Windows: If you spent a lot of time tweaking your Start Menu to your liking, you'll want to make sure you don't lose it. Fortunately, you can backup your layout by making a copy of a hidden folder.

If you've recently switched over to macOS from Windows or you just miss the old Start menu, How-To Geek shows you how to add a similar feature to the Mac Dock.

Windows: The Start Menu in Windows 10 is useful, but it's not perfect. Sometimes tiles go missing, or it won't open at all when you click it or press the Windows key. Other times the tiles don't refresh, or Cortana doesn't respond. Thankfully, Microsoft's Start Menu Repair Tool is here to help, and it's free.

Windows 10 gets its first major update today, with a number of features you've asked for -- like coloured title bars, fixes to the Start menu, and (finally!) a better way to activate your Windows 10 licence.

Windows 10's new Start Menu is pretty dang useful. That doesn't matter much, though, if it takes forever to load. If you're finding the menu a bit sluggish on your machine, you can turn off the open animation.

This is an incredibly elementary "tip", but it's been driving me crazy all week. If you click the "Power" option in the Windows 10 Start menu, you get the option to Sleep, Shut Down, or Restart. But where the heck is the Log Off button?

Windows 10: The new Start menu is a welcome addition after it was removed from Windows 10. However, it does come with some new annoyances. Now, by default, your Start Menu will show you all the most used apps on your computer. If you'd rather not see that, here's how to turn it off.

Microsoft has brought back and revamped the Start menu for Windows 10. If you still prefer, say, the Windows 7 classic Start menu, good news. Start menu replacement apps we used to tweak Windows 8 also work in Windows 10.

Windows 8: If Windows 8's new interface is getting you down, RetroUI is a simple app that skips the Start screen and brings back the Start button,. The newest version brings even more features, including the ability to run Windows 8's full-screen tiled apps in regular desktop windows.

Windows: We've discussed some great ways to bring the Start Menu back in Windows 8. Pokki doesn't just offer a good-looking, feature-packed Start menu replacement, it also includes its own app store, packed with mini-apps you can install with a single click and use right from the taskbar.

One of the most controversial aspects of the Windows 8 interface is the elimination of the Start menu, even when you're in desktop mode. Microsoft maintains that the relevant code has been removed so it's impossible to access, but with one simple free utility you can restore the Start menu to your Windows 8 system.

If you're attached to the search box in the Windows 7 Start Menu, a quick registry edit will return it but the unfortunate side effect is that Explorer and Task Manager will also go back to Windows 7 mode.

If you've started using the Start Menu search box as your primary application launcher, you've may have come across a weird annoyance: By default, you can't open the Recycle Bin from the search box.

Windows only: If you have a system search tool you prefer over Windows XP's default—the Hive Five on the topic would indicate many of you do—RerouteXPSearch makes your Start menu use that app. Using the tool is as simple as downloading it, running the stand-alone application, and plugging in the location of the executable for your preferred search tool. In the screenshot to the left, the start menu link is being redirected to the lightning-fast search tool, Everything. After being introduced to the tool by LH AU (via Kevin) last year, it has become an absolute indispensable part of my daily work flow. RerouteXPSearch is freeware, Windows XP only. RerouteXPSearch

Previously mentioned Start Killer—the simple utility that frees up taskbar space by removing the Start button—now officially supports hiding the Start button in Vista and unofficially in Windows 7 (I tested it and it seemed to work just fine). Granted, the Start button doesn't eat nearly as much real estate in Windows 7 or Vista as it does XP, but if you always access it by pressing the Windows key anyway, Start Killer performs a nice little tweak that can save you much needed screen real estate. Thanks Rupert!

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.

Registry Edits for Windows XP

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. Portable Start Menu

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.

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. Open Your Favourite Website Directly from Windows Vista Start Menu