Summary: Windows 10 changed the Start Menu layout so that users can access the installed apps listed on the Start Menu. However, some people who used to launch apps by keyboard shortcuts may want to disable the Start Menu. So today, this how-to post will offer practical ways to hide or remove the Start Menu.
Table of Contents
What Is The Windows 10 Start Menu?
The Win10 Start menu is a directory of all the programs, folders, and contacts that you frequently use. It is the primary point to access the applications on your PC. Users can click the Start button or press the Win logo key to access the Start Menu.
There are two panes and a Search box in the Windows 10 Start Menu. Users can find all apps on the left pane and the corresponding live titles of the apps on the right pane. Any app in the “All Apps” list on the left pane can be copied as a tile on the right.
How to Hide Windows 10 Start Menu?
Hide the Start Menu Using StartIsGone
StartIsGone is a portable program that helps users to hide the Start Menu on the taskbar. It is fully native to Win 8.1 and Win 10.
- You should first download and run StartIsGone. Then its icon will appear in the system tray.
- Right-click its tray icon to access the load at startup and hide system tray icon options. It requires a paltry 1.7 MB of memory.
- If you want to show or bring back the Start Menu, close the SatrtIsGone program.
Hide the Start Menu With Start Killer
Start Killer is a free program to hide or disable the Start menu. It’s easy to hide the Start button with the Start Killer.
- First, you should download and install the Start Killer.
- Run it from Start Menu and right-click its icon to open or exit the “Setting”.
- If you’d like to run the Start Killer automatically, you can turn on the “Load on system start” option.
- Just like StartIsGone, you can close Start Killer to bring back the Start Menu.
Hide the Start Menu With Registry Editor
- Open a Run command dialog box by pressing Win + R keys on your keyboard, then type regedit and press the Enter key to open Registry Editor.
- Choose the Yes button for UAC (User Account Control) prompt.
- In the Current User hive, navigate to the following key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
- In the Explorer key, right-click on the right pane and choose the New > DWORD (32-bit) Value option. Name this newly created value as NoSetTaskbar.
- Double-click on the NoSetTaskbar value to open it and then change Value data to 1.
- Lastly, you need to restart your system to apply the changes to the system.
- If you want to enable it back, you need to open the NoSetTaskbar value again and change Value data to 0.
NOTE: We always recommend users create a backup before making any changes in their Registry Editor.
Conclusion
The Start Menu provides a way to start apps or programs, adjust Windows settings, ask for help for sticky situations, turn off Windows, and leave your PC for a while. Users can hide or remove it easily if they don’t need it. They can also bring it back with ease.
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Home » Windows 10 » 2 Ways To Hide Or Remove Start Button In Windows 10
Windows 10 finally brought back the Start menu. The Start menu or Start screen (turned off by default for desktops and laptops) can either be accessed by clicking on the Start button or pressing down the Windows logo key on the keyboard.
Most users open the Start menu by clicking on the Start button on the taskbar. However, many keyboard shortcut lovers use the Windows logo key to open the Start menu.
If you always use the keyboard to open the Start menu or configured Windows 10 to center taskbar icons, you might want to hide the Start button. Hiding the Start button frees up an icon’s space on the taskbar!
In this guide, we will take about the two ways out there to hide the Start button in Windows 10.
Note that hiding the Start button will not hide or disable the Start menu. You can access the Start menu by pressing the Windows logo key on the keyboard. Likewise, you can also access the Win + X menu using the Windows logo key and X keyboard shortcut. So, you will not miss out on any features when you hide the Start button.
Tip: Change the default Windows 10 Start button as well.
Hide the Windows 10 Start menu with Start Killer
Start Killer is a free program designed to disable or hide the Start menu. With Start menu Killer, hiding the Start button is easy. Just download the program, install the same, and run it. Alternatively, there is a portable version of the program also on offer. We prefer the portable version.
If you want to use the portable version, just download and run it to hide the Start button.
To see the Start button again, close the Start Killer program by right-clicking on the Start Killer icon in the system tray and then clicking the Exit option.
Download Start Killer
Remove the Start button using StartIsGone
StartIsGone is a portable program out there to help you hide the Start button on the taskbar. Downloading and running StartIsGone will hide the Start button immediately.
When running, its icon will show up in the system tray. Right-click on its tray icon to access load at startup and hide the system tray icon options. It takes a negligible 1.7 MB of memory.
Just like the Start Killer, closing the program (right-click on its tray icon and then exit) or via Task Manager will bring back the Start button.
Download StartIsGone
Wondering how to disable the Start menu on Windows 10?
The Windows Start menu is a big deal. It is probably the first thing that you think of when it comes to launching applications, searching for important files, or simply shutting down your PC. This iconic Start menu is so intertwined with the identity of Windows, that it is hard to imagine using Windows without it, but it might not be as convenient for some as it is for others.
Luckily, Windows allows its users to disable the Start menu and if you are one of those people who do not find it handy, you are in the right place.
In this guide, we will walk you through the steps of disabling the Start menu on Windows 10 in detail.
Let’s get started!
1. Use Windows Registry.
If you have always wanted to get better control over your operating system, then Windows Registry is something you should know about.
Windows Registry is a database of low-level information about Windows programs and processes. The information in the Registry Editor is stored in the form of Registry keys, and advanced users modify the relevant keys to customize their operating systems.
Here is how you can disable the Start menu on Windows 10 using Windows Registry:
- Press Windows + R keys on your keyboard simultaneously to open a Run dialogue box.
- Inside the text field of the dialogue box, type ‘regedit’ and hit Enter. This will open Registry Editor on Windows.
- Inside the Registry Editor window, navigate to the location mentioned below.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
- In the right pane, right-click anywhere and select the New > DWORD (32-bit) Value option and name this value as NoSetTaskbar.
- Double-click on this value and under Value data, type 1.
This should disable the Start menu on Windows 10 without any issues.
2. Try Using CleanMyPC.
In the event that none of the suggested solutions work for you, there is a possibility that your system is infected with bugs or corrupt files that are hindering these operations. In this case, the best course of action would be to remove the junk files before attempting to troubleshoot.
Cleaning your computer from clutter is best done with a professional PC cleaner. If you want a recommendation, we like CleanMyPC.
Apart from removing junk files, CleanMyPC also offers an array of system maintenance tools that are designed to address other PC problems. When you install the tool and run an initial scan, it will automatically identify and fix problems without the need for extensive user input.
It is also quite easy to use, so even if you have never used a PC cleaner before, you will have no problem using CleanMyPC!
Try CleanMyPC Now!
3. Use Group Policy Editor.
Another easy way of disabling the Start menu is via Group Policy Editor.
Group Policy Editor is also an administrative-level tool that allows you to customize the operations of Windows, as the Windows Registry. Information here is stored in the form of policies, and we will be modifying the relevant policies to make our desired changes.
Here is what you need to do:
- Press Windows + R keys on your keyboard simultaneously to open a Run dialogue box.
- Inside the text field of the dialogue box, type ‘gpedit.msc’ and hit Enter. This will launch Group Policy Editor.
- In the newly launched window, navigate to the location mentioned below.
User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Start Menu and Taskbar\
- In the right pane, locate Prevent changes to Taskbar and Start Menu Settings and double-click on it.
- Click on Enabled and hit Apply to save the changes.
That’s it.
Hopefully, doing so will make desired changes in no time.
This brings us to the end of our guide on disabling the Start menu on Windows 10. We tried walking you through all the steps in detail and hope that one of the methods mentioned above did the trick for you. In case you still have any confusion about the methods, please let us know in the comment section below!
If this guide helped you, please share it. 🙂
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Zainab Falak is a staff writer for Saint and an expert in Microsoft Windows, having authored more than 200 posts. She has a Bachelors in Actuarial Sciences and her passion for computers extends to exploring various aspects, from UI customization to the Windows registry and exploring error codes. Twitter
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Written by Allen White on . Posted in Windows 10
If you do not like the new Windows 10 start menu then it can be disabled with a few clicks and you can go back to the Windows 8 style start screen. Its simple to do but will require a reboot.
How to Disable the Windows 10 Start Menu
To disable the start menu in Windows turn move your cursor to the start bar at the bottom of the screen, right click and select properties.
Once in the properties screen select the tab that says Start Menu. You will then see the tick box that will allow you to disable the Windows 10 Start Menu. Once deselected click apply and you will then be prompted that you need to log off before the changes are made.
Do so, once you have logged back into your pc you will see the Windows 10 Start Screen instead of the Start Menu.
Tags: startmenu, startscreen, windows10
Allen White
Allen is an IT Consultant and holds the following accreditations. MCSA, MCSE, MCTS, MCITP, CCA, CCSP, VCP 4,5, 6 and HP ASE, AIS — Network Infrastructure.
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The Start button is a part of the Microsoft operating system for a long time. You can find the Start button in Windows XP, Vista, and 7. However, Microsoft has removed the Start button in Windows 8 and finally added them back in Windows 8.1. The latest Windows 10 also comes with a beautiful Start menu.
Windows 10 allows you to access the Start menu or Start screen by clicking on the Start button or pressing the Windows logo key on the keyboard. Most of us prefer to open the Start menu by clicking on the Start button on the Windows taskbar. However, if you prefer to use a keyboard shortcut (Windows logo key) to open the Start menu on Windows 10 or want to remove the Start button for any reason, it is possible to use a third-party tool.
If you always use a keyboard shortcut to open the Start menu, the Start button may be useless for you, and want to get rid of this; you can take the help of third-party freeware. There is no built-in function on Windows 10 to remove the Start button from the PC; hence we will take the help of free tools: StartIsGone and Start Killer. Both these freeware applications serve the purpose; hence you can download and use any of them.
Before proceeding with further steps, ensure that hiding or removing the Start button using a third-party tool will not obliterate the Start menu from your PC. Once you deactivate the application, the Start button will appear again. Even you can access the Start menu by pressing the Windows logo key from the keyboard. Similarly, to access the power menu, you can use the Windows logo + X keyboard shortcut. That means disabling or removing the Start menu from software will not remove the built-in features of Windows 10. You can still enjoy all the features of the Start button even by hiding them.
Hide Windows 10 Start menu with Start Killer
Start Killer is a free program specially designed to disable or hide the Start button on Windows PC. With Start menu Killer, you can easily hide the Start button. Just download the installer or portable program and run it on your PC. If you download a portable version of this program, there is no need to install it on your PC. Just run them and start hiding the Start menu.
There is no GUI of this application to change the settings; however, you can access the Settings of this program by right-clicking on its icon on the System Tray. If you want to see the Start menu, To see the Start button again, exit the Start Killer program by right-clicking on the Start Killer icon in the system tray.
Start Killer comes with two executable files, one for 32-bit and another for the 64-bit operating system. Before running the app, make sure you have double-clicked on the right application. Furthermore, this free utility is compatible with Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10.
You can download this tiny Start Killer from its official website.
Hide Windows 10 Start menu using StartIsGone
StartIsGone is another free application that serves the purpose, and it also removes the Start button from Windows PC. It is also a portable program to hide the Start button on the taskbar. Just download and run this freeware tool to start hiding the Start button immediately.
When running, its icon will remain visible on the system tray. To see or unhide the Start button, right-click on its tray icon and select the “Exit” option. If you want to load it with Windows Startup, right-click on its icon on the System tray and select the option, “Run at startup.” There is also an option available to hide its icon on the system tray; it is useful when you don’t want to unhide the Start button.
This application is compatible with Windows 10 and Windows 8.1. There are two separate executable files for 32-bit and 64-bit OS; hence before running, make sure you have selected the right application. You can download this tiny freeware from here.
Note: During our test, we noticed that both the applications hide the Start button and Taskbar icons which were added manually. If you only want to hide or remove the Start button, but want to see the custom Taskbar icons, then it might not be your choice.