Start Menu GUI on Vista sux..Agree? Heres the solution

For all those who agree the programs list menu on Vista sucks Raise your hands!.

If u agree with me..

then welcome.. but u cant do anything.. as Service packs dont change the Menu.

And most of us have disabled Windows Search Indexer... it is impractical. Resource hog no.1 !

So what can u do?

hmmmm

try out 'Launchy'

Its a cool app. i discovered it accidently.

It ll make u forget that irritating cramped Programs list menu... which takes tooo much time to open a program.

It indexes ONLY the programs in Start menu & under programs List.

It can be launched by tapping alt+space for easy launch.

It rests in background & doesnt Hog system at all.

It has customizable skins & does indexing when comp is idle.. and indexing is very very low on system resources.

Launchy:




So Try it out.

Get it HERE



Cheers!

Comments are welcome.

 

You could always set the start menu to classic version like i do

 

I got indexing turned off, but when I hit search in the start menu maybe a 1-3 second lag and bam, all my results. Ill try this out anyways. TY

 

Seems odd.. I have indexing off and anything I search pops up instantly

 

Indexing is for indexing all of your documents, etc... The start menu itself is a very small collection of a few text items. If your computer can't search that in a few ms then there's something wrong with your computer.

Re: Classic start menu. It's time to move on and get with the times. That "classic" menu is from what, Windows 2000? Seriously, it's time to update you're thinking.

 

no no... remember when u have tons of programs installed on your comp.. it becomes hard to find a program in the new Vista Programs list.

It isnt like XP which spreads out.. its very Cramped... and scrolling is laggy when its filled up.

This Launchy is too fast... & it doesnt even take 1 second.

On Vista search it takes about 3-4 seconds.

 

I can't figure out where it pops up when I click the shortcut, haha.

Edit: NVM, got it, alt+space. It is very interesting, ill keep it running and see what I use more.

 

That's what the search box on the bottom of the start menu is for. Just press the "Windows" key and start typing the name of the command you want. It's very similar to launchy. But yeah, launchy is pretty cool too.

 

I wish they had a close function rather than going through task manager.

 

Exactly what I was thinking. Who still actually look through the start menu for their programs? Just type the first few letters, boom, you're there.

 

I'll stick with the classic menu on Vista just as I have on XP. I loathe the look of the alternative.

 

I use the search bar too. I love that new function

 

I'm keeping my hands down.

It's not impractical, it's the opposite. It's well worth it. And it doesn't hog resources much after the first few hours when you get your files indexed. But if you want the indexer to use less resources, you can go to Control Panel > Sys & Maint > Power Options > Change plan settings > Change advanced power settings, and set "Search and indexing" to "balanced" or "power saver". (Too bad they only put this setting under power management... I'm sure a lot of people never find it there.)

The new Start menu is a little cramped, I'll give you that. I still like it better than XP's though... but if you prefer the old style, just right-click the Start menu, click Properties, and set it to "Classic".

And if you want Vista's search indexer to ONLY index the start menu, that's easy enough to set up. Control Panel > Sys & Maint > Indexing Options > Modify > Show all locations, then Uncheck everything except Start menu.

The Start menu and Vista's built-in search can be launched by pressing just the Windows key.

To make Vista's indexer only index things when the comp is idle, set the indexing to "balanced" mode in the Power Options control panel as I described above.

 

:GEEK:


Newer OS is supposed to have better GUI rite? If i go back to classic then whats the 'NEW' in Vista? More crashes?

And btw... Launchy was originally made for XP.

Its just a cool thing to have besides Search bar. and it IS faster than Vista search.

It's faster as it has a small index.

For accessing files on HDD Vista search is there anyway.


And the Programs list doesnt spread out.. it just keeps getting more cramped as u open the Folder.

 

Maybe I'm in the minority, but i like the new start menu. I also leave indexing on.

 

I like the scroll instead of the window bounce out, I have oodles of programs, more than 95 percent of the people here, and scrolling or using a simple search is easy enough. After a year on my last computer, I had upwards of 200+ ish programs, all used and saved. I like to find the perfect application, then archive it for when I will need it again.

 

Well i keep important Apps on my Dock anyway... so this is rarely used.

But IMO XP Programs menu was better & Faster.

the Vista's is too slow.. scrolling is slower than hovering mouse over

 

That's why you just writte what you want in the search bar >_>

Exemple: You can juse writte "word" then type enter and it opens word

 

I love the vista search bar, literly used for everything these days. Beyond programs if you have indexing setup, you can type the name of anything u want including deeply nested folders and it will open them for you without having to use ur mouse at all. I haven't tried this launcy thing, though if it basicly does the same thing... whats the point?