Windows 10 Start Menu Guide: How to Open & Use It Like a Pro

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Learn how to find apps and customize your Windows Start menu

Written by Nicole Levine, MFA

Last Updated: August 25, 2025 Fact Checked

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Opening the Start Menu

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Using the Start Menu

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Customizing the Start Menu

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FAQ

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Video

The Windows 10 Start menu is a more advanced hybrid of the Windows 7 Start menu and the Windows 8 Start screen. The Start menu allows you to find and open apps, access Windows settings, reboot or turn off your PC, sign out of Windows, get instant info from live tiles, install and uninstall apps, and more. This beginner's guide will teach you how to open the Start menu in Windows 10, use it to find what you need, and customize it like a pro.

Windows 10 Start Menu: A Quick How-To

To open the Start menu on Windows, click the Start button (the Windows logo), which is usually at the bottom-left corner of the screen. Alternatively, you can press the Windows key on the bottom of your keyboard. From there, you can select your desired apps from the tiles and application list.

Section 1 of 4:

How to Open the Start Menu

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If you're new to Windows 10, you might be wondering where the Start menu is. There are multiple ways to open the Start menu on Windows 10:
- Click the Start
  button at the bottom-left corner of the screen. It's a white Windows icon. When you hover over it, its color changes to your set accent color.
- Press the Windows logo key on your keyboard. It's usually located on the bottom row of your keyboard.
- Press Ctrl+Esc at the same time. This keyboard shortcut opens the Start menu from anywhere.
- When you click/tap the Start button or hit the Windows key, the Start Menu pops up. You will see two panes. The left pane contains the menu-based list of folders, application shortcuts, settings, and functions familiar to Windows 7 users. The right pane contains the finger-friendly screen full of tiles (similar to the Start Screen in Windows 8) where you can access Windows apps.

Section 2 of 4:

Using the Start Menu

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1
Find the account section of the Start menu. The Windows 10 Start menu is divided into three general areas. First, familiarize yourself with the account section, which is at the bottom-left corner of the menu. Here, you will see your profile icon, the power button, and other shortcuts.^{[1]
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- Click your profile picture to access your account settings or switch to a different account.
- If you click the power button, you will see options to restart or shut down your computer.
- Clicking the gear icon will open your Windows settings. From the Settings menu, you can personalize your desktop, connect to the internet, set time and language, set privacy options, update Windows, and more.
- You can also customize the account section to add shortcuts to commonly-used features. We'll cover customizing the Start menu a little later.
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Find your programs on the Start menu. Running along the left side of the menu, you'll find your app list. At the top of the list, you'll see your most recently-installed applications. Scroll down the list to find a list of all applications on your computer in alphabetical order.^{[2]
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- Clicking or tapping an application in the list will open that application on your computer.
- Tip: Need to find a program? Just start typing its name to search for it.
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Find your pinned tiles. On the right side of the Start menu, you'll see some larger tiles. Tiles are tablet-style icons that are shortcuts to folders or apps, including the Microsoft Store app, which allows you to find and install Windows applications. Clicking/tapping on a tile launches the app.
- Some of these tiles are “live” tiles, some are “static” tiles. Live tiles continuously display updated information from the app (weather updates, latest news, stock market movement, etc.). Static tiles are just app shortcuts.
- You can customize the tiles that appear on the Start menu. Jump down to Customizing the Start Menu to learn how!
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Install and uninstall apps. If you see an application on the Start menu that you don't want to keep, you can easily uninstall it from the menu. Similarly, you can use the Microsoft Store tile to find new apps and install them on your PC, which adds them to the Start menu.
- To uninstall an app from the Start menu, right-click the app, select Uninstall, and follow the on-screen instructions.^{[3]
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- To install an app, open the Start menu, click the Microsoft Store tile, and browse or search for an app. When you find a program you want, click Get (if it's free) or its price. Then, follow the on-screen instructions to install the app.^{[4]
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Section 3 of 4:

Customizing the Start Menu

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1
Resize the Start Menu. You can resize the Start Menu vertically by placing the mouse cursor on the top edge of the Start Menu until the cursor changes to a bi-directional vertical arrow, then dragging it up or down. Similarly, you can change the width of the Start Menu by placing the cursor at the right edge of the Start menu until it changes into a bi-directional horizontal arrow and dragging it left or right.^{[5]
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- Widening the Start Menu will extend the area for the tiles. At its narrowest, the Start Menu can fit three “medium” columns of the smaller tiles, but at its widest, six tiles can be fitted into the area.
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Open the Start menu personalization area options. You will find many options to customize the Windows 10 start menu in your settings. Here's how to get there:
- Open the Start menu.
- Click the gear icon to open your Windows settings.
- Click Personalization.
- Click Start in the left pane of the Personalization window.
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Use the personalization options to customize the Start menu. Once you're in the menu, you have plenty of options to make the Start menu look how you want. To turn a feature on or off, click its corresponding toggle switch:^{[6]
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- If you don't want to see recently added apps at the top of your app list, you can toggle off "Show recently added apps."
- By default, the Start menu will show your most used apps. You can toggle this off if you'd like.
- If you don't want to see suggestions for apps to download or install, you can toggle off "Show suggestions occasionally in Start."
- To make the Start menu take up the whole screen, click the switch next to "Use Start full screen" to turn it on. This will give your Windows 10 computer a more Windows 8-style feel.
- If you want to be able to easily find files you've opened or worked on recently, toggle on "Show recently opened items in Jump Lists on Start or the taskbar and in File Explorer Quick Access."
- At the bottom of the panel, you can click Choose which folders appear on Start to add or remove specific folders to or from the account area of the Start menu.
- Close the window when you're finished.
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Pin or input shortcuts and apps. The tiles section is handy for finding apps quickly without having to scroll all the way through the alphabetical list.
- If there's a tile you don't want to see on the Start menu, right-click it and select Unpin from Start.^{[7]
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- To add a program to the pinned tile list, type the name of the program into the search bar at the bottom. When the program appears, right-click it, then select Pin to Start.
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Configure the tiles. By default, the tile area is divided into subsections like “Life at a glance,” "Productivity," and "Play and explore,” each of which contains tiles.
- To resize a tile, right-click (or tap and hold) the tile, place the mouse on Resize in the context menu, and select a size. Four size options will be presented to you: small, medium, wide, and large.
- To move a tile, click and drag it wherever you'd like within the tile area.
- To create a tile folder, drag and drop one tile onto another. This creates a folder, or group, for the tiles. Continue adding tiles by dragging more into the group.
- To turn live tile on or off, right-click (tap and hold) the tile and click/tap Turn live tile on (or off).

Section 4 of 4:

FAQ

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How do I set a classic start menu in Windows 10? There's no option to choose a "classic" start menu in Windows 10, but you can remove all the tiles from the Start menu so you only have to see the application list. If you really want to make Windows 10 look like Windows 7 or 8, you can install a free program called Open Shell Menu.
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How do I recover my Start menu? If your Start menu or Start button isn't appearing on the screen, it may be hidden. To get it back:^{[8]
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- Press the Windows key + i keys at the same time to open your settings.
- Click Personalization.
- Click Taskbar.
- Select Taskbar behaviors.
- If there's a check mark in the box next to "Automatically hide the taskbar," remove the check mark. The taskbar will reappear.
- If that doesn't work, you can usually get the taskbar back by booting the PC in safe mode, then rebooting normally.
- If booting into safe mode doesn't bring back your Start menu, check out our guide to getting the Start menu back.
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How do you change the color of the Start menu? You can customize the colors for your Windows desktop, which also affects the color of the Start menu. Here's how:^{[9]
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- Open the Start menu and click the gear icon.
- Click Personalization.
- Click Colors.
- Try different color options and combinations until you find one you like.
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How do I find an app in Windows 10? If you aren't seeing the app you're looking for while scrolling through your Start menu application list, try searching for it. To do this, press the Windows key on your keyboard, then start typing the name of the app. If the app is installed, it should come up.