Windows 11 has just been officially revealed with a new interface, a new attractive Start menu. However, if you do not want to use the new Start menu, you can still return to the old Start menu on Windows 10.
With Windows 11 live tiles have been replaced with icons, similar to Android and iOS. You can still move the Start Menu to the left and choose an accent color to customize the look and function of the operating system.
It’s pretty simple to do, just follow these steps:
How to return to Windows 10’s Start menu on Windows 11
To enable the old Start menu of Windows 10 on Windows 11 you need to modify the Registry Editor. There are two ways to edit Registry Editor, the first way is to download the pre-fixed file and install it, the second way is to find the key to edit it yourself.
Method 1: Download the pre-edited Registry file
- You access the link to download the pre-edited Registry file to download the pre-fixed .reg file to activate the Windows 10 Start menu on Windows 11
- After downloading, you double-click the file to run
- In the new confirmation window that appears, select Yes > Yes like in the image below
Once done, you just need to restart your computer to apply the changes to your Windows 11 computer.
Method 2: Edit the Registry file yourself file
You press the Windows + R key combination to open Run then type regedit and press Enter to open the Registry Editor. Or press the Start button then type regedit and click Registry Editor in the search results
In the confirmation window, click Yes to access and modify the Registry Editor
Next, you search for:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\
You search for the key “Start_ShowClassicMode” and double click to open it
In the “Value data” box, enter 1 and then click OK
Now, close the Registry Editor and then restart your computer to apply the changes
Good luck!
Microsoft changes the context menu on Windows 11
The most notable feature of Windows 11 Insider Preview is the new context menu. The context menu is the menu that appears when you right-click on the desktop or applications, drives, folders… As you can see, the new menu has a more open look, inspired by Fluent Design. .
Microsoft has asked developers to follow a context menu design template for applications on Windows 11. In addition to aesthetics, the new context menu also brings consistency to Windows 11. On Windows 10, each application there’s a context menu that creates a mess.
However, the new context menu also confuses many users. For example, the context menu when clicking on the home screen is completely refreshed. The options familiar with the old interface such as New (create folders…), Refresh… will be hidden inside the Show more options button.
Those who have a habit of right-clicking and then selecting Refresh will definitely have to get used to the new operation again.
Another thing to note is that Windows 11 will not allow application icons to display large sizes with labels on the Taskbar. All apps will display with small icons, no captions, and if an app has multiple windows, it will be displayed as a stack of icons.
This is the kind of design that many people think Microsoft learned from Apple’s macOS. It enhances the aesthetics and also makes Windows 11 more flexible across many devices. However, for older users, this type of display will cause many difficulties.
