Windows 8(.1)’s missing Start Menu!

When users complained about the lack of the Start Button in Windows 8, I think they were really complaining about the inability to bring up the Start Menu of Programs. So when the Start Button was partially restored in Windows 8.1, yes, it was now easier to get to the Control Panel, Task Manager, and Shut Down, but, really, who cared?

Sometimes things nag at me, such as…  Installation programs still ask if I want to send a shortcut to the Start Menu.  I say “Yes” for old-time’s sake and maybe because, in the same way young children believe in the tooth fairy, I had hopes that a real Start Button would magically appear. But, what was happening when I said “Yes”?  Did Windows simply ignore the instruction?

For reasons I’m not sure, one day I decided to search for StartMenu…and I found it!

Here’s how to create the Start Menu on the Desktop!

·        Right click on Start Button.  Choose File Explorer.

·        Click on View and then check the box that shows Hidden Items

·        Click on drive C:, then Program Data (not Files!)

·        Click on Microsoft, then Windows, then Start Menu

·        RIGHT-CLICK on Programs and Send to: Desktop.

All done!  You might want to move the Shortcut to the lower left hand corner next to the Start Button and change the icon to something distinctive.