Classic Shell: Forum

I'm running Windows 8. (No 8.1 because I haven't found time to do the full backup that's required before entrusting my computer's fate to MS...)

Today I upgrade to classic shell 4.04 and things broke. Classic Shell does not start on start-up, and the metro screen is not skipped. I need to either start Classic Shell manually from the metro screen (in which case the desktop immediately appears) or go to the desktop and then start Classic Shell manually.

I've tried the following fixes (with plenty of reboots mixed in for good measure):
0. Checked Classic Shell settings. They are correct. Tried changing them and changing them back, but to no avail.
1. Check to make sure that ClassicShellService is set to "automatic." It seems that ClassicShellService no longer exists in version 4.04?...
2. Check Task Manager (formerly msconfig) to see if Classic Shell is enabled under "Start Up." It is, but is says "not measured" for impact, probably because it's not managing to run. (Related: I can't find a reg key for this in HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run. Does it live somewhere else, or is it missing?)
3. Uninstall and reinstall. Didn't work.
4. "regsvr32 startmenuhelper64.dll" Didn't work.
5. Added shortcut to ClassicStartMenu.exe to C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup. Didn't work.
6. Repair Install. Didn't work.
7. Uninstall 4.04, reinstall 3.68. Not only did this not work, now these things are broken in 3.68 too.

At this point, I am stumped and it's time to admit that I need some help.

Download the Classic Shell Utility from here: http://www.classicshell.net/downloads/
Save a log file and send it to me.

Besides saving the log, check a few things:
- Right click C:\Program Files\Classic Shell\ClassicStartMenu.exe and make sure that it is not set to run as administrator from the Compatibility tab. Uncheck the option to run it as admin if it's on and now see if it loads at startup.

- If the case is only that the Desktop isn't showing automatically, right click an empty area of the Taskbar -> Properties -> Navigation tab and check "When I sign in or close all apps on a screen, go to the desktop instead of Start".

_________________
Links to some general topics:

● Compare Start Menus

● Read the Search box usage guide.

I am a Windows enthusiast and helped a little with Classic Shell's testing and usability/UX feedback.

That was it!

That fixed it for 3.68. Installed 4.04 over the top and it's working fine too.

I must say, this is the first time I can recall that NOT running something as administrator has made it work better. I remember setting that many months ago because things launched from the start menu would crash and burn with permissions errors. I guess I'll monitor for that sort of problem and set the individual shortcuts or exe's to run as admin as needed.

Thank you both for your help, and for this great program! I've used it every workday for over a year, and this is the first time I've ever had any major problem with it. I guess I'd grown so used to it that I had forgotten how much I rely on it. Truly, this is the one program that makes Windows 8 bearable on a non-touch PC. Thank you!

The majority of the start menu actually runs inside the Explorer.exe process. Running ClassicStartMenu.exe as admin only gets in the way of the communication between the two processes.