Joshua’s recommendation was to try out the Vista Start Menu application in previous Microsoft operating systems like Windows XP. The differences in Windows Vista were not important enough to justify the replacement in Windows Vista though.

So what are the main benefits of Vista Start Menu? Vista Start Menu adds several functions on top and below the start menu that are not available in the default versions. The top bar contains all the logout, user switching and shutdown options which are accessible by hotkeys and the mouse. The bottom bar contains options to perform a local search, to open the run box and to perform a Google Search. Each with its own hotkey for faster access to speed up Vista and other operating systems it is installed on.

The Vista start menu itself got a revamp and some features were included that make lots of sense. The start menu is completely resizable and it can even be placed on any part of the monitor screen. The entries of the start menu stay in place even if an application gets uninstalled from the system which works great in combination with the hotkeys to open applications or menus with just the keyboard.

Vista Start Menu is compatible to all Windows NT operating systems including 64-bit versions.

Many users on the other hand are not using those folders and would like to replace them with folders that they use regularly. To remove the default folders a user would have to right-click on a blank space of the Windows Startmenu and select Properties. This opens a new window that is displaying a Customize button in the middle.

A click on that button opens another window with two tabs. Clicking on the Advanced tab finally leads to the place where the settings for that part of the Startmenu can be changed. The options are to display the item as a link, as a menu or to not display the item at all.

The above image is showing the default Windows Startmenu. Only the entries on the left have been edited while the items on the right show the default system folders.

Kelly’s Korner has posted two vbs scripts that replace the My Pictures and My Music folder with custom folders selected by the user.

Both scripts perform the same operation. They ask the user for a new folder that he wants to show on the right side of the Windows Startmenu. The custom folder replaces the My Music or My Pictures link that is usually shown there.

This means that it is possible to add at least two custom folders to the right pane of the Windows Startmenu. There is another option that might appeal to users as well. It is possible to display the Favorites folder in there as well.

Moving files and folders to the favorite folder would display them in there as well if the user chooses to display the folder as a menu. The favorites folder can be enabled in the in the same settings where the other Startmenu entries can be enabled and disabled.