Win8 Start button options

[kleinkinstein]

Here are five to bring back the orb. [Damn you] Microsoft!
8StartButton
StartMenu8
Start8
Start Is Back
Viva Start Menu[/COLOR]

No profanity in the Tech forums please
-ViRGE

 

[BlueWeasel]

I really like Start8 so far, but may try a few others before paying for it.

 

[Kerry56]

Also:
Classic Shell
Power8

I like Classic Shell, and it is free to use.

 

[GnatGoSplat]

I didn't care for ClassicStart from ClassicShell, because it looks and works differently from the Win7 Start Menu that I'm used to. Is there a skin to make it more authentic?
StartIsBack looks to be the only one in the list that looks authentic, but it will be a pay app and I didn't see in that link how much it will cost.
I had also tried another one called viStart which worked, but had many differences from the real Start Menu and also didn't uninstall cleanly, so I wouldn't recommend it. I had to use System Restore to get rid of it completely.

Start8 was great, seems 100% spot-on, it seems a pixel-perfect representation of the Start Menu. When I alt-tab between Win8VM and my Win7 desktop, I couldn't see any differences. However, I'd like to make sure there are no equally as good free options before I drop the cash because I have many PCs that would need it.

 

[Evander]

I've been using Start Menu X (it keeps changing its name throughout the years as Windows has changed its name) on my Vista and Win 7 systems b/c it's superior to the built in start menu (for example, no need to scroll through your programs, they are listed in columns - as it should be). It's supposed to work w/ Win 8 but I haven't tried it yet. They have a free and paid version (I believe gives you the option to have transparent "aero" skin):
http://www.startmenux.com/index.html
Every now and then you can find the paid version for free on giveawayoftheday.com

 

[KeypoX]

and you forgot the best one

https://www.pokki.com/windows-8-start-menu

 

[Kerry56]

I didn't care for ClassicStart from ClassicShell, because it looks and works differently from the Win7 Start Menu that I'm used to. Is there a skin to make it more authentic?
StartIsBack looks to be the only one in the list that looks authentic, but it will be a pay app and I didn't see in that link how much it will cost.
I had also tried another one called viStart which worked, but had many differences from the real Start Menu and also didn't uninstall cleanly, so I wouldn't recommend it. I had to use System Restore to get rid of it completely.

Start8 was great, seems 100% spot-on, it seems a pixel-perfect representation of the Start Menu. When I alt-tab between Win8VM and my Win7 desktop, I couldn't see any differences. However, I'd like to make sure there are no equally as good free options before I drop the cash because I have many PCs that would need it.

There are several skins that come with ClassicShell. You might like the Aero skin.

 

[daveybrat]

I personally think that Start8 is worth the $5. Best one i've tried so far in replicating the Windows 7 menu experience.

A couple friends use it as well and love it.

 

[gaidin43]

I personally think that Start8 is worth the $5. Best one i've tried so far in replicating the Windows 7 menu experience.

A couple friends use it as well and love it.

I will NEVER buy software like this little "tweak"!!!!! It is never worth the money and the developer just is getting greedy and wants money. It should be 100% free, always. I only use freeware for system type items, the only system thing I have ever bought was true image 2012 which doesn't work with windows 8 and they won't upgrade me for free so I will move on to a free version software that replaces it and never buy from them again.

To put it simply windows should have included this in the first place and now people want to make a buck off it when they should be giving it away or when there are other free options.

 

[Jman13]

Start 8 is awesome. The developer isn't greedy..it's a reasonable price for a VERY well written piece of code. Why the heck should it be free? The developers worked hard on it, and deserve to be paid for their work. There are ton of options with Start 8 to help tailor the Windows 8 experience to your liking, and was well worth the $5.

 

[NetGuySC]

Here is one not on the list. Just downloaded it today and so far I really like it. It combines a start menu with some of the Windows 8 features.

https://www.pokki.com/

 

[Steltek]

I will NEVER buy software like this little "tweak"!!!!! It is never worth the money and the developer just is getting greedy and wants money. It should be 100% free, always. I only use freeware for system type items, the only system thing I have ever bought was true image 2012 which doesn't work with windows 8 and they won't upgrade me for free so I will move on to a free version software that replaces it and never buy from them again.

To put it simply windows should have included this in the first place and now people want to make a buck off it when they should be giving it away or when there are other free options.

Sorry, but your definition of "free" is that it doesn't cost YOU anything. Your statement doesn't consider the enormous investment of work, time, and even money that others must make to build the product that you expect them to just give you for free. Adding back a feature like the start menu is a pretty complicated job, especially getting a version compatible with the original and which is bug-free. Granted, I agree that Microsoft should have made it optional instead of just stripping it out. However, that is just Microsoft being Microsoft. They have always raised doing stupid things to an elevated art form, and they always will.

Your argument about True Image 2012 is a non-starter as Acronis never claimed Windows 8 compatibility for that product. And, if you'd researched before buying, you'd know that is how Acronis' business model works - I don't EVER remember Acronis releasing a free update to support a new operating system. They instead have always required you to buy a new version.

EDIT: If you want a good commercial backup product with a free version, take look at Macrium Reflect. It supports every desktop OS from XP to Win8, and has a free for personal use version (though it does lack some of the bells and whistles of the pay versions).

http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx

 

[capeconsultant]

I will be buying Start8. Excellent software solves my issue nicely. I tip my hat to the developer.

 

[gaidin43]

I understand the time that goes into making these programs but start8 isn't that different then the free versions and make the point null to pay for it when an equal product is available for free.

I'm not saying the developers are not great at what they do or that they are not helping us at all. In fact they do both but not worth the price with people that develop these products and give them away instead of charging for a very minimal product. If it was a full version of some sort of software I could understand paying for it. But not a tweak.

Microsoft needs to change this with an update.

And thanks for the suggestions with another backup software. I emailed true image and they offered me 10% of the full price of the new version, which I can actually get cheap through other coupon codes. Again they lost a customer.

 

[olds]

Liking Start8. Paid for it and running the Windows 7 Theme.

 

[dlock13]

Don't forget:

Pokki.

It's a bit different, but it's pretty smooth if you ask me.

 

[GnatGoSplat]

There are several skins that come with ClassicShell. You might like the Aero skin.

That's actually the one I used, but I didn't care for it because it didn't look the real Start Menu and sub-menus were a bit different whereas the Win7 themed one in Start8 seems to be a pixel-for-pixel copy with exactly the same functionality as well.

 

[gaidin43]

Don't forget:

Pokki.

It's a bit different, but it's pretty smooth if you ask me.

Is pokki full of spam or ads?

 

[dlock13]

Is pokki full of spam or ads?

I used it for a little bit and I didn't see any ads or spam. It does have a sort of app store to it as well. I think it at least looks good and is quite functional.

 

[Compman55]

Will these start menu programs mess up your install?

I put in startisback and could never imagine using win8 without it. Or another program like it.

 

[cmdrdredd]

I will NEVER buy software like this little "tweak"!!!!! It is never worth the money and the developer just is getting greedy and wants money. It should be 100% free, always. I only use freeware for system type items, the only system thing I have ever bought was true image 2012 which doesn't work with windows 8 and they won't upgrade me for free so I will move on to a free version software that replaces it and never buy from them again.

To put it simply windows should have included this in the first place and now people want to make a buck off it when they should be giving it away or when there are other free options.

Yeah...then why don't you make your own app like this? No? Too hard? Every developer in the community accepts donations and it's not unrealistic to think that most people won't donate so charging a small amount to pay for your dev time is not too much to ask.

If you say true image doesn't you can startup from the disk and it can read the partitions on your disk. You image the disk from there. When you run it again it will do incremental backups and add the changes since the last backup. If it doesn't load then go to your UEFI bios and turn off secure boot.

Will these start menu programs mess up your install?

I put in startisback and could never imagine using win8 without it. Or another program like it.

Nope they are perfectly safe.

 

[Steltek]

Will these start menu programs mess up your install?

I put in startisback and could never imagine using win8 without it. Or another program like it.

It is nice, isn't it. I look forward to seeing the final version as I've encountered several bugs in the current beta. I do seem to prefer it to any of the other options (though Stardock's Start8 is also a close second).

Like any software that alters a Windows install, it is possible for something to get messed up. However, there wouldn't seem to be any higher a likelihood of that happening than with any other software install. The only question I have is whether future software installers on Win8 are going to stop placing items in the start menu (as it won't be expected to be there on a standard install) and thus render the add-ins irrelevant over time.

 

[dlock13]

Pokki is easily uninstallable. I'd recommend trying that out first as it's just like any other piece of software. I don't believe it attaches to any kind of system file like the UXtheme.dll or whatever.

 

[ViRGE]

So I'm just dinking with Start8 right now; is it me or does it not implement hot corners correctly? If you actually go to the very bottom left corner of your screen, you can't bring the Start8 menu up. You have to actually be over the icon to use it, whereas the real start menu was far more forgiving since it treated that as a hot corner.

 

[olds]

So I'm just dinking with Start8 right now; is it me or does it not implement hot corners correctly? If you actually go to the very bottom left corner of your screen, you can't bring the Start8 menu up. You have to actually be over the icon to use it, whereas the real start menu was far more forgiving since it treated that as a hot corner.

If I click in the very bottom of the left corner the Start8 menu comes up.