# StartAllBack

9 Hacker News commenters recommended StartAllBack and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 6 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** People recommend it for restoring the classic Windows 7 style Start menu and taskbar and fixing other Windows 11 annoyances. Critics say its licensing pushed some to switch to WindHawk.

## Why people recommend it

- Makes Windows 11 much better (5 comments): "it's improved the experience ten times over" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47460409)) "both lifesavers, as far as I'm concerned" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48133761)) "I cannot recommend StartAllBack enough." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47459930))
- Fixes many Windows 11 issues (4 comments): "I really love startallback.com which brings back the regular start menu and lots of other little fixes" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46772678)) "after I installed StartAllBack and enabled "large icons" setting, the issue went away" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46834272)) "StartAllBack solves my issues with the Start button and menu bar." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46450232))
- Restores classic Start menu (3 comments): "I really love startallback.com which brings back the regular start menu and lots of other little fixes" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46772678)) "StartAllBack solves my issues with the Start button and menu bar." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46450232)) "configure Windows 11 to look and act pretty much like Windows 7" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46480869))
- Older Windows look and feel (3 comments): "it also has features to restore file explorer to the more sensible Windows 7/8 versions" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46901868)) "configure Windows 11 to look and act pretty much like Windows 7" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46480869)) "heavily modified for WinXP look-and-feel" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47224143))

## Where to get it

- [Visit the official site](https://www.startallback.com/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "StartAllBack", https://hackerapproved.com/p/startallback/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).