July 12, 2021
Microsoft deleted a registry hack in the latest preview build allowing Windows 11 users to return to the “Classic” Windows 10 Start Menu.
When the Windows 11 preview was leaked in June, a highlight and perhaps most controversial change was a new, floating Start Menu in the middle of the taskbar.
This new Start Menu was derived from the now-shelved Windows 10X and includes a redesigned interface with the removal of app groups and Live Tiles.
To switch to the Windows 10 Start Menu, users can create the ‘Start_ShowClassicMode‘ value and set it to 1 under the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced registry key.
Once users have created the registry value and restarted the Windows Explorer process, the old Start Menu will be displayed again.
Microsoft released Windows 11 build 22000.65 to insiders on the ‘Dev’ channel. Unfortunately, after installing the new cumulative update, users could no longer use the registry hack to revert to the old Start Menu.
For more information, read the original story in Bleeping Computer.
