StartAllBack

About StartAllBack

Every operating system release moves things people had learned to find without looking, and this utility puts them back. The start menu returns to a list with all programs visible, the taskbar goes back to being resizable with labelled buttons and a working never-combine mode, and the explorer window gets its command bar and its context menu back without the extra click that hides half the entries.

The point is that none of it is all or nothing. Each area is a separate switch, so a machine can take the old taskbar behaviour while keeping the new start menu, or keep the modern look everywhere except the context menus. That granularity is what makes it usable on a shared workstation where two people disagree about what an improvement is.

Visually it ships several themes covering the older desktop looks along with a plain option that inherits the system accent colour. Corner rounding, translucency, icon size, spacing and font can each be adjusted, and the settings are stored per user so profiles on the same machine do not fight over them.

It hooks the shell rather than replacing it, which keeps it light and means an uninstall genuinely returns the desktop to stock. Memory use stays in single digit megabytes, there is no background service beyond the shell extension itself, and the settings panel is a single window rather than a suite.

What is included in this build

• Conventional start menu with a full program list and working search
• Taskbar returned to resizable, movable and never-combine behaviour with labels
• File explorer command bar and full right click context menu restored
• Per-element switches so each change is taken or left independently
• Several visual themes plus a plain option that follows the system accent colour
• Adjustable corner rounding, translucency, icon size, spacing and interface font
• Per-user settings so profiles on a shared machine do not conflict
• Shell hook rather than shell replacement, with a clean uninstall path

Changed in version 3.9.24.5378

• Compatibility updated for the current servicing build of the desktop
• Taskbar clock and notification area handling improved on multi-monitor setups
• Reduced memory use in the shell extension
• Additional interface language corrections
• Fixed a rare explorer redraw issue after resuming from sleep

Installation walkthrough

These steps assume a clean machine. If a previous release of the same application is present, deal with that first, since an overlapping install is the most common cause of a setup that stops halfway.

1. Close all explorer windows before starting the installer.
2. Extract the archive and run setup as administrator.
3. Allow the shell to restart when the installer prompts.
4. Open the settings panel and enable only the areas that should change.
5. Sign out and back in once so per-user settings apply everywhere.

System requirements and file details

Frequently asked about this title