The first thing that users switched to Windows 7 might notice is that you can no longer change the Start menu in the classic Start menu. This possibility was active on Vista, but Microsoft has decided to eliminate it once and for all with Windows 7.
Not that the Windows 7 Start menu is negative in all respects, however, after being accustomed to browsing programs with the classic menu, where the folders automatically expand, it becomes a little inconvenient, for some, to be forced to start programs in the new way.
The main difference is that, going to "All programs", the folders must be expanded manually and you cannot browse the contents of the same with the traditional automatic opening (it must be said, however, that the search box is really functional and just press a letter to see all the programs and applications that start with that letter).
By right clicking on the Windows Logo that opens the start menu, you can customize the Start menu only by choosing which commands and programs to appear.
For example, by default the "Run" key is missing which must be enabled absolutely; you can decide the size of the icons, how to expand the folders, such as links or self-expanding and much more, however, you cannot see the programs as you did before, with the self-expansion of the folders and they are all placed one behind the other, in alphabetical order.
Therefore, since there is no possibility of returning to the classic Start menu, it is necessary to resort to external programs.
In this article we see the software (only the free ones) to replace the Windows 7 menu with the classic one of Windows XP but, as it may be said immediately, the first of them is certainly the best, the recommended one, more stable and lighter.
1) Classic Shell is free and takes up only 1.3MB of memory.
Change the Windows 7 Start menu back to a classic boot and, after installing it, it looks exactly the same as XP.
It is possible to navigate in the classic start menu with automatic expansion of folders and programs arranged in vertical columns.
Classic Shell is also in Italian, it supports Aero and you can also customize it by going to the Settings menu to choose which icons to see and for the graphics.
2) CSMenu takes up 12 MB of memory and often crashes with strange errors, so it is rejected
You can't even navigate the boot menu using the keyboard and arrows.
During the installation you need to be very careful or you find yourself with the annoying Ask Bar in the web browser.
The paid version of CSMenu is called Classic Start Menu which however costs $ 20.
3) HandyStart, which is discussed in another article, is used to organize the programs into categories on the Start menu.
4) TaskBar Classic Start Menu has been described in another post about starting programs from the desktop and is a way to have a double Start menu : the Windows 7 menu on the left as normal and add the start menu like that of Windows XP to right.
Alternatively, if you want something more flashy, you could use the 7Stacks tool which was described in the article on the super Start Menu bars on Windows.
For those who love animations, on the DeviantArt website you can download the animated start menu, all to see and, at least, to try once.
If you have other solutions in mind, please let me know that I don't like the start menu of Windows 7.
