Start with the Start Menu
The return of the much-coveted Start menu in Windows 10® continues to be popular among PC users. Yet this is not your granddad’s Start menu from Windows 95, XP or even 7.
Windows 10 combines the tiles introduced in Windows 8 with classic Start functionality that is pleasingly customizable to meet your needs. Here are a few things to know to help you personalize your Start menu experience for speed and ease of use.
- First, click and hold the cursor on the edge of the Start box to drag it to just the right size.
- Next, pin your favorite apps—including traditional desktop icons—to tiles if you like. By tapping All Apps, you’ll see a small tile for every program on your PC; pin any you like using the right-click menu option. Note that you decide whether you want more, less or no tiles at all.
- Go to Settings » Personalization » Start in the modern Control Panel to tweak more settings to your liking, including enabling the full-screen Start page. From here you may turn on or off recent apps and groups or certain content and app suggestions.
The Customize List option lets you choose links that appear below frequent items, for example Settings, Explorer, etc.
Stop Bloatware at Startup
Further customize your startup experience with the Startup Optimizer™ tool within System Mechanic®, iolo technologies’ award-winning PC optimization software.
Many programs add themselves to the list of items that start up whenever your computer is booted, which can significantly, and annoyingly, increase your PC’s startup time. Startup Optimizer speeds up boot time by disabling unwanted apps that load at startup. When run, the feature creates a list of programs that are set to launch whenever you boot your PC, and asks you which you’d like to prevent from launching.
Here’s how to run Startup Optimizer:
- Start System Mechanic and click Toolbox » Individual Tools
- Find Startup Optimizer within Maximize Performance and click Start
- Click Next, select Search for all startup program types and click Next again to have System Mechanic list your startup programs
- Review the User Community Results to see what millions of other users do with each program
- Use the Keep it on or Turn it off options to optimize your PC for improved boot speed
- When you’re finished, restart Windows and enjoy a faster computer
Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries.
