StartAllBack review: Bringing back classic Windows goodness

Not everyone is happy with the way Windows 11 looks and feels, and many solutions have stepped up to the plate to improve it. One such solution is StartAllBack, a great option if you want to go back to the "good old days" of Windows 7.

StartAllBack is frankly a very good app. Not only does it bring back the functionality of older Start menus, but it does so while making it feel modern and smooth. What's more, it even goes beyond the Start menu with some welcome improvements to File Explorer and the taskbar. It's a great app that's easy to recommend if you're not a fan of what Microsoft has been doing with Windows 11.

About this review: StartAllBack provided us with a review code for the purposes of this article. The company had no input in its contents.

Pricing and availability

StartAllBack has been available since late 2021, when Windows 11 launched, though it's a successor to an older program called StartIsBack. It's available through the company's website and costs $5 for a single PC, $9 for two PCs, or #12 for 3 PCs. You can also buy it volume licenses for businesses with options for up to 2,000 licenses, costing $4,000 ($2 per PC).

If you have an older StartIsBack license, the upgrade to StartAllBack costs just $2.

What I like

Old Start menu styles with a modern touch

StartAllBack has a very clear focus on what it wants to provide, and it does that job very well. If you don't like the Windows 11 or even 10 Start menus, this app lets you use a style that's much more reminiscent of the Windows 7 (and earlier) Start menu. It does give you a few options for how it looks, so you can choose a Windows 11-like style, a sort-of Windows 10 style, or one that's more true to the Windows 7 design, with Aero effects and all.

Personally, I love the modernized Windows 11 look, though. It's the cleanest by far, and you can get a more uniform look since the entire menu is affected by your theme changes. It also has a beautifully smooth animation when opening the Start menu, which makes the official Windows 11 — and even rivals like Start11 — feel sluggish by comparison.

You also get a bunch of customization options to make the menu fit your personal style, but also make it more efficient. Most of the menu options shown on the right side can be set to either simple links or menus, so you can get to individual files and folders more quickly. Even the Control Panel and Settings app can be displayed as a menu so you can go straight to a specific page, it's really cool. For the All Programs list, you can even make it display in Windows XP style, rather than taking over the main area of the Start menu.

A transparent taskbar

The taskbar also gets some love in StartAllBack, with some simple, but very welcome tweaks. First off, you can move the taskbar to any side of the screen, so if you prefer having it at the top or on the sides, this app lets you do that. You can also center your taskbar icons but keep the Start menu icon in the corner, if that's your thing.

One of my favorite things, though, is being able to make the taskbar completely transparent. You can give the taskbar any color you want and choose different blur effects, including no blur at all, so you can make it completely transparent. You can also make it so that the taskbar is segmented, meaning the center icons and the corner icons are in their own segments, rather than having a bar run along the entire screen. It's a great way to change up how your PC looks and makes it easier to enjoy your desktop background.

You can also change some taskbar flyouts, like the clock and volume, to look like Windows 10 or Windows 7, if you prefer those styles.

Even File Explorer benefits from this

One of the coolest parts of all this, though, is that even File Explorer benefits from StartAllBack, and in the best way possible, in my opinion. For starters, you can choose between the current Windows 11 commands bar, the Windows 10 Ribbon menu, or the Windows 7 commands bar. But the cool thing is, even if you choose one of the older styles, the design is modernized to fit in Windows 11 perfectly. The Windows 10 ribbon looks fantastic with updated Windows 11 icons.

Even cooler is that StyartAllBack also enhances File Explorer dialog by making them all compatible with dark mode, which Microsoft still hasn't done after introducing dark mode back in 2015. That means the dialog for copying files, the properties and options windows, the Format dialog, and so on all support dark mode now, and they look great. It's hard to believe Microsoft still hasn't done this, but it's awesome to see here.

What I don't like (as much)

Not quite as versatile as the competition

There aren't really any major drawbacks with StartAllBack, but one thing it is missing is a ton of customization options like Stardock's Start11 offers. That app can feel a bit overwhelming, but there are so many options in there to make the Start menu work perfectly for you that it's hard to compare anything else to it. Start11 lets you create folders, groups, tabs, and pages to organize your icons, you can make any folder act like a menu, and it's just an amazing tool for turning the Start menu into your playground. There are a few more design styles available there, too.

StartAllBack isn't bad by a long shot, but it does feel a bit limiting compared to Start11. That being said, it also does cost a little less, and you might not want to use all the options Start11 offers, so I have no issue recommending StartAllback if you mostly just want a classic-style Start menu. Plus Start11 is missing some things StartAllBack offers, like dark mode for File Explorer dialogs.

Should you buy StartAllBack?

Obviously, not everyone hates the Windows 11 Start menu, and everyone wants something a little different for themselves. But StartAllBack is a legitimately great solution if you want a more classic Start menu with modern flair. Not only does it look great, but it enhances the functionality by giving you quick links to files and settings. Plus, it adds dark mode to all parts of File Explorer and lets you customize the taskbar too. It's a great piece of software if you miss the old style of Windows.

The only thing to be wary of is that any program that changes system files is bound to have some issues when big updates happen, and Microsoft recently flagged StartAllBack as a problematic app for installing Windows 11 version 24H2. This will probably be sorted out at some point, but you're always subject to potential problems with apps like this.

You should buy StartAllBack if:

• You miss the Windows 7 style for the Start menu
• You want the old ribbon-style menu in File Explorer
• You want to move the taskbar around

You shouldn't buy StartAllBack if:

• You want the most customization options possible for the Start menu
• You're happy with Windows 11 as it is