Overview
What is StartIsBack?
StartIsBack : Bring back the standard Start Menu to Windows 8, 8.1 or 10 and enjoy accessing your favorite programs and tools the old fashioned way
In depth
A closer look at StartIsBack
StartIsBack is a tiny application that gives you the possibility of assigning the classical Start button and Start menu to Windows 8. It packs a few configuration settings that can be handled by users of any level of experience.Unlike other similar apps which return the old Start menu and button, the side menu of StartIsBack is transparent and highlights every new program in the list.When it comes to functionality, StartIsBack integrates some useful features. For example, if you search the computer for a new item, this is instantly shown in the results area (if it was previously indexed by Windows).As we have mentioned before, StartIsBack comes with a multitude of configuration settings; these concern the Start menu items and behavior (e.g. display My Computer as a link, hide Default Programs and Device and Printers), appearance (e.g. disable taskbar translucency, hide the Start button) and switching rules (e.g. show the desktop when logging onto the PC, switch to the last used application when clicking the Start screen).Other options refer to uncluttering items in the Start screen (by renaming the Start screen to "Apps" and by keeping only the modern apps in that location), the advanced system commands menu (combine the Start button context menu with the one of the Start screen) and Windows tweaks (e.g. store and display recently opened programs). Furthermore, you can disable StartIsBack for the current user.StartIsBack does not put a strain on the computer's overall performance, as it uses a pretty low amount of CPU and system memory. It is pretty responsive to key strokes and mouse commands. We have not encountered any issues throughout our testing; StartIsBack did not hang, crash or display error dialogs. Thanks to its intuitive yet rich features, the application should please users of all skill levels.
Requirements
System requirements
Windows 10 64 bit / Windows 10 / Windows 8 64 bit / Windows 8
Verdict
Should you download StartIsBack?
StartIsBack runs on
Windows 10/11
and is available under the
Time-limited Trial
license
— the installer is 1.2 MB.
We’ve catalogued it under
System.
✓
Verified clean. Every StartIsBack build on SoftLookup is scanned for viruses, spyware, adware, trojans and backdoors. We re-test on every update.
Sponsored
At a glance
StartIsBack specifications
- Publisher
-
tihiy
- Last updated
- May 1, 2026
- Requirements
- Windows 10 64 bit / Windows 10 / Windows 8 64 bit / Windows 8
- License
- Time-limited Trial
- Operating system
- Windows 10/11
- File size
- 1.2 MB
- Price
- Free
- Page views
- 675
Help fellow users decide. Share your experience with StartIsBack.