Windows 11’s new Start menu failed to please Windows users like Microsoft thought it would. The new design had some good elements. The recommended section is a sheer waste of space, and very few liked the idea of shoving the All apps list into another section.
It was one of the heated discussions in numerous Reddit threads and forums, making it clear that Microsoft missed the mark with the new start menu.
However, Microsoft is trying to make amends, and the new Start menu layouts will certainly catch your eye. Microsoft is playing with two new layout options, Name grid, and Category, which try to reduce empty space in the All apps section.
Previously, the All apps section appeared as a separate entity, but things have changed in a recent Insider Beta build. In this post, you’ll learn how to get the new Start menu layouts on your Windows 11 PC. Let’s begin.
Prerequisites
- A Windows 11 PC enrolled in the Insider Beta program
- All recent OS and Microsoft Store updates installed
- Vivetool
How to Enable the New Start Menu in Windows 11 24H2
First, you have to enroll your PC in the beta channel. To do that, open the update page in the settings and visit the Insider section. Select the Beta channel option, pick your Microsoft account, and restart your PC to install the latest update.
Note: Microsoft is secretly testing both these layouts, so you won’t get them immediately after installing the latest Beta channel update.
We’ll use vivetool, a command line utility to force enable the hidden Start menu in the Beta channel. Download vivetool from GitHub and extract it to the C drive in a folder named V.
Fire up a new command prompt window with administrator privileges, and then type the following commands:
Cd c:\v
vivetool /enable /id:9221331,47205210,49402389,48433719
Restart your PC to apply the changes.
Exploring the New Start Menu Layouts
First, you’ll notice that the Start menu is slightly taller than before. It’s because of packing everything on a single page, which is miles better than accessing apps from the All apps list. Also, the layout section now mentions All instead of All apps, which is your app list.
The pinned apps section is way smaller than before, and it’s a nice change of pace. Earlier, you only had the option to play with the size of the Pinned section and the Recommended section simultaneously. But now you can hide the Recommended section completely for a cleaner look.
Beneath the Pinned section lives the All section, which lists the installed apps. However, we are more interested in the Grid and Category layouts.
Click on the View option and select the Name Grid option. The Start menu will rearrange the installed app icons into a grid but stick to the alphabetical sorting. It’s a bit cleaner than the long list with a single app name, but there’s something even better.
Apply the Category layout from the View option. This time, you’ll see category boxes with four app names in the Start menu. If a category has only four apps, you can hover on the box and click on any icon to launch it.
You’ll see some nested boxes inside each box as well. This is applicable when a category has more than four apps, and a new mini box is added to hold all the remaining app icons. Click on it to reveal the complete list of apps. Adding this simple design makes your Start menu tidier than before and doesn’t waste space in horizontally listing items.
Since this is an experimental build, the final layout might change when it arrives in the stable channel. You might also experience occasional glitches with the Start menu because the Beta build isn’t as stable as the main release.
You can stay on the Beta channel or unenroll your PC from the Insider program. However, you’ll have to do a clean installation of Windows 11 24H2, which will take 2-3 hours easily.
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