The ability to utilize the old Start menu has been removed from Microsoft’s newest version of Windows 11.
By changing key settings in Microsoft’s current preview release of Windows 11, the option to utilize the old Start menu—or at least the one accessible in Windows 10—was eliminated.
One of the most noticeable design changes in Windows 11 is the new Start menu. The new Start menu is in the middle of the taskbar by default, unlike its predecessors, which were in the bottom left corner of the screen. (Though it may be relocated to its original place.)
According to TechRadar, Windows 11 previously enabled testers to revert to the old Start menu by changing the Windows Registry, which stores low-level operating system settings, making it easier to transition to the new user interface that came with Windows 11.
With the release of Windows 11 build 22000.65 on July 8, that option was deleted. The change was not mentioned in the blog post introducing the release; instead, it was highlighted that the Start menu now has a new search box “to make it simpler to discover what you’re looking for.”
Because this is a test version of Windows 11, the ability to restore the current generation Start menu may reappear in future versions. It’s difficult to say how the operating system will evolve between now and its release later this year.
