Revert To “Classic Windows XP” Start Menu On Windows Vista

I’m sure that most of you will agree that the new start menu interface that has been introduced into Windows Vista can seem radically different at first glance and can perhaps be considered a step backwards in terms of ease of use.

While I personally think the new Windows Vista Start menu is a great update to the series, I know for a fact that a lot of you prefer the old Windows Start menu that first debuted in Windows 95 and has pretty much stayed faithful to the original all the way up until Windows XP.

Well, I have good news for you: You can indeed resurrect the good old Classic Windows Start menu which still retains all the functionality of the Start menu featured in Windows XP! Here’s how:

First we need to right click on our Windows Vista taskbar and click on Properties

Next we click the Start Menu tab to be presented with the option we have been looking for; Select the Classic Start menu button and press Apply for the changes to take effect:

Doing so will result in the classic Windows XP Start menu making a well return!

Now, if you want to, you can also further customize the classic Windows XP Start by returning to area where we discovered the Start menu toggler, under Properties > Start Menu; but instead of clicking Apply as we did before, this time if we click on Customize we will be presented with a wealth of options whereby we can tailor our Start menu to our own desires.

Go ahead and play around with a few of the settings and see what you can come up with; You might also find that combining some of the Windows XP Classic features with the newer Windows Vista can make for a very interesting Start men. Have fun!