Our Verdict If you miss the Start menu on Windows 8, try Classic Shell before spending a dime on commercial alternatives. You’ll probably want to stick with it.

In Windows 8, Classic Shell adds the Start button back to a user's desktop and provides the same classic customizable Start Menu it does in older Windows builds.

Read the file and then close Notepad. Now that Classic Shell has finished installing, you will see a Start button in the lower left-hand corner of your Windows 8 desktop taskbar.

Just give me the Start menu Clicking the Start button just puts you into the Windows 8.1 Start page—but fortunately, programs that bring back the classic Start menu still work.

Open Shell, originally known as Classic Shell, is open-source software that allows you to replace the standard Start Menu on Windows 10 and Windows 8.

After installing it, clicking the Start button or pressing the Windows key will open the Open-Shell Start menu.

When using Classic Shell and CSMenu, you can instantly switch back to the default Windows 7 Start menu by clicking the "Start" button while holding down the "Shift" key.

The best Windows 8 Start menu replacements bring their Win7-inspired magic to Windows 10. Which should you choose?

There's more. When you click the start button in Classic Shell, then "Settings," you'll see the things you want most: Control Panel, Printers, PC settings, Network Connections and more.