days, and after that it'll cost you $19.99. Ouch!

If you'd prefer a free solution, you can modify Windows 7 so that the Favorites menu becomes an XP-like Programs menu. Here's how:

1. Click Start, type regedit, and press Enter.

2. Navigate to the following key:

 HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software  \Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders

3. Double-click the Favorites entry and replace the current path with  this one:

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs

4. Navigate to a second key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User  Shell Folders

5. Repeat Step 3.

6. Exit Regedit, then restart your PC.

Now, when you click Start, you should see a Programs menu on the righthand side. Mouse over to see the fly-out Programs menu of yore.

(Don't see it? You'll need to tweak the Start Menu settings. Right-click Start, then click Properties. In the Start Menu tab, click the Customize button. Scroll down to the Favorites menu entry, click its checkbox, and then click OK, OK.)

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