Win8Starter

Removing the Start button and menu from Windows 8 was not one of Microsoft's best moves. Although this new approach made the operating system more comfortable on tablets, many users prefer the old fashion button and menu on their PCs. Fortunately, you can remedy this situation instantly with Win8Starter. This lightweight application places a Start button on your task bar and it allows you to access a Windows 7-style Start menu.

The application is available in free and paid editions. It should be obvious that Win8Starter was designed specifically for Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. The setup package is roughly 4 MB and it takes only a few seconds to complete the installation process. Furthermore, you don't have to meet any special requirements or sacrifice too many resources to run the application.

All you have to do is launch Win8Starter and a Start button will appear on the task bar instantly. The button behaves like a standard task bar icon, so it can be pinned and moved on the task bar. The Start menu will always appear in the lower right corner of the screen, regardless of the button's position on the task bar. Just like in previous Windows versions, the menu can be displayed just by clicking the button.

The Start menu has the same layout as the one in Windows 7. You can switch between shortcuts and recently opened programs or documents on the left side of the menu and access common locations, like the Library folders or Control Panel, on the right side. Just like in previous Windows versions, you can use a quick search function to locate any shortcut in the Start menu. You can also find the same power options, for shutting down or restarting the computer, setting it to sleep or hibernate mode and so on.