How to get old Start Button And Start Menu back in Windows 8

As we know Microsoft guys were released their latest Operating system Windows 8,Which actually  more compatible with the Touch Screen's and Tablets. They had made a Start Screen alternative for Start Menu in it. But for Desktop users it feels like annoying. In order to power off or to get control panel you have to do a lot of clicks instead of one in the old Start Menu.
 I think it might be better to get our old start menu back in Windows 8.

[Update] Microsoft had released three builds of Windows 8 without start menu currently. But this will work only in Windows8 Developer Preview only.

 In  Windows 8 Developer Preview we can enable the old Start menu with a small registry hack. Follow the steps

 1. To do this first Open Run terminal by pressing Win.key + R


 2. Once it opens type "regedit" (without quotes) and press enter. It'll open windows registry editor.

 3. In registry editor goto following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer

 4. In right side pane check for the key "RPEnabled". Double click it and change it'svalue to 0.

 5. Restart your explorer to see the change.

you can revert back to default by changing the value of the key to 1.

Windows 8 RC Build Login Screen For Windows 7

Previous day we discussed about getting Windows 8 Developer Preview Logon Screen in Windows 7 :

• Get Windows 8 Developer Preview Logon Screen in Windows 7
• Windows 8 Developer Preview Logon Screen In More colors 

Today we are going to discuss about getting Windows 8 Release Candidate (Latest Build) Logon Screen in Windows 7. Check the preview :

In order to customize your Windows 7 Logon Screen into Windows 8 style you need to download Windows 8 RC/RP build Logon Images first :

Download Windows 8 RC/RP build Logon Images

Now follow the same method we are adopted in  "Get Windows 8 Developer Preview Logon Screen in Windows 7". If you are new here read the article :

Get Windows 8 Developer Preview Logon Screen in Windows 7

Windows 8 Build 8518 Leaked Boot Screen for Windows 7

Microsoft had released the final version of the new operating system Windows 8 (RTM).Which contains a new boot screen. It contains the new Windows logo and the same ring animation as in the previous builds .It looks simple and contains no huge animations. Check the preview :

In this article we are discussing about How to get this boot screen in Windows 7. Follow the simple steps to do this :

1. First of all you need to download Windows 8 build 8518 boot screen video using the following link :

Download Windows 8 build 8518 boot screen video

2. We require a utility named Windows 7 Video boot to apply the video as Windows 7 boot screen. Which can be downloaded using the following link :

Download Windows 7 Video boot

3. Once you download it Unzip using 7zip (Other archive utilities show file corrupted message while extracting) and start it.

4. On Windows 7 Video boot main window insert a video file by clicking Browse Video File button. and press Set to apply it as Windows 7 boot screen.

5. Reboot your PC to view the new boot screen.

Windows 8 Developer Preview Logon Screen In More colors

Previous day we had a discussion about Enabling Windows 8 Developer Preview Logon Screen In Windows 7. Some of our readers reported it looks so ugly.
 As per user requests I've created the same in three more colors :
 

Violet	Maroon	Purple

Download the following logon Screen Files using the links below

Download Windows 8 D.P Logon Screen For Windows 7 (Violet)

Download Windows 8 D.P Logon Screen For Windows 7 (Maroon)

Download Windows 8 D.P Logon Screen For Windows 7 (Purple)

If you need help in applying these as Windows 7 Logon Screen checkout the article :

Get Windows 8 Developer Preview Logon Screen in Windows 7

Get Windows 8 Developer Preview Logon Screen in Windows 7

We all know Microsoft had released Windows 8 Release Preview for public and available for download. If you are not heard about it download using following link : Download Windows 8 R P.
 Windows 8 is coming with new logon screen which is simple and clean. It doesn't contain any animated background image or styled user image frame.
 In this topic we are discussing about How to get Windows 8 Developer Preview logon screen in Windows 7. Check the following screenshot to see how it appears :

Follow simple steps to get Windows 8 Developer Preview logon screen in Windows 7 :
1. Download Windows 8 Logon Images using following link. Unzip it using 7zip or any other archive manager.

Download Windows 8 Logon Images

2. Download Windows 7 Logon Editor v2 using following link:

Download Windows 7 Logon Editor v2

3. Unzip and start Windows 7 Logon Editor v2.
Once you are started it customize each Logon Screen Items one by one

    (i) Click Browse Button under branding logo. Once the branding logo window appears click browse button and locate Where you are Unzipped Windows8LogonImages.zip, Select Branding_Logo.png and press Apply.

    (ii) Now click Customize button under User Image frame. On the User image frame window Browse and select User_Image_Frame.png then Press Apply.

    (iii) Then click Select Background Image button and select bg.png.

    (iv) Click Customize button under Shutdown Button. In Shutdown Button Window Browse and add Up.png, Over.png, Down.png, Logo.png included in folder "Shutdown Btn" respectively in Up,Over,Down and logo group boxes. Apply it.

Before closing it Browse and select Shutdown options Images also included in same Folder.

    (v) Now click Customize button under Go Button. In Go button window Browse and select Up,Over and Down Images included in folder "Go Btn" and press Apply.

    (vi) Click Customize button under Ease of access. Do the same procedure which is done in customizing shutdown button. Images are included in "Ease of access Btn" folder.


4. Close Windows 7 Logon Editor v2 and Reboot your Pc.

In Action

Watch live preview of customizing logon screen.

 Watch video : link

Please share your valuable feedbacks as comments.

NanWick Exclusive : Windows 7 Logon Editor v2

Today we are releasing the updated version of our tool Windows 7 Logon Editor.

New features in Windows 7 Logon Editor v2

• Customize Ease of access button.
• Customize User Image Frame.
• Customize Shutdown Options button.
• Enable/Disable Startup Sounds.
• The new interface.

One hot button to restore all settings to default, which helps you to remove all customizations you have made.

Download it using the below link:

Download

 Share your feedback about this tool and don't forget to report if you have found any bug in this tool.

NanWick Exclusive : Windows 7 Logon Toolkit

Today I would like to share a new tool which helps you to start your favorite applications at your logon screen itself.I think sometimes this tool might be a blessing that at Logon screen you are free from firewall and antivirus.

Follow simple steps to use this tool :
1. Start NanWick Logon Toolkit and click Enable button.
2. Log off or Restart your Computer.
3. On the left bottom part of your Logon Screen you can see a button (Fig 1). Click it.

 Fig1

4. The application window will be opened. Most useful Windows applications are included in the Main window.
You can launch your Desired application by clicking Browse button under Windows Features Tab.(Fig 2)

 Fig 2

You can Disable Logon screen toolkit by clicking the Disable button in the application window. It can be Downloaded using the following link :

 Download

What Happens Behind

Actually this tool is replacing you Ease of Access menu at your Logon Screen. Before Enabling NanWick logon toolkit, When you press Ease of access button it opens an application named Utilman.exe Located in C:\Windows\System32 directory.

This tool replaces Utilman.exe with its own application file. It also makes a change in color and icon of Ease of access button by Replacing image resources of authui.dll located at C:\Windows\System32

NanWick Logon Toolkit in action

 

Watch Video : link

How to Enable/Install Dot Net framework 3.5 on Windows 8 Without Connecting Internet

Microsoft released Windows 8 RTM for public . Which can be downloaded here.
 Actually Windows 8 contains Dot net framework 4, But for applications developed in Dot Net 3.5 requires a framework of same version to run.Windows 8 allows users to enable this feature through internet. But it consumes so much time since the size update is about 230Mb.
 The interesting thing is that actually the Windows 8 DVD contains Dot Net 3.5 Update setup but you can't use it directly. Which can only be used through cmd.

Update : This method is applicable to all Windows 8 Editions including RTM.

Follow the Instructions to install Dot Net framework 3.5 offline through cmd:

1. Insert Windows Developer Preview DVD into your drive.
2. Go to "C:\Windows\System32" and find cmd.exe.

3. Right click on the file and select Run As Administrator.
4. Copy and Paste following code in the cmd window :

dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:NetFX3 /Source:Z:\sources\sxs

Change Z with your DVD RW Drive letter and press Enter key.

The process may take several minutes to finish. Restart your PC after the completion of the process.

In Action

NanWick Exclusive : Windows 7 Start Button Changer

NanWick is releasing a new tool to customize Windows 7 Start button (also known as Orb).

How to customize the start button using this tool :
1.Select three images using the Browse button.
2.Click Apply to apply it as start button.
If you are not satisfied with the new button and you want to restore original Orb then click the Default button to restore original Orb.
 It might be better if the images are of resolution 54x54 pixels and the image lies in the center.

Use the link below to download this tool :

 Download

This is only the first build of this tool and we need your feedback to make more changes on this.

Actually What Happens Behind ??

Windows 7 Start button resources are stored in "C:\Windows\explorer.exe" (Drive letter may be changed if you have installed Windows in another Local Disc). It can see through resource editing software's like Resource Hacker.
 If you're interested in this topic download Resource Hacker using this link and open "C:\Windows\explorer.exe" in Resource Hacker. Go to Bitmap > 6801 > 1033

This software creates a similar image using the images which you are selected and replaces these resources in "C:\Windows\explorer.exe". If you are an advanced user you can do it manually.