Power8 Portable

Power8 Portable is a software tool which brings back the Windows 7 Start menu on computers that have Windows 8 installed.

This is the portable counterpart of Power8. By dropping the program files to a USB flash drive, or other such portable storage unit, you can run the utility on any computer you have access to, without needing to install it on the host PC.

Aside from that, it is important to keep in mind that the Windows registry and Start menu/screen are not going to be affected in any way whatsoever.

After you double-click the EXE file, Power8 Portable creates an icon in the tray area which enables you to bring up the classical Windows 7 Start menu. From this point on, pressing the keyboard Windows button is going to bring up this menu. The Metro features of the Windows 8 OS can be blocked with just a few clicks.

Aside from the classical features we know and love (Computer, Libraries, Control Panel, Administrative Tools etc.), you can also pin or unpin programs, as well as shutdown, restart and log off the computer.

From the settings panel you can tweak options, so as to be sure that the Start menu is to your liking. For example, you can watch removable drives, exchange all programs menu and search bar, auto-sort menus and lists when file or folder is added or renamed, as well as show or hide certain menu-buttons.

CPU and memory usage is minimal, while response time is good. To sum up, Power8 Portable is a useful piece of software that brings back the Windows 7 Start menu.