Windows 7 start menu shrink or tidy

Question

Here and here are a pictures of my Windows 7 start menu; what a waist of space.

Can I either make it so that it by default shows "All Programs" as I don't care for "recently used" or, remove that left hand side pane if not?

Answer 1

There is a tool call Classic Shell which will revert your Start Menu to a Windows 2000 style menu.

Classic Shell is a collection of features that were available in older versions of Windows but were later removed. It has a customizable Start menu and Start button for Windows 7 and Windows 8, it adds a toolbar for Windows Explorer and supports a variety of smaller features.

• Drag and drop to let you organize your applications
• Options to show Favorites, expand Control Panel, etc
• Shows recently used documents. The number of documents to display is customizable
• Translated in 35 languages, including Right-to-left support for Arabic and Hebrew
• Does not disable the original start menu in Windows. You can access it by Shift+Click on the start button
• Right-click on an item in the menu to delete, rename, sort, or perform other tasks
• The search box helps you find your programs without getting in the way of your keyboard shortcuts
• Available for 32 and 64-bit operating systems
• Has support for skins, including additional 3rd party skins
• Fully customizable in both looks and functionality
• Support for Microsoft’s Active Accessibility
• Converts the “All Programs” button in the Windows menu into a cascading menu (Vista and Windows 7)
• Implements a customizable Start button (Windows 7 and 8)
• And last but not least – it's FREE!

Answer 2

Would startmenu7 be an option for you?