Controlling the Vista Start Menu - Controlling Start menu behavior with the registry

As mentioned, what appears on the Start menu is also a byproduct of certain registry settings, and you can control the Start menu by making direct edits to the registry. The registry is a database of information that tells the operating system—in this case, Vista—how to behave.

To edit the registry, first you need to open the Vista registry editing tool. It’s the same one used in previous versions of Windows—Regedit—and opening it is pretty straightforward. From the Start menu, simply type regedit, and the utility should appear in the program list.

Figure 4-8.  Changing the Start menu picture

Now that the Registry Editor is open, navigate to this key, shown in Figure 4-9:

  HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

Figure 4-9.  Start menu changes can also be performed by editing the registry

Once there, you can add something called DWORD values to the Explorer key to modify Start menu behavior. To add a DWORD value, follow these steps:

1. Use the Registry Editor’s Edit menu, or just right-click in the Details (righthand) pane, and choose New -> DWORD (32-bit) value.
   
2. The new DWORD value appears, with a name similar to “New Value #1.” Rename this value using a name from Table 4-2.
   
3. Now, assign the DWORD a value. Fortunately, we have only two options for the values discussed here: 1 or 0. In other words, the feature will be on or off, with 1 signifying on and 0 indicating off. Either setting can be used to force an administrative change.

For example, if you want to make sure the username is removed from the Start menu, add the DWORDNoUserNameInStartMenuand set the value to 1. If you want to make sure the username is always displayed, on the other hand, add the same DWORD and set the value to 0.

Now, refer to Table 4-2 for other Start menu changes that you can force through the registry.

Table 4-2. Start menu changes you can force through the
registry

DWORD	Description
NoSimpleStartMenu	Disables the new Simple Start menu and forces the Classic Start menu.
NoStartMenuPinnedList	Removes the pinned programs list from the Start menu.
NoStartMenuMFUprogramsList	Removes the frequently used programs list from the Start menu.
NoRecentItemsMenu	Removes the list of recently used items from the Start menu.
NoSMPictures	Removes the Pictures item from the Start menu.
NoStartMenuMusic	Removes the Music item from the Start menu. Also removes the corresponding checkboxes from the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box.
NoWindowsUpdate	Removes the Windows Update link from the Programs list. It also prevents access to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com.
ClearRecentItemsOnExit	Deletes all shortcuts in the Recent Items menu as users log off.
DisablePersonalDirChange	Prevents users from changing the Documents folder directory path.
NoNetwork	Removes the Network item from the Start menu. Also removes corresponding items from the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box.
NoSMHelp	Removes the Help item from the Start menu. Users can still access help files, however.
NoChangeStartMenu	Prevents changes to the Start menu by dragging and dropping. Other methods of customizing are still enabled.
NoSetTaskbar	Disables access to the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box.
NoUserNameInStartMenu	Removes the username from the Start menu.

You can then go back and safely remove any DWORD values you’ve added by accessing the following registry key and then simply deleting the DWORD itself:

  HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

Deleting registry keys is generally not a good idea. You’re in effect performing brain surgery on Vista when you do, and the wrong deletion can leave Vista with the equivalent of a lobotomy, or worse. In fact, Vista warns you about these implications every time you delete a registry entry, and now you’ve been warned in this book as well.

As a final thought, also note that all of the preceding will change if you’re using the 64-bit version of Windows Vista, but not by much. Instead of adding 32-bit DWORD values, you’ll add 64-bit QWORD values. The names of the entries themselves should remain the same.

You can also change the Start menu power button behavior, but I think that fits better in the discussion about startup and shutdown, including a full mention of hibernate, sleep, and so on. Chapter 6 covers these topics.

Next: Controlling the Taskbar >>
 

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