Fine-Tuning a PC, Part 1: Restart Your Start Menu

At the start of this year, I outlined all the settings I'd had to change on a new iBook -- then promised the same treatment to Windows XP and Microsoft Word. That time has come.

Today, I'll take a whack at Windows XP's Start Menu -- in particular, the lengthy "All Programs" sub-menu that you must traverse to run any program that doesn't appear in the condensed listing in the left-hand pane of the Start Menu. This part of Windows is a mess on most computers. It spills out over two or three columns, with many programs nested two or three folders deep.

But it doesn't have to be that way. You can condense and flatten that hierarchy just by dragging program shortcuts and folders up and down and in or out of folders, then releasing them where you want. (The Start Menu is unlike almost every other folder in Windows in this respect). You can also rename or delete any item in the Start Menu with right-click commands.

My regimen for Start Menu cleanup follows three basic principles: The most important programs should be the easiest ones to find -- no sub-sub-menus and no folders containing only one useful item.

Step 1: Every time you see a folder that contains only a shortcut to a program -- or a shortcut plus links to the help file and the uninstaller -- drag that program's link up to the main "All Programs" listing and delete its folder. Remember, you're only rearranging shortcuts to files, not the files themselves. You can always get to the help file from the program itself, and it's quicker to run any uninstaller from the "Add or Remove Programs" control panel.

Step 2: Delete everything above the divider at the top of the "All Programs" list except for Windows Update. The Microsoft marketing links commonly stuck there, like "Windows Catalog," are useless, as are links put there by applications trying to assert their own self-importance, the prime offenders being Napster and AOL. (What's special about that end of the All Programs list? Every link there is accessible to every user on the computer.)

Step 3: Move below that divider and open the Accessories folder, where you should see four sub-menus: Accessibility, Communication, Entertainment and, most important of all, System Tools. Here's where you can really go to town:

The Accessibility sub-menu features utilities to enlarge text or speak out the names of commands. If you use them, move this folder to the top of All Programs. If not, delete this folder.

Delete the entire Communications folder -- everything in it, save HyperTerminal, has easer-to-find links elsewhere in the All Programs menu. And who actually uses HyperTerminal?

Delete the Entertainment folder as well. The volume control lives in the "system tray" at the bottom right corner of the screen, and all the other apps have links higher up in All Programs.

In System Tools, move System Restore to the top of the All Programs list, right under Windows Update and above that divider. Delete Security Center (it's easier to find in the Control Panel window) and then move the whole System Tools folder to the top level of All Programs.

As for other programs in Accessories not stored in those sub-folders, you can delete Windows Explorer (it's quicker to run this by clicking the "Explore" toolbar icon in the My Computer window), Address Book, Program Compatibility Wizard, Synchronize, Tour Windows XP, and Scanner and Camera Wizard, all of which either never get used or will run automatically when you need them. (Note: Some of these will only be found in Windows XP Professional.)

Step 4: Group other programs' shortcuts in folders to make them easier to find. As a start, put your anti-virus and anti-spyware utilities in the newly promoted System Tools folder. Then create new folders anytime you have two or more programs that do the same basic job -- for instance, music applications or instant-messaging programs.

Assuming you have one favorite in each such category, you can then "pin" a second shortcut for each to the Start Menu by dragging it to the listing of programs in the top left corner.

Lastly, programs that you only run by double-clicking documents -- for instance, Adobe Reader or QuickTime Player -- can then be herded into the Accessories folder.

This editing will take a little time -- or a lot if you're as much of a neatnik as I am. But after going to all that trouble on my laptop, I really like the results. It's just too bad that I can't do this on my desktop at work, but I need to keep one computer as close to Windows' default configuration as possible to answer Help File questions.