Windows XP is, in my opinion, one of the best operating systems. It is extremely customizable (even if it is not intended to be), compatible with nearly everything, and is quite stable. Here I will show you just one way to customize it, to be precise ‘ how to change windows start button text ‘. It will really remind you how much of a hacker tweaker you really are.
First, to do it the easy way, you need to download a program that will really assist you in helping you find what you are looking for and making sure you do not mess up along the way. After you have downloaded it, run the .exe file, so that we may begin tweaking.
First, open the explorer.exe file located here: C:\WINDOWS\explorer.exe . You should now be able to see a list of different folders on the side that are made up of numbers in the “String Table” directory. The one we are looking for is folder 37 with the other sub-directory option being 1033. Inside that file there are multiple lines of text - we want to change the “start” text. You can change it to whatever you want, but keep under 20 characters as the tab becomes too large after that. Also, make sure you do not change any of the text on the other lines.
When you have changed it to whatever you want, click “File,” “Save As,” and save it as explorerhacked.exe. (Note: You can change it to whatever you like, but in this demonstration we are using the explorerhacked file.)
Now, go to “Start,” “Run,” and type in “regedit”. When the Registry Editor loads expand to the following directory: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE,SOFTWARE,Microsoft,Windows NT,CurrentVersion, and WinLogon. In that directory find the entry that is titled “Shell” and right-click it. Select “Modify.” Now, type in ExplorerHacked.exe.
Close the Registry Editor and log back in. You should now see your start button changed to whatever you typed in!
Have fun hacking tweaking!
(By) Will Mueller is a computer nerd and geek that has been working with computers for far too long. He is currently working on one of his sites at PiccDrop. You can also check him out on Twitter.
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Filed Under: How-To ¦ Windows
Tags: desktop enhancements, hack, How-To, start button, windows tips, XP
Although it’s a bit complicated to use, I find that Resource Hacker is the best tool for the geekiest customization. With Resource Hacker, you can do just about anything with your computer.
Awesome post Will!
Just two things : if using Windows classic, you need to navigate to 38, rather than 37.
Also, you need to click on “compile script” before saving. I only know this because I’m just an instruction follower, and it didn’t work for me at first. I’m enjoying my new button, thanks.
Will a screw up here totally destroy your windows OS?
Great tip, thanks!
Any idea if this can be done on Vista? I mean is it possible to change that round windows icon to something else of the same size.
I am not sure, haven’t tried that yet. You could try searching around all of the Windows system files for the images, but that might take a while. I am sure there must be a way though….
awesome just wat i neddddd
No need for so lengthy and complicated process. Just use the “StartBtn Renamer” software and it will work for you.
link for StartBtn Renamer : http://www.geocities.com/startbtn/ProgFull.zip
after i did this edit my start menu search link quit working? anyone know how to fix this with reving back to original widos explorer?
You mean your start menu did not allow you to click on it, or it did not show up? You could just go back into the registry editor and revert the explorer file to explorer.exe instead of explorerhacked.exe.
ya i would click search in the start menu and nothing would happen, i could get to search through a regular explorer window. I have switched back to the unhack explore.exe and search works again. Now i wondering since we changed the name of the exporer.eve to something easier to remember it throws off other functions of the start menu, so im thinking i will try saving a backup of a unhacked explorer.exe on another part of my drive and chaing the name of the hacked one to explorer.exe and see if i can get the search link to work along with the hack. i will post my results shortly.
yup everything worked as expected!
Get yourself a live xp disc such as minpe. boot you box off minipe or something similar fire up reshacker, folow your setups above, save the file as explorer.exe, reboot into xp and everything will work as planed. name change to start menu success! search link works too!!!
remember to save a backup of explorer.exe just in case all hell breaks lose.
keep those great tips coming!
D