Get the Start Menu Back in Windows 8 With Classic Shell

Introduction

 

In this article, we are going to explain how to get the Start menu back in Windows 8 with the classic shell.

 

Classic Shell for Windows 8

 

Step 1

 

First, we can download Classic Shell from Source Forge.

 

 

 

Step 2

 

After the installation, we'll see the classic shell start button in our Windows 8 Desktop.

 

 

 

Step 3

 

When we open it the first time, a screen is shown to pick the menu style we want as well as other settings.

 

 

 

Step 4

 

Select the "All Settings".

 

 

 

Step 5

 

Here's a look at one of the combinations I set. It's set to the Windows 7 style with the Metro Skin. We get a fully functional Search box too and other options Logoff, Shutdown, and Hibernate of our system.

 

 

 

Step 6

 

We'll use the Windows Store apps menu.

 

 

 

Step 7

 

One of the coolest features is that we can set it to bypass the Windows 8 Start Screen. This will boot our system directly into the Desktop. We can change that in the Settings under the Windows 8 Settings tab.

 

 

 

Step 8

 

There are a ton of settings we can configure to get the menu customized to what works best for us.

 

 

Step 9

 

The Classic Shell also installs its File Explorer bar that's also fully customizable. But, with the new Ribbon in the Windows 8 Explorer, it might be a bit much. We can disable it easily though.

 

 

 

Step 10

 

If you like it, hide the Ribbon and customize the Classic Shell version.

 

 

Summary

 

In this article, we learned about Getting the Start Menu Back in Windows 8 With Classic Shell.