Change Look-n-Feel of Windows XP Start Menu



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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, it can be found in our "Download" section.

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 need 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.

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In this tutorial, I'll tell you about a few things, which can be used to change the look-n-feel of XP start menu.

After following this tutorial, you'll get your Start menu look-a-like following screenshot:

1.) To change the Default entry names in Start menu's right side pane, like Control Panel, Connect To, Help & Support, Run, Search, etc, you'll need to edit %windir%\Explorer.exe file in Resource Hacker and then edit String Table section. I'm giving a few locations, where u can find interesting strings:

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

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

3.) Sometimes you'll not notice the changes in Start menu because windows registry maintains a cache for these entries. So you'll have to clear the cache to make the changes visible. Just open regedit and goto:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ ShellNoRoam\MUICache

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

4.) If you want to add your own entry, like an application shortcut or a folder, then you can follow my following tutorial:

TUTORIAL: How to use the free space under RUN in New Windows XP Start Menu!

5.) And this one is my favorite trick. I use this trick to remove "All Programs" menu from Start menu because it doesnt look decent and many times it gets automatically selected while selecting other entries in Start menu. So I change "Favorites" path to "Programs" folder, so that we can access our program shortcuts. So just follow these steps:

a.) First disable "All Programs" option from Start menu. Open regedit and goto:

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

and 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, on which windows is installed.

c.) Now 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 ur 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".

6.) To change the color & style of Start menu, you can use my "VistaVG Ultimate" visual style, which will completely change its look. You can get it here:

Download VistaVG Ultimate Theme

Download VistaVG Ultimate Theme with Searchbar



This article was posted in Windows XP.

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141 Comments

1 2 3 4 5 6 ... 15

  • VG

    Have you enabled "Use Large Icons" in Desktop properties by any chance?

  • boogster

    i changed that settings but no use, when i use small icons, only icons would get smaller but letters and most importantly the start menu wouldn`t really get back to it`s normal look. Any other suggestions please? feel free to throw anything from A B C to step by step guides, thanks in advance.

  • VG

    It means your fonts size is also set to Large. Open Desktop Properties and in Display Settings (last tab) you'll get an option to change fonts setting. Make sure its set to "Default scale 96 DPI".

  • boogster

    hooray, it worked, thanks vg man, :grin: :mrgreen:

  • VG

    ^^ Cool. :P

  • ana

    I did everything you wrote in 2nd and 3rd point, but I can't force damn start menu to show 'music' and 'pictures' instead of 'my music' and 'my pictures'! :???: Is there any other solution?

  • Addy

    *Ana

    Yeah, I've done that before: i think I just changed the names of the folders

  • Brian

    Thanks so much, VG! I'm so glad that pesky "All Programs" link is gone! Neat trick! :lol:

    Now, I have a question: How can I remove that separator at the bottom left of the start menu? (The one which used to separate the frequently-used programs from the "All Programs" link?

    Thanks for any advice! :idea:

  • VG

    ^^ You'll have to make changes in your Windows theme to remove that separator.

  • Brian

    Any ideas on how? U R the master!!! :!:

1 2 3 4 5 6 ... 15

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