Changing Windows XP Start menu from Classic look

[Tony Logan]

I'm trying to find a way to programatically change the appearance of the
Windows XP Start menu from the classic look to the other one, where apps can
be pinned to it.

The default for our company is the Classic menu, and what we want to do for
certain PCs is change this so we can pin some apps to the Start menu for
those users who always remote connect to our company network. The pinning
part I can do with a VB script. But changing the look of the Start menu
programatically has me stumped.

Here's some stuff I tried that didn't work, followed by the method I'm using
that works but not quite the way I need it to.

I've read numerous postings about this reg key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies
\Explorer, and adding or modifying NoSimpleStartMenu. But that didn't work.

Also found numerous references to a reg file on Kelly's Korner
(http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm; scroll down to line 271).
This also didn't work.

Also tried editing the group policy: User Configuration > Administrative
Templates > Windows Components > Start <Menu and Taskbar > Force classic
Start Menu. Set it to disabled. That also didn't work.

Finally I took a snapshot of the registry, then manually changed the Start
menu properties (right-click, Properties, etc.), then took a new registy
snapshot and exported all the keys that had been added or changed.

This changes the Start menu to what I want, but only after I reboot the PC
and log back in. Ideally I'd like these settings to apply for any user of the
PC. I can make an executable from my reg imports and reference that in
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run, but even with that, I
still need to reboot the PC for the changes to take effect for each new user.

Is there any way I can somehow script this so that no matter who logs in,
the Start menu is the one that lets me pin apps to it? Thanks.

 

[John John - MVP]

I'm not sure which registry setting you are making, if it's a shell
thing only maybe:

RunDll32.exe USER32.DLL,UpdatePerUserSystemParameters ,1 ,True

If it's a Group Policy thing you may be able get it by forcing a refresh
with the GPUpdate command.

If these machines are on a domain the domain policies will supersede
anything you try to do locally.

John

 

[Tony Logan]

Here's a list of the reg keys that were either changed or added when I
manually changed the look of the Start menu:

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer]
"ShellState"=hex:24,00,00,00,3a,28,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
01,00,00,00,0d,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,02,00,00,00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced]
"Start_LargeMFUIcons"=dword:00000001
"Start_MinMFU"=dword:00000006

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\StartPage]
"FavoritesResolve"=hex:00,00,00,00
"Favorites"=hex:00,16,00,00,00,14,00,1f,80,f4,a1,59,25,d7,21,d4,11,bd,af,00,c0,\
4f,60,b9,f0,00,00,ff
"FavoritesChanges"=dword:00000002

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell
Extensions\Cached]
"{2559A1F4-21D7-11D4-BDAF-00C04F60B9F0}
{000214E6-0000-0000-C000-000000000046} 0x401"=hex:00,\
00,00,00,44,6b,9c,7c,20,47,96,e3,ea,cc,c9,01

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\MUICache]
"@C:\\Program Files\\Internet Explorer\\iexplore.exe,-702"="Internet Explorer"
"@explorer.exe,-7020"="&Search"
"@explorer.exe,-7021"="&Help and Support"
"@explorer.exe,-7023"="&Run..."
"@explorer.exe,-7024"="Internet"
"@explorer.exe,-7025"="E-mail"
"@xpsp1res.dll,-10077"="Set Program Access and Defaults"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\UserData\S-1-5-18\Products\1D521E055E88EC8408EA89CE69896E93\Usage]
"SAVUI"=dword:3aa40023

These settings will stick for each user, but only after they've logged in
once, then I'd have to log them off, reboot the PC, and make them log on
again. Hardly the desired behavior.

I don't know of any domain policies in place for this, but I'll poke around
to confirm that.

 

[Tony Logan]

Hi, wizkidd04. As I noted in my first post, I've tried this reg setting
change. It doesn't work in my environment. Apparently it works for some
people, as I found numerous listings for that same change all over the web.

Also, I'm trying to avoid making users log off and log in again, or restart
their PCs for the change to take effect. I'm trying to find a way to do it
programatically that mimics the behavior of me manually right-clicking the
Start menu, choosing "Properties", and then applying my desired settings.
Doing it that way, I don't have to log off/log in or restart. That's the
behavior I'm trying to mimic programatically, but so far no luck.