Missing the Start Button? (Issue 51) by Tiamari

Missing the Start Button?

So now that you know that the spanking new Windows 8 does not have a Start Button, what are you gonna do about it?

Instead of chewing off your wrists, try one of the following fixes:

Create a Start Menu Toolbar

It’s not a well-known feature, but Windows can create toolbars that show the contents of a folder on its taskbar. This means that you can create a pseudo-Start menu without installing any other software on Windows 8. Just create a new toolbar that points at the Start menu’s Programs folder.

• From the desktop, right-click the taskbar, point to Toolbars and select “New toolbar.”

• Type the following path into the Choose a folder window:

%ProgramData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs

• Click the “Select Folder” button and you’ll get a Programs menu on your taskbar.

• Right-click the taskbar and uncheck “Lock the taskbar” if you want to move the new Programs menu around.

• Drag and drop the grip at the left side of the toolbar to place it somewhere else on the taskbar, like at its left side — the Start menu’s traditional location.

• Right-click the “Programs” text if you want to change or hide its name. After you’re finished, right-click the taskbar again and select “Lock the taskbar.”

• There’s one catch with this method — it won’t actually show all your programs. The Start menu actually grabs shortcuts from two different places. In addition to the system-wide ProgramData location, there’s a per-user Programs folder at the following location:

%AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs

• You could create a second toolbar to list programs from this folder, or perhaps move shortcuts from the %AppData% location to the %ProgramData% location.

• Another option is creating a custom folder full of program shortcuts and using a toolbar that points at that folder instead.

Download the HP Quick Start App

HP Quick Start is a Windows 8 software application that provides a familiar way to open apps from the Windows desktop. It seems to also work just fine on non-HP computers!

The app can be downloaded from here: ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp59001-59500/sp59485.exe

Handy Tip

Pressing the Windows key + X brings up a useful menu!

Have Fun with Windows 8, and remember to visit www.tiamari.com again!

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