Forum Discussion
How to switch back to the classic layout in the new Windows 11 Start menu?
The Start menu on one Windows 11 computer has been forcibly locked to the “new” layout showing “All apps” (directly displaying the app list), with the “Start menu layout” option disappearing from settings. In contrast, another computer running the exact same system version and patches still retains the “old” classic layout (custom apps at the top, recommended apps below). How can the new menu be restored to the old layout?
3 Replies
open up a DOS terminal and type
cd "%ProgramData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs"
then type
dir
and you will see that all the start menu information is still fully there. or just past the resulting path into explorer if you need a GUI.Basically all the cool toys you can download that promise to give you the old menu are just looking at a folder, they are not doing anything special at all, be aware of just downloading any old thing.
Hey there, I see you need help with the Start Menu, as of right now, you can't switch back to the old Start menu, because the new one replaces it, if you need any other help just reply, have a good day
-Random Internet Stranger
How is "cant" even a response, because not only is that completely untrue, but the underlying data that used to drive that menu is still 100% there. Just because someone in the UX department an Microsoft removed a menu does not mean that billions of product installers suddenly do not store that data that used to drive that menu. There are loads of ways to get it back.
