StartFinity

The classical Start menu has been missed by many users who were introduced to the Start screen of Windows 8. Fortunately, Microsoft rectified this apparent mistake by bringing back the Start menu to Windows 10, after a makeover.

Whether you're running Windows 8, 8.1 or 10 and miss Windows 7, you can install StartFinity to use a Start menu with a pretty close appearance look to Windows 7, thanks to Aero effect. It provides access to programs and features in the traditional list mode.

The app immediately replaces the default Start menu or screen after installation. The start screen can be still be accessed, from the top side of the menu. Shortcuts are also provided for documents, pictures, music, downloads, recent items, Control Panel, Devices and Printers, search, and run.

There's also a search box on the bottom side but it doesn't work as expected. As far as we can tell, it works just like the Run command. The feature list of StartFinity doesn't end here, though, since it has numerous customization preferences under its hood.

By right-clicking the Start button, you gain access to the settings panel to be able to configure properties for commands, the search box, appearance, Start button, and others.

For example, when it comes to commands, you can ask the tool to show the following items as either links or as a menu: favorites, user files, documents, pictures, music, videos, downloads, recorded TV, games, the computer, network, homegroup, recent documents, Control Panel, Network Connections, Devices and Printers, Printers, and Shutdown.

Meanwhile, the search box's attention can be shifted toward Control Panel or system paths. It can match parts of words and suggest terms when it's on autocomplete mode. If you want to change the StartFinity appearance, you can pick another color tone for the Start button, view the user picture and name, make icons small and fonts larger for submenus, make submenus white, or give a dark effect to Aero Glass.

These are just part of the configuration settings provided by the software application. It ran smoothly on Windows 10 in our tests and didn't cause any system display issues or other kinds of problems.

Taking everything into account, StartFinity should please all Windows 7 nostalgics by integrating a traditional Start menu with Aero effect into Windows 8 and newer.