In Windows 8, the Start screen is a hallowed place. It’s what you see when you login to your user account, and it’s a place where you see information you really care about. A number of free tools have been released over the past couple of months to customize the Start screen and fine tune its behavior.
There are tools to open Start screen within the desktop, change default Start screen background picture, set custom picture as Start screen background, change the number of app rows on the Start screen, add new tiles to the Start, and more.
Of all the tools available to fine tune the Start screen, Start Menu Modifier is the only tool available to reduce the Start screen size and open Start screen within the desktop area. The developer of Start Menu Modifier has updated the program to v1.2 and it now lets you show the Taskbar in the Start screen.
As you know, by default, the Start screen covers the full area of the screen and doesn’t show the taskbar. One needs to switch to the desktop mode to access the taskbar. With the help of Start Menu Modifier one can now configure the Start screen to show the taskbar and also access the taskbar right from the Start screen.
Download Start Menu Modifier latest version (link available at the end of this article), extract the zip file, run the tool, select the position as Fill screen, show taskbar and click Apply button. That’s it! Press the Windows logo key to switch to the Start screen and also see the taskbar.
Please note that you might need to run the tool again after each reboot. To automatically launch Start Menu Modifier with Windows, enable the option named Run at Windows startup option that appears at the lower-left bottom of the Start Menu Modifier.
Start Menu Modifier is compatible with 32 and 64-bit Windows 8 systems. To revert to the original Start screen settings, run the Start Menu Modifier again and set the position as Default (full height).
Kathleen says
This is the most cumbersome system I have ever HAD TO USE. Why did you fix what wasn’t broke?
breisgau says
How I so agree fully with your comments. These people are a damned nuisance interfering with a perfectly acceptable desktop. Now even the ‘START’ has vanished. They (Microsoft-HP) should be legally prevented from their cavalier attitude. I detest the lot of them and their attitude. Hopefully, if they continue in this loathsome vein, they will go bankrupt – and good riddance.
Barry says
I did NOT study computer sciences, I just want to use my computer for work and easy/simple tasks. To me, it seems as if Microsoft makes EVERYTHING more complicated. I can only warn the community to buy LENOVO products in combination with Microsoft.