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

If you like this article, please share it with your friends and contacts on Google Plus, Facebook and Twitter using following buttons so that they can also enjoy the article:

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:

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

If you enjoyed this article, you can subscribe to our RSS feed or free newsletter to get all new articles directly in your Inbox. Also check out our most popular articles and archive to read other interesting articles. If you have some news or tip to share, please send us.

Have You Checked Out Following Popular Articles?

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,
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!

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!
VG

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

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

P.S. I'm using your theme, VistaVG Ultimate. Thanks, Vishal!
VG

You have to edit the theme to change separator bitmap.
Brian

I have to second what Ana said. All the tips on this page work like a charm, with the exception of renaming 'My Music' and 'My Pictures' to 'Music' and 'Pictures'. I've followed the instructions 3 times now, and my experience has been that the new names will stick for a day or two, but then inexplicably revert back to 'My Music' and 'My Pictures'! Why is that? Can anything be done about it?