07/03/2015 Richard Hay

We customize the system according to individual preferences

There are several ways to customize Windows 10 to suit your personal preferences. This overview of Windows 10 personal settings shows you how to assign background colors, screen lock, themes, and other settings from start menu("Start"). Screenshots taken from Windows 10 build 10130. Unlikely at this stage of development into components operating system major changes will be made, but there may still be slight discrepancies between these images and the appearance of the final version of Windows 10.

Personalization

Home Screen windows settings 10. Click Personalization to begin (see Figure 1).

Personalization: background

The first option lets you select an image to use as the desktop background. Click the Browse button and select an image saved anywhere on your local computer or in OneDrive cloud storage (see Figure 2). Immediately after selecting an image, you will see how it will look on the desktop.

Once an image is selected, you can determine how it will be displayed on the screen by clicking Choose a fit (see Figure 3).

Tile - Places small images next to each other, like on a tiled floor.

The Color option allows you to select a solid color as the background. On the this moment There are a total of 24 color options in the color palette (see Figure 4).

The Change picture every parameter sets the image change frequency interval - 1, 10, 30 and 60 minutes; 6 hours or 1 day.

The Choose a fit option is the same as when choosing a background image:

Fill - fits the image to the width of the monitor, squeezing or stretching the image.

Fit - adjusts the image to the height of the monitor, squeezing or stretching the image.

Stretch - Displays the entire image on the screen. Perspective may be impaired if the image does not match the perspective of the monitor.

Tile - Places small images next to each other, like on a tiled floor.

Center - shows the central part of the image if it is larger than the monitor screen, or the entire image if it is smaller. When using small images, a solid border is formed around the center-aligned image.

Span - allows you to display an image on multiple monitors.

Personalization: colors

The following setting allows you to select the color of the elements of various system windows, the home screen, the taskbar, Action Center, and specify the transparency for the Home screen, taskbar, and Action Center (see Figure 6).

If the first option, Automatically pick an accent color from my background, is enabled, then the color of the elements is automatically changed to match the background image (see Figure 7). You can disable this mode to choose the color of the elements yourself.

The last two options can only be turned on and off. They allow you to show the color of the elements of the Start screen, taskbar, and Action Center, or transparency for the same areas.

If you turn off the autocolor area from background image, you will be given a palette with 49 colors. No restrictions are imposed, so nothing prevents you from creating any color combinations.

Personalization: lock screen

This group of parameters allows you to customize the lock screen. This is the first screen the user sees when the computer starts. Each option in this area also has settings to select one app to show detailed status, or up to seven apps to quickly show statuses on the lock screen. The default background is Windows Spotlight. This mode cycles through images from Microsoft on the lock screen (see Figure 8).

The next background setting for the lock screen is Pictures (see Figure 9). It acts like the Pictures setting for the desktop background. The only difference is the lack of image display options (Fit, Fill, Span, Center, Tile, Stretch). There is an additional option Get fun facts, tips, tricks, and more on your lock screen. It is designed to provide you with information that will help you get to know your system better.

The last option to customize the lock screen is Slide show (See Figure 10).

Again, like the Pictures option, the options are the same as desktop backgrounds, except for how often the images change in the slideshow. Provided page advanced settings Advanced slideshow settings (see Figure 11).

AT Extra options slide show included following settings, which are simply enabled and disabled and need no further explanation:

• Include Camera Roll folders from this PC and OneDrive
• Only use the pictures that fit my screen
• Play a slide show when using battery power
• When my PC is inactive, show lock screen instead of turning off the screen.

The last parameter turn off screen after slideshow has played for allows you to leave the screen on or turn it off after 30 minutes, 1 hour or 3 hours.

Personalization: themes

Theme management still uses the traditional Windows 7/8.1 style settings page, but links are provided from Windows applications 10 Settings (See Screen 12).

Personalization: "Start"

On this page, you can configure the Start menu and home screen options (see Figure 13).

In the Customize list section, you can enable or disable the following items:

• Occasionally show app and content suggestions in the Start menu.
• Store and display recently opened programs in Start open programs to "Start") - this area shows the programs that you have recently accessed.
• Show the recently added apps group - handy for capturing just what installed programs to pin them to the Start menu, Start screen, or taskbar.

If you click Customize list in the Customize which places to link to in the list area, you can place other system areas next to the Start menu.

In the Start behaviors area, you can add two additional options for the start menu and home screen.

• Use full-screen Start when in the desktop - the Start menu and Start screen are displayed in full screen mode, similar to Windows 8.1, but your device will not work in tablet mode (applications are not translated into full screen mode default).
• Store and display recently opened items in Start and the taskbar - This area lists documents, images, and other items that you have opened recently. Their setting is shown on screen 14.

These are all simple switches ("on-off"). The listed items will be shown in the Start menu above the All Apps link.

This is another handy way to access frequently used folders.

Options personalization in Windows 10

After the release of a new edition of the operating Windows systems 10, many users began to encounter various errors in its operation. This is due to the fact that a new version was not fully debugged and is being finalized during operation. One of the drawbacks of the system was the frequent failure to activate the Start button menu: it does not respond to commands. At the same time, the icons in the Taskbar stop responding. Microsoft gradually fixes problems in the software by making changes in the form of periodically released updates. Until such time as the errors in system files, it is recommended to use the methods developed and widely used to correct this defect.

What is the difference between the Start menu in Windows 10 and previous versions

Due to the fact that the Windows 8.1 edition was criticized all over the world due to the lack of a Start key, the developers decided to return to the previous look of the Desktop with a familiar interface.

Start button menu in Windows 10 has a tiled interface

The Start button and its menu, presented in the Windows 10 edition, have a modified look.

The updated start menu is a hybrid edition that includes menus like the classic look for old ones. Windows versions, as well as the tiled architecture introduced for the first time in Windows 8, which is most suitable for touch control.

The icons on the left side of the menu and the live tiles on the right side of the menu duplicate each other, so you can use the part that suits you best specific user. They can be disabled, deleted or edited.

Unlike previous editions of Windows, Windows 10 allows you to resize the Start menu like a regular window. To do this:

All the previous items remained in the menu, such as programs, power management icons, and others.

If you right-click on the "Start" button, a menu with system management tabs will open. With it, you can manage disks, change system settings, set up a network, search and perform other operations.

Right-clicking on the Start button brings up a tabbed menu of system management

It is possible to remove tiles and add new ones using the icons on the left side of the menu. To do this, follow these steps:

If you remove all the tiles, the menu will take on an almost classic look. This can be done if the user does not use the right half when working. In addition, it increases resources random access memory, since the tiles take up a significant amount of it due to the drawing of graphic images.

How to bring back the classic look of the Start menu

Due to the fact that appearance keys and the Start menu is very different from the usual classic look, then, naturally, many users will want to return to the interface familiar over the years, like Windows 7. To do this, you can apply two well-known methods:

• take advantage of the standard Windows features 10;
• install software third party developer.

How to apply the standard features, described in the previous chapter of this article.

Installing third-party software requires the use of one of the publicly available and trusted utilities listed below:

• StartIsBack++;
• Classic Shell;
• Start10.

You can use other utilities that allow you to return to the classic design of the Start menu, but the above are the undisputed leaders in this direction. They occupy a small amount of space on your hard drive and make it possible to change the presentation of the menu with a minimum number of actions.

To take advantage of the utilities for changing the external interface of the Start button and menu, you must perform a series of sequential steps:

1. StartIsBack++ allows you to return the familiar image of the menu and the Start button. To do this, you need to do the following:
   
2. Classic Shell gained popularity after the release of the eighth edition of Windows. This utility made it possible to return the "Start" key to the "Taskbar", since in the usual design there was no key there. In the Windows 10 edition, this problem is no longer there, but now, using the program, you can return to the classic design. To do this, you need to do the following:
   
3. Start10 changes the standard windows menu 10 on your immediately after installation. This menu is more similar to the Start menu in Windows 7 and doesn't differ much from it. In the utility settings, you can remove the Start key, select the size of the icons in the menu, and adjust other settings. To run the utility, you need to perform the following operations:
   

Changing the start key and menu makes it possible to return the familiar working interface for most users. In addition, such manipulations can improve the performance of the computer.

Worker Windows interface 10 certainly looks more attractive than its predecessors, but at the same time uses a very large amount of RAM and video memory. For standalone devices such as a laptop or tablet, Desktop takes even more resources. After returning to the classic view, you can increase the amount of free memory and battery power by reducing the requirements for drawing graphics.

Video: How to return the Start menu to the classic look using Classic Shell

Customizing the Start Menu in Windows 10

The new Start menu in Windows 10 has two parts:

• the left half is a classic view using pictograms;
• the right half are "live" tiles using the Metro interface.

The menu has its own settings, which can always be changed if necessary.

Video: How to Customize the Start Menu in Windows 10

Switch desktop from classic view to full screen and vice versa

Initially, Windows 10 is installed on the hard drive of the computer, already having the Start button in the Taskbar. To switch the display of the "Desktop" to the home screen mode, you need to perform the following sequence of actions:

In addition, you can start full-screen mode when you activate "Tablet Mode". This will require the following steps:

Video: how to switch the "Desktop" to full-screen display mode

Customize the start menu color

Changing the color and shape of the Start menu in Windows 10 is carried out according to the following algorithm of actions:

Video: How to Change the Color of the Start Menu in Windows 10

Rules for working with "live" tiles in the "Start" menu

If desired, users can change the size of "live" tiles. You can also move them, edit groups, pin and unpin.

How to resize and move live tiles

To transform the size of a live tile, follow these steps:

How to edit groups of "live" tiles in the menu

Windows 10 has a feature to distribute tiles into different groups. To create a new group:

Advanced Start Menu Settings

To customize the apps that will appear by default on the Start menu, follow these steps:

And you can also set a specific set of directories to display in the Start menu. To do this, a sequence of certain actions is performed:

Video: How to Change Basic Start Menu Options

Reasons Why the Start Menu May Not Open in Windows 10

The exact cause that causes problems when working with the Start menu is on this moment not exactly established. According to Microsoft experts, this can happen for several main reasons:

• incorrectly installed system updates;
• crashes when drawing a graphical interface;
• damage to system files and directories;
• system error inheritance Windows installations 10 on Windows 7 or Windows 8.1;
• failure in the system registry;
• penetration of malware into the system.

In addition to these reasons, there may be many other, minor reasons that affect the operation of the Start menu when the key does not respond to user commands.

What to do if the Start Menu won't open

There are several proven methods for fixing bugs that affect the operation of the Start key and menu.

Solving problems in the Start menu using a special utility

To fix errors when working with the Start menu, Microsoft specialists have developed a small utility. It can be downloaded from the official website of the company. The utility works without installation immediately after launch. To use it, you need to follow the following instructions:

1. Go to the official Microsoft website.
   Select the "Support" tab on the Microsoft website
2. Click on the "Support" tab.
3. Select the problematic Windows product.
   Click the Windows icon
4. In the window that opens, click on the "Troubleshoot problems when opening the Start menu or Cortana" tab.
   
   Click on the "Troubleshoot problems when opening the Start menu or Cortana" tab
5. Select the "Try the troubleshooter" tab from the suggested list of troubleshooting tools.
   
   Click on the "Try the troubleshooter" tab
6. In the drop-down tab, click on the line "Start Menu Troubleshooter".
   
   Click on the line "Start Menu Troubleshooter"
7. open batch file startmenu.diagcab.
   
   Click on the "Open" button in the pop-up window
8. Run the cab file startmenu.
   
   Run the startmenu file through "Explorer"
9. In the "Main Menu" panel that opens, click on the "Next" button.
   
   Click the "Next" button in the "Main Menu"
10. The utility will begin the process of searching for problems with the Start menu.
    
    Wait for the Start Menu Troubleshooter to finish
11. At the end of the procedure, click on the "Close" button. All bug fixes that are found are carried out automatically.
    
    Click on the "Close" button if the utility does not detect any problems

The View More Details tab is for viewing search criteria for issues. The utility checks the Start menu for the following parameters:

• system registry errors;
• incorrect installation of received updates;
• state of the database of "live" tiles.

Based on the results of the check, a report is generated, which, if necessary, can be sent to print.

Using the "Start Menu Troubleshooter" is the most effective method at the moment, which fixes errors in the Start menu with almost a hundred percent guarantee.

Restart File Explorer to Fix Start Menu Errors in Windows 10

Sometimes restarting the explorer.exe application is enough to restore the start menu. To execute it:

Video: How to restart File Explorer in Windows 10

Repairing the Start Menu with Registry Editor

You can restore the correct operation of the Start menu by changing system registry. To do this, you need to make some corrections and carry out a number of operations:

1. Right-click on the "Start" button.
2. Click on the "Run" line. In the menu, click on the line "Run"
3. Enter the regedit command and click on the "OK" button.
   Enter the regedit command and click on the "OK" button
4. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced.
5. Right click on free space on the right side of the panel.
6. Hover your mouse pointer over "Create" and in the drop-down menu, click on the item "Option DOWRD (32-bit)".
   Create new parameter DOWRD (32 bits)
7. Name it EnableXAMLStartMenu.
8. Click on the new parameter with the left mouse button and enter the number 0 in the "Value" field.
   In the "Value" field, set the value to 0
9. Restart your computer.

It is recommended that only experienced users make changes to the registry. If you are not sure that you can handle it, then it is better to entrust the solution of the problem to professionals so that you do not accidentally make an unrecoverable mistake that can only be corrected by reinstalling the system.

Video: How to Repair the Start Menu Using the Registry Editor

Restoring the Start Menu Using the Built-in Maintenance Utility

You can try to fix the Start menu error using the built-in Maintenance utility. To run the utility, do the following:

1. Launch the "Control Panel" by double-clicking on the icon on the "Desktop".
   Double click on the Control Panel icon to open it
2. Click on the Security and Maintenance Center icon. Click on the "Maintenance" tab
3. Click the "Start Service" button.
   Click on the "Start Service" button
4. Correction of system errors will be carried out automatically.

The built-in Maintenance utility is designed to perform a wide range of more global tasks. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that the Start menu bug will be fixed. But it's still worth a try.

Restoring the Start Menu in Command Prompt Mode and Using the PowerShell Console

This method is quite effective because the Start menu is forced to launch. As a result of its use, some applications may fail.. Therefore, this method should be resorted to if the others did not bring the desired result.

To repair the Start menu using the PowerShell console, follow these steps:

The same code is entered in the " command line» . Do the following:

It is better to use the "Command Prompt" console, as it is more dependent on the operation of the DOS machine, and Windows PowerShell is a built-in utility.

Video: How to fix problems with the Start menu using the Windows PowerShell console

Creating a new user account to correctly restore the Start menu

To remove errors in the Start menu, you need to create a new one in the system account user and transfer all data from old record. To perform this operation, you need to perform a number of the following steps:

Video: How to create a new user account in Windows 10

Since the new edition of the operating system is not yet fully debugged, problems with the Start menu in Windows 10 will occasionally occur. Microsoft announced that in the process of improving the components of the system, all errors will be eliminated. Most of the problems are eliminated by the corporation's specialists and corrected during installation automatic updates. Therefore, users are not recommended to completely disable the installation of system updates, despite the fact that sometimes this process drags on for a long period of time. Correct installation of updates will bring only benefit to Windows 10 and will allow you to avoid future errors in the operation of the OS.

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Hello dear readers. Today, as I promised, the article will be devoted to setting up the start menu for Windows 10.

But for beginners, I still want to repeat myself in the personalization settings, you can get as follows:

Move the mouse pointer over an unoccupied area of ​​the desktop and right-click. Select "Personalization" from the list that appears.

The following settings will open

At your discretion, select the folders you need. Personally, as you can see, everything is turned off for me.

Application List

This part is similar to windows menu 7 and includes a list of recently added, and below this list are all the programs installed on the computer.

You can perform some actions by hovering over the program shortcut with the mouse cursor and clicking right button, we call a small menu, using the commands in it you can do the following:

1 Pin a shortcut to the home screen. We will talk about this a little later in this article.

2 Advanced - gives access to the following actions:

• Pin to taskbar
• Run the program as administrator
• Go to the folder where the program files are located

3 Remove all program data from the computer, so be careful before clicking.

This list also includes programs and utilities built into the operating system. Here are the folder names where the most basic ones are located.

1. Windows Utilities
2. Accessibility Programs
3. Administration Tools
4. Standard Windows programs

Each of these folders is a separate topic for consideration, so we will not consider them in this article, since our goal is to familiarize and customize the start menu.

Attention! For beginners, I recommend not to use these programs and utilities if you do not have detailed instructions or you are not 100% sure what you are doing. Since intervention in some of them without special knowledge can only harm your operating system.

And if you still want to learn more about them, and do not miss the release of new articles.

Now let's look at the last element

Home Screen

It consists of live tiles left by developers from the Windows 8 start menu.

These tiles are some shortcuts to programs that you can add and remove.

To remove, you need to hover over the tile with the mouse pointer, and press its right button and select "unpin from the start screen" from the list

To attach, you need to select a label desired program from the list of applications, on the desktop or in other folders, move the mouse over it and press the right button and from the list select "pin to the home screen"

Also, these tiles can be increased in size. To do this, repeat the steps with hovering the mouse cursor and select "resize" in the list that opens.

The tile can also be dragged by moving the mouse cursor over the tile and pressing the left button without releasing it to move it to the place where you need it within the home screen.

If suddenly you decide to move a tile to another open folder or to the desktop, then you will have a shortcut to this program in the final place.

General settings

I think I did the right thing General settings I left it for last, since now you know all the menu items, and it will be easier for you to customize it.

Go to personalization settings. (see above in this article)

We select "Start" and we open the settings.

I think everything is clear here. You can experiment with them and choose the ones that are right for you.

You can also increase or decrease the size of the menu itself. To do this, you need to open it, move the mouse cursor to the very edge and after the arrow appears, hold down left button mouse and by dragging the borders up or down set the desired size.

There is another mode that will delight owners of gadgets with touch input, this is "Tablet Mode" in the place of the start menu, the initial screen will appear, reminiscent of the well-known Windows 8

As planned by the developers, it should turn on and off automatically after disconnecting or connecting the keyboard.

But it can also be forced. To do this, click on the "notifications" button on the taskbar.

And in the window that opens, find the “Tablet Mode” icon at the bottom and click on it.

You can also exit this mode by pressing again.

Color setting

Everything is very simple. Go to the personalization settings (see above in the article). Select "Color", and in the settings click on the box with the color you need, for example, green.

We wait a bit and see what happens.

We can also customize additional settings to your liking.

How to make a menu like in Windows 7

We have discussed with you the settings that allow you to customize the main menu of the computer to your needs.

But many users are not satisfied with its functionality, and they are looking for a way to switch it to the usual classic look, as it was in XP or Windows 7.

There is such a way, but this requires installation on your PC additional programs. Here are a few of them:

1. Classic Shell
2. StartIsBack++
3. Start10

Attention! Installing additional programs requires additional resources on your computer. As a result, it may start to slow down.

Personally, I install on my computer only those programs that I need to work. And to customize styles, colors, those tools that are already installed in any operating system are enough.

Conclusion

Now you know how to customize the main menu of the Windows 10 operating system. Be sure to share this information with your friends on in social networks so that they, too, can set everything up and work comfortably.

But, and if you do not want to stop there, and you have a desire to master the computer in as soon as possible I recommend the video course genius geek". By the way, together with him you can get cool bonuses.

And I remind you that the competition "" continues until the denouement, there is very little left. Write comments and take part in it.

That's all. All for now.

P/S Sorry, I almost forgot to ask! How do you like the article? I advise you not to miss new information about computers.

Sincerely, Alexander Zyryanov!