Where previous versions of the OS will run on just about any PC of the last 10 to 15 years, Windows 11 setup will prevent you from installing it on a system that doesn't have one of its limited list of supported AMD (opens in new tab) or Intel CPUs (opens in new tab), which excludes many processors that were sold as recently as a couple of years ago (first gen Ryzen for example).Įven worse, Microsoft insists you have TPM 2.0 encryption, a feature that many older motherboards don't have. Microsoft's need to make decisions for you in Windows 11 is most evident in its strictly-enforced hardware requirements. The Start menu will be on top but align to the left side of the screen.Īlso, if you use the Start11 Start menu replacement, there's an option that allows you to align your taskbar to the top and, unlike the registry hack method, it aligns the menus with the taskbar.įix: If you still want the taskbar on top, even with those caveats, see our article on how to move the Windows 11 taskbar to the top. Most notably, while the taskbar will sit on the top of the screen if you perform this tweak, notifications, the calendar and volume menu will still be in the lower-right corner. However, there's a registry hack that, as of this writing, will allow you to position your taskbar at the top of the screen, with a few caveats. Windows 11 does not provide any officially-supported way to move the taskbar.

The software giant wants you to have your taskbar at the bottom of the screen and, if you want it on the top or side (as you were able to in previous Windows versions, that's just too bad. With Windows 11's UI, Microsoft is like an arrogant chef who, after cooking your dinner, instructs the waiter to remove all the salt and pepper shakers from the table because they don't want you changing the flavor of their dish. How to replace the Start menu in Windows 11.

Better still, in Windows 10, you can scroll down an alphabetical list of all your apps right away, but in Windows 11, you have to hit the 'All Apps' button to get there.įix: Fortunately, there are three good Start menu alternatives. The Windows 10 Start menu measured 648 x 639 and held 30 icons. Excluding the height of the taskbar, which is about the same, the Windows 11 Start menu measured 645 x 740 and housed 18 pinned apps and four 'recommended' shortcuts, a total of 22 icons (with room for 2 more, a total of 24). I compared the size of the Start Menu on a 1920 x 1080 display on both operating systems. Even worse, Windows 11 makes you click a second time to see a list of all your apps. However, in Windows 11, the Start menu is designed to be showy rather than functional, sitting in the middle of the display by default and taking up more screen real estate for fewer icons than in Windows 10. How about some humility, Microsoft? What we want out of Start menu is to give us quick access to all of our programs and then get out of the way.

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