Start menu settings in ExplorerPatcher

What the section looks like

Our screenshots come from two machines, because the section differs between them. Both ran ExplorerPatcher 26100.9711.71.1 with the Windows 11 Start menu selected, and the rows were the same with the Windows 11 taskbar and with ExplorerPatcher’s taskbar.

The left picture is Windows Server 2025 (24H2 shell, build 26100.33674). The right one is Windows 11 25H2 on Arm64 (build 26200.9725). The only difference is the last row: “Open Start in All apps by default” is listed on Server 2025 and missing on the 25H2 client, where Windows’ newer redesigned Start menu is active. That matches the rule on its setting card.

With “Start menu style” on Windows 11 the window lists the style box, a link to Windows’ own Start settings, Position on screen, Maximum number of frequent apps, the monitor box for the Windows key, Disable the “Recommended” section and, on builds without the redesigned Start, Open Start in All apps by default. According to the rules in upstream’s settings file, choosing Windows 10 replaces the Recommended and All apps rows with Show more tiles, Corner preference, Display mode and App list, which are Windows 10 Start options. We did not photograph the section in that state. Our Windows Server 2022 machine, which has a Windows 10 shell, has no style box at all: its section starts with the link to Windows’ Start settings and lists position, frequent apps, monitor, corner preference, display mode and app list.

Overview

All Start menu settings

What to change first

1. Start menu style. Windows 11 is the default. Choose Windows 10 if you want the app list on the left and tiles on the right, then press Restart File Explorer (*). Reopen the window, because the rows below the box change.
2. Position on screen. This is Windows’ own taskbar alignment value, shown here because it moves the Windows 11 Start menu with it. We set it to left and Start opened at the left edge.
3. The rest. Recommended and All apps for the Windows 11 Start, tile options for the Windows 10 Start.

What the two Windows 11 Start switches did in our run

Open Start in All apps by default worked on Windows Server 2025 (24H2 shell). With it on, Start opened on the alphabetical All apps list, with a Back button where the “All” button normally sits. On Windows 11 25H2 (Arm64) the new Start layout already shows the app list on its first page and the option is not listed, so we could not demonstrate it there. The value lives in Windows’ own StartPage key, not in ExplorerPatcher’s.

Disable the “Recommended” section worked on Windows Server 2025 (24H2 shell). With it on, Start opened with the Pinned list and no Recommended block, as the second picture shows. Our first run wrote the value to the wrong registry key and showed no change, which we have corrected: the Properties window stores it in two places. On the 25H2 client (Arm64) the new Start has no Recommended block to begin with, so the option cannot be demonstrated there.

For comparison, this is the Windows 11 Start on the 25H2 client with the option on. It looks the same as it does with the option off, because there is no Recommended block to hide:

Combinations and traps

Two different taskbars, one Start menu choice. The Start menu style is independent of the taskbar style. We tried the Windows 10 Start with both the Windows 11 taskbar (above) and ExplorerPatcher’s taskbar, on both Windows 11 machines, and it opened in each case. The pairing you want depends on whether you also want a Windows 10 taskbar, see Windows 10 Start menu on Windows 11.

The Windows 10 Start is a rebuild, not a restore. Microsoft removed that code from newer builds. ExplorerPatcher 71.1 ships its own tile layout engine, and the release notes for 70.2 and later call the restoration partial, with tiles that can overlap. If something looks wrong, check Start menu not working and the status page before you assume your settings are at fault. Upstream’s FAQ also says that “Pin to start” in the Windows 10 Start can stop working after a Windows change, and that only an ExplorerPatcher update fixes that.

Missing rows are normal. Recommended and All apps by default belong to the Windows 11 Start; extra tile columns, corners, display mode and the app list belong to the Windows 10 Start. The cards say which is which. “Open Start in All apps by default” is also hidden when Windows’ redesigned Start menu is active.

Search box on a Windows 10 style taskbar. Upstream’s FAQ says the taskbar search box can disappear when you open Start or Search, because Windows 11’s search no longer provides what the box needs. The search icon avoids it. We did not test that case.

Several monitors. The monitor box decides which screen Start opens on when you press the Windows key. We have not tested multiple monitors, so we cannot say how it behaves.

Uninstalling. Your Start settings stay in the registry after an uninstall, like every other ExplorerPatcher setting. See the settings hub for where they live.

To plan a whole setup before you change anything, use the Configurator.