How to Change and Customize Windows XP Start Menu Look-n-Feel?

This tutorial will assist you in customizing Windows XP startmenu appearance. After following this tutorial, you'll get the startmenu look like following screenshot:

STEP 1: You can change the text of various startmenu entries like Control Panel, Connect To, Help & Support, Run, Search, etc. To change them, you'll need to edit %windir%\Explorer.exe file in Resource Hacker and then edit String Table section. Following are a few locations, where you can find such interesting strings:

String Table -> 439 -> 1033
String Table -> 440 -> 1033
String Table -> 515 -> 1033

STEP 2: Other strings like My Documents, My Pictures, My Music, My Computer, etc. can be changed in String Table section of %windir%\System32\Shell32.dll file. Just search for them in the file. Most of them will be present in:

String Table -> 577 -> 1033
String Table -> 794 -> 1033
String Table -> 1900 -> 1033
String Table -> 1906 -> 1033

STEP 3: Sometimes you'll not be able to see the changes in Start menu. It happens because Windows registry maintains a cache for these entries. So you'll have to clear this cache to make the changes visible. Just type regedit in RUN dialog box and press Enter. Now go to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ ShellNoRoam\MUICache

In right-side pane, delete all existing values except Default & LangID.

STEP 4: If you want to add your own entry, like an application shortcut or a folder, you can follow this tutorial:

Add Your Favorite Application or Shortcut Under RUN in Windows XP Start Menu

STEP 5: This one is our favorite. You can use this trick to remove "All Programs" menu from Start menu and then change "Favorites" entry to point to the "Programs" folder. In this way, you can access all program using Favorites menu.

Simply follow these steps:

A. First disable "All Programs" menu from Start menu. Open regedit and goto:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\Explorer

In right-side pane, create a DWORD value NoStartMenuMorePrograms and set its value to 1

B. Now change "Favorites" path to "Programs" folder. In regedit, goto:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Explorer\Shell Folders
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Explorer\User Shell Folders

and change value of Favorites to:

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs

NOTE: Change C: to your system drive letter where Windows is installed in your system.

WARNING: Above trick will replace "Favorites" menu with All Programs list in Internet Explorer as well. If you use Favorites in IE, you should not apply the above trick. Also note down the default values of above mentioned 2 registry keys before changing them, so that you can restore them if you don't like the change.

C. You can also change the text of "Favorites" to "Programs" or "All Programs" by editing %windir%\Explorer.exe file in Resource Hacker. Just goto:

String Table -> 515 -> 1033

and in right-side pane, change string in 8235 line with your desired one.

D. You can also drag-n-drop important program shortcuts into left-side pane of Start menu for easier access. Don't forget to disable "Internet" & "E-mail" shortcuts and "Recent Items" list from "Start menu & Taskbar Properties".

STEP 6: To change the color & style of Start menu, you can use "VistaVG Ultimate" theme. You can get it here:

Windows XP Themes

NOTE: If you are facing problems while saving a file after editing in resource hacker, then make sure you have disabled WFP (Windows File Protection) service using WFP Patcher.

Also if you are getting error "Can't create file...", that means you have edited and saved the same file in past and there is a backup file which needs to be deleted before saving this file again. Go to the folder containing this file and you'll see a similar file having "_original" in its name. Delete it and try to save the file in resource hacker.

Other similar articles that may interest you:

• How to Customize or Change Start Screen Green Background, Start Button, Tiny Start Menu and Other Metro UI Stuff in Windows 8?
• Customize Windows Media Player 12 (WMP12) Library Background Image in Windows 7
• [Version 2] Customizing RUN Dialog Box in Windows XP Using Resource Hacker
• [Version 1] Customizing RUN Dialog Box in Windows XP Using Resource Hacker
• Resource Hacker FX: Download Free Patcher to Enhance and Improve “Resource Hacker” Tool
• How to Remove “Burn” Button from Windows Explorer Command Bar in Windows 7?

This article was posted by VG in following section: Resource Hacker, Windows XP.

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