1. Welcome Guest! In order to create a new topic or reply to an existing one, you must register first. It is easy and free. Click here to sign up now!.
    Dismiss Notice

Start10 - A Windows 10 Start Menu Replacement from Stardock

Discussion in 'Windows 10 Information and Alerts' started by allheart55 (Cindy E), Aug 12, 2015.

  1. allheart55 (Cindy E)

    allheart55 (Cindy E) Administrator Administrator

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2009
    Messages:
    10,578
    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    Operating System:
    Windows 10
    Computer Brand or Motherboard:
    ASUS M4A77TD AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD
    CPU:
    AMD Phenom II X6 1090T-Thuban 3.2GHz
    Memory:
    Crucial-DDR3 SDRAM 1333-8GB
    Hard Drive:
    WD Caviar Black SE HDD 640 GB - WD Caviar Black SE HDD 500 GB
    Graphics Card:
    Sapphire Radeon HD-7870 2GB
    Power Supply:
    CORSAIR CMPSU-750W
    Screenshot%20(17)_9.png


    I have always been a purist when it comes to my operating systems. Very rarely have I ever used any type of overlay or integrated software to modify how Windows performs out of the box as I prefer to just learn to work with the system as it is. It also helps to prevent any confusion as I am writing or helping someone out and keeps what the OS is capable of separate from what the overlay software does.

    One of the more recent options that found a market when Windows 8 was released was from Stardock Software. They saw the reaction to the lack of a Windows 7 style Start Menu in Windows 8 and released Start8 to address that. They then released ModernMix which allowed users to run full screen Modern Apps on Windows 8 in a window.

    As Windows 10 has come to market we now have a hybrid Start Menu that combines some elements of the old Windows 7 style Start Menu with the modern Live Tile aspects of the Windows 8 Start Screen.

    The merger of these two Start Menu's has resulted in some compromises and while there are some customizations available it may not be enough for everyone.

    Once again Stardock is bringing a new option to market that will allow users to have a highly configurable Start Menu in Windows 10 and it is appropriately called Start10.

    6691b90cee5c19ff8cd6a5baa0f37917.png

    Side by side comparison of Start10 and Windows 10 Start Menu (image courtesy of Stardock)

    I have been running Start10 over the last couple of days on a test system and must admit it has had minimal impact on overall system performance.

    The level of customization is extensive and provides users who want to set things up for their own personal usage preferences plenty of flexibility. They have also included a shortcut to quickly open the traditional Windows 10 Start Menu and there is also a cascading folder of Modern UI apps - basically the Windows 10 All Apps list.

    Source : http://winsupersite.com/windows-10/...placement-stardock#slide-0-field_images-58191
     
  2. Rich M

    Rich M Guest

    Joined:
    Dec 24, 2013
    Messages:
    4,580
    Location:
    NE Pa USA
    Operating System:
    Windows 7
    Computer Brand or Motherboard:
    MSI Z97 PC Mate LGA 1150 Intel Z97
    CPU:
    Intel i7 4790K 4.0Ghz
    Memory:
    Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 2133
    Hard Drive:
    Crucial 256 Gb SSD+ WD Raptor 300 Gb Sata III
    Graphics Card:
    Radeon R9 280 2GB HDMI
    Power Supply:
    Seasonic 750 watt
    IMHO the Stardock and Classic Shell program menus are both stellar and should be used in place of the Windows 10 Program Menu which is a serious piece of junk, and definitely a reworking of that Horriffic Start screen on Windows 8.
     
  3. IceMan37

    IceMan37 Banned

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2014
    Messages:
    1,079
    Operating System:
    Windows 10
    Computer Brand or Motherboard:
    MSI Z87M-G43
    CPU:
    I5 4690k @ 4.6
    Memory:
    16GB Hyper X 1866
    Hard Drive:
    1TB WD_Blue | 240Gb Sandosk SSD
    Graphics Card:
    eVGA GTX 970 FTW
    Power Supply:
    750W Tt
    I don't know that it's a piece of junk especially W10's menu though I don't care for the full fledged Windows 8 Tiles-Metro experience. W10 can be manually tamed very easy, and honestly it's pretty good especially with those tweaks I offered you via email if you tried them. I have Windows 8 level transparency enabled (0) and I have the start menu tamed. My desktop with the windows 10 tweak gradients that very few know about makes it look nice instead of the all white - gradient windows I also found a way to narrow out the start menu so it's not too blocky looking it's perfect. In real time here is my desktop. Watching an older movie (X-Files) on with the menu, the improved transparency, and most important the windows gradient is present.


    ef38cf6590b6cb36e76854ebdd99db5d.jpg
     
  4. IceMan37

    IceMan37 Banned

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2014
    Messages:
    1,079
    Operating System:
    Windows 10
    Computer Brand or Motherboard:
    MSI Z87M-G43
    CPU:
    I5 4690k @ 4.6
    Memory:
    16GB Hyper X 1866
    Hard Drive:
    1TB WD_Blue | 240Gb Sandosk SSD
    Graphics Card:
    eVGA GTX 970 FTW
    Power Supply:
    750W Tt
    I really like the program - I liked Start8 too. The only reason I don't use it right now is because I need to know the operating system very well in it's default state, so that I can better help customersbetter and get more acquainted with every bit of the OS before I put a windows 7 mask on it. So right now and likely for at least a year it's vanilla windows 10 :)
     
  5. Rich M

    Rich M Guest

    Joined:
    Dec 24, 2013
    Messages:
    4,580
    Location:
    NE Pa USA
    Operating System:
    Windows 7
    Computer Brand or Motherboard:
    MSI Z97 PC Mate LGA 1150 Intel Z97
    CPU:
    Intel i7 4790K 4.0Ghz
    Memory:
    Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 2133
    Hard Drive:
    Crucial 256 Gb SSD+ WD Raptor 300 Gb Sata III
    Graphics Card:
    Radeon R9 280 2GB HDMI
    Power Supply:
    Seasonic 750 watt
    I put Classic Shell on every system I touch anyway though I use Start8 myself which I like better. I didn't have 10 around long enough to try your solution on anything though as I had to have Paltalk and my laptop was just useless with 10 on it. I wasn't sure if it was moving forward at all it was so slow and I didn't have the patience nor did I see the reason to tweak it when it started out so slow. Remember that is the laptop I thought was fast enough that I never added an Ssd drive to it before I installed 10. After installing 10 I could have cried for what it did to the fastest laptop I have ever used. That is the only laptop I have ever liked and I was pissed enough when Lenovo bought Sony though I like Lenovo a lot as well, but it could not compare to that Sony.
     
  6. IceMan37

    IceMan37 Banned

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2014
    Messages:
    1,079
    Operating System:
    Windows 10
    Computer Brand or Motherboard:
    MSI Z87M-G43
    CPU:
    I5 4690k @ 4.6
    Memory:
    16GB Hyper X 1866
    Hard Drive:
    1TB WD_Blue | 240Gb Sandosk SSD
    Graphics Card:
    eVGA GTX 970 FTW
    Power Supply:
    750W Tt
    I will be moving to Start10 in a few months for sure! I agree about Sony VAIO laptops you remember years ago I told you I had one it was a C2D Intel it was the coolest laptop I ever had :)
     
  7. Rich M

    Rich M Guest

    Joined:
    Dec 24, 2013
    Messages:
    4,580
    Location:
    NE Pa USA
    Operating System:
    Windows 7
    Computer Brand or Motherboard:
    MSI Z97 PC Mate LGA 1150 Intel Z97
    CPU:
    Intel i7 4790K 4.0Ghz
    Memory:
    Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 2133
    Hard Drive:
    Crucial 256 Gb SSD+ WD Raptor 300 Gb Sata III
    Graphics Card:
    Radeon R9 280 2GB HDMI
    Power Supply:
    Seasonic 750 watt
    Yeah someone whose opinion I respect had convinced me to get an Acer touch screen and I hated everything about it. It couldn't run power management so I installed 7 but never found the right video driver. When I restored using Acronis it never booted again after that and I had to send it back to Acer where they replaced the hard drive. I listed it on Amazon and sold it after I got it back and bought the Sony and have loved it ever since. I don't use a laptop much so I am hoping I never have to buy another one!
     

Share This Page