Windows only: By default Windows includes your "My Pictures" and "My Music" folders in the Start Menu's right column, but you can change those defaults to folders you use more often using two handy VB scripts. The replace My Pictures VB script and the replace My Music VB script each do just that. Right-click each link to save those files to your PC, then double-click to run them. Enter the new path you want to appear in your Start Menu (even a network location, like to a shared music folder), and then you have to log off and back into your PC to see your changes. Behind the scenes, these scripts are editing your registry; if that idea makes you nervous—and it should—then do pass. I tested both successfully on my machine. These scripts are part of a huge library of Windows VB script tweaks; have a look at some more at the Kelly's Korner web site using the link below. For more fun with useful VB scripts, see the screensaver away message.

Windows only: Free thumb drive utility Portable Start Menu is a handy, multi-function tool for anyone who uses a USB drive to launch portable applications. The program can search out and find any self-running .exe file on a thumb drive and add it to a start menu that sits in the Windows system tray while the USB drive is plugged in. The app also has a "Quick Start" function that you can access with a shortcut to launch any program, and Portable Start Menu can create its own AutoRun file to have it launch once it's plugged in. Portable Start Menu is a free download for Windows systems only.

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Windows only: Freeware application Start Killer hides the Start menu button, freeing up extra space on your Windows taskbar. You can still access the Start menu by hitting the Windows key, but Start Killer frees up a good chunk of taskbar real estate. You can optionally disable the Start menu altogether if you wanted to deny users access to it. Start Killer only does one thing, but there's nothing we like better than a simple tool that does exactly what it says. No Vista option as yet.

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Amit at the Digital Inspiration blog has written up a how-to on launching web sites directly from Windows Vista's Start Search box (and therefore at the tap of a "Windows" key), using Google's "I'm Feeling Lucky" function to quickly bring up the first result of a search using your entry. The hack involves using the Group Policy editor (gpedit.msc), which is unfortunately available only in the Ultimate, Business, and Enterprise editions—unless, of course, one of our intrepid readers can point us toward enabling or unlocking that feature in the Home and Basic versions. Hit the link below for yet another way to make your Windows key into a full-fledged quick-launcher.

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Windows only: Ever wish your Recent Documents/Items menu was a bit more, well, organised? ActualDoc Standard, a free system tray utility for Windows, separates your recently-opened items into common sense categories like "Drawings and Images," "Multimedia," "Applications," and actual "Documents"—into a right-click item in your system tray. If the "Recent" menu raises privacy concerns for you, ActualDoc can also keep Windows' built-in menu cleared and give you password-protected access. The tray icon also includes a number of folder and app-launching links to handy locations, such as Windows' application data folder and your user account documents. For those who work every day with a series of new but oft-opened documents, ActualDoc can serve as a time-saving gateway. ActualDoc Standard is a free download for Windows systems only.

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Windows only: Vista Start Menu offers an expanded, feature-rich Start menu for Windows 2000/XP or Vista, one in which program menus, power-off options, and a number of control panel items are available right from the first click, instead of requiring menu mouse-overs to unfold. Vista Start Menu runs as a system tray app and doesn't touch a thing on your system—shut it down, and you're back to your plain vanilla Start layout. It used a little over 7 MB of memory on my Vista Home Professional setup, which might be a steep price for the convenience for some, but for those who can't get down with an alternative program-finder like Launchy, it definitely saves a little time. Vista Start Menu (basic) is a free download for Windows 2000/XP and Vista only.

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Windows' "Recent Programs" list, the one that puts big shortcut icons in your Start Menu, can be helpful, but it can also be a redundant collection of links to the programs you already launch from elsewhere. But throw a few lines into the Registry Editor and you can prevent certain programs from ever showing up in that box again. After launching the Registy Editor (run "regedit" from the "Run" or "Start Search" boxes), here's how:

Browse to the 'HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ Applications' key on the left pane. Here, select the sub-keys for the applications that you do not want to appear on the start list. Finally, right-click anywhere on the right pane of the Registry Editor and select 'New | String Value'. Overwrite the name suggested by Windows with 'NoStartPage'.

After a restart, your unwanted programs don't appear, leaving only convenient semi-used shortcuts. Might also be handy for keeping the boss from knowing about your growing FreeCell mastery. As with any registry hack, be sure to back up your entire registry and go slowly.

Experience Windows XP users likely know how to manually alphabetise their Start menu's programs list, but doing so after every single new install gets old pretty quickly. The Elder Geek offers a solution that keeps your programs alphabetised at all times—even if you try to re-sort it. The trick involves making a registry hack, and the Elder Geek points out that this one in particular could do some damage if done incorrectly, so make sure to back up your registry before venturing in.