A Windows 11 speed boost is coming as soon as next month, along with a taskbar you can finally move
The Low Latency Profile feature promises snappier app launches and shell responsiveness
Start menu articles
Windows 11 users are still fixing the Start menu with third-party tools
While Microsoft rethinks where they've failed with Windows 11, many users rely on tools like Open Shell, Start11, StartAllBack, and ExplorerPatcher to take back control of the UI. Open Shell remains a free favorite with a customizable Windows 7-style menu, while Start11 and StartAllBack offer more polished tweaks for modern systems. ExplorerPatcher rounds things out as another powerful free option.
Latest Windows 11 update adds redesigned Start Menu, colored battery icons, and more
Copilot+ PCs also get a ton of new AI features
Microsoft unveils a new "human-centric" Start Menu redesign for Windows 11
Designed by fans, tolerated by users: Microsoft shows us the road that led here
Here's why Windows 7 took so long to boot with solid color backgrounds in 2009
Simple wallpapers don't always save time and energy
Windows 11 is getting a revamped Start Menu
Coming soon to a PC near you, with an option to disable the annoying recommendations
Windows 11 will soon let you launch snapped app pairs with one click
A match made in Windows heaven
Third-party mod delivers the Start Menu Windows 11 deserves
All app menus to the forefront
Windows 11 Start menu app categories in the style of iOS take shape
Microsoft keeps tinkering with the Windows UI
Windows developer shares origin story of the iconic NT Start Menu banner
Remember that blue-to-black gradient? Here's how it came to be
In context: If you were a Windows user in the '90s, you're likely to be intimately familiar with the iconic Start Menu that shipped with Windows NT. That signature vertical banner proclaiming "Windows NT Workstation," or whichever variant you were running, is an image seared into the minds of many PC users from the era, and we have programmer Dave Plummer to thank for bringing the branding element to life.
Microsoft opens Start menu to third-party Companions: Here's how to enable the feature
A (clunky) replacement for Live Tiles?
Windows 11 Start menu is getting a permanent Phone Link integration, if you want it
The big picture: Microsoft really wants you to use Windows' Phone Link app. Once enabled, the fastest way to access it was through the taskbar's running processes menu. But now Windows is gearing up to integrate it directly into the Start Menu as a permanent sidebar feature.
Windows 11 Start menu and taskbar to soon gain several new customization features
More ways to declutter the taskbar are on the way
Microsoft is rolling out new Start menu ads to all Windows 11 users despite backlash
Giving the people what they don't want
Microsoft could soon sneak (more) Start menu ads into Windows
You can turn them off, though
Former Microsoft dev says Windows Start menu's performance is "comically bad," even with monster PC
If only Windows were "as good as it once was"
How to Make Windows 11 Look and Feel More Like Windows 10
If you've made the jump to Windows 11, chances are you won't like some of the changes made to the Taskbar, Start Menu, and File Explorer. However you can fix many of these with a few tweaks and tools.
Future Windows 10 update will reportedly add floating Start Menu and rounded corners
Making Windows 10 more like Windows 10X
Check out all the features in Windows 10's Insider Preview Build 20161, including the new Start Menu
Theme-aware tiles have arrived
Microsoft shows off Windows 10's new Start Menu
Better, worse, or pretty much the same?
Microsoft is "exploring" a new direction for the Start Menu, says Live Tiles aren't going anywhere
Slick new Start Menu concept teased
Revamped Windows 10 Start Menu could replace Live Tiles
Few would miss the feature
