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I'm running Vista. I normally right-click on the bottom left-hand Start button and select "Explore" from the pop-up context menu to start Windows File Explorer. Currently the initial location displayed is...

C:\Users\Admin.VISTA-IMAGE\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu

I've searched for existing answers here and on the Net generally, but all I can find is stuff about how to change that initial default location if I invoke Explorer from Start -> All Programs -> Accessories. Which does actually work, if I start Explorer that way - but I don't, so it's no real help.

Is there any way to customise Vista's initial folder/location when using Start -> RightClick -> Explore?

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    By right-clicking the Start button, you are specifically asking Vista to explore the Start Menu folders, so it opens to your Start Menu folder... Aug 30, 2013 at 17:20
  • @techie007: I understand that. But even though it might be a logical "default" for the action, surely that doesn't preclude the possibility of a custom override? I don't really want to know about other ways to invoke Explorer - I want to be able to customise the method I do use. Aug 30, 2013 at 17:46
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    Probably not going to happen, but hey, someone might have an idea. :) Aug 30, 2013 at 17:52

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By right-clicking the Start button, you are specifically asking Vista to explore the Start Menu folders, so it opens to your Start Menu folder

I understand that. But even though it might be a logical "default" for the action, surely that doesn't preclude the possibility of a custom override? I don't really want to know about other ways to invoke Explorer - I want to be able to customise [sic] the method I do use.

Yes it does preclude the possibility of an override. The problem is that you are thinking of the Start Menu as a way to access programs. This is to be expected because Microsoft has specifically made an effort to convey that message since they introduced the Start button in Windows 95 (I don’t have 95 on me at the moment to add it, but when you installed 95, the first thing it did was to show an animated arrow to point at the Start button that says start here).

While the Start Menu does indeed contain shortcuts to programs and such, right-clicking it performs a different, non-typical action (that’s why it’s relegated to a right-click instead of a left-click). The Explore function in the context-menu is not a general-purpose shortcut to Windows Explorer and was never meant to be; the label for the command probably caused you to misunderstand its purpose and thus misuse it. Rather, it is a function that opens an Explorer window to the folder that you right-clicked on. It is no different than using the Open or Open All Users commands other than in whether the Explorer window has the navigation tree active by default or not.

Under the hood, the Start Menu is basically just a folder that contains a bunch of shortcuts. Therefore, when you right-click the Start button/menu, you are essentially right-clicking on the Start Menu folder. So it makes sense that when you click the Explore command, it opens Windows Explorer in the Start Menu folder.

While you can change where the Start Menu items are stored, but that is not what you want (you would still be opening a window to the folder where Start menu’s contents are stored, albeit in a different location).

You’ll just have to use another/better method to open Explorer. There are plenty to choose from:

  • You can enter the directory path directly into the Start Menu search field or Run dialog
  • You can create a shortcut to the folder(s) you use most
  • You can go through My Computer
  • Press ⊞ Win+E
  • etc.

You can try different methods to find a good one that suits you. You might have to get used to the new method for a little while, but if it’s the right one for you, the effort will pay off (and will likely be easier than right-clicking the Start orb anyway).

Probably the quickest and easiest way is to put a link right there in the taskbar so that you can have one-click access to it. If you were using Windows 7, you could simply pin a folder to the taskbar, but in Vista (as with XP), you can do pretty much the same thing with the QuickLaunch bar, and not only is the icon a little smaller, you get better control of which folder it opens as well:

  1. Open a folder (pick one you use frequently)

  2. Drag it’s icon from its address-bar:

    Screenshot of Vista folder with icon highlighted

    to the Quick Launch bar:

    Screenshot of Vista Quick Launch bar

Tada!

Screenshot of Vista Quick Launch bar with folder shortcut

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  • This all looks like "workarounds" to me. Per my comment to techie007 above, I don't want to use a different way of starting Explorer - I want to change how the one I do use works. I'd have thought the relevant MS programmer would have allowed for this through a registry setting, if nothing else. Aug 30, 2013 at 17:49
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    Don't forget Win+E. ;) Aug 30, 2013 at 17:50
  • @FumbleFingers, there’s no way to get it to do what you want because that method is incorrect; you’ve misunderstood what it is and does and are misusing it (theoretically it might be possible to write some sort of hack that intercepts clicks or something, but nobody is going to bother trying that). I’ve added an explanation to clarify. You’ll just have to either use something else or start in Start Menu. (Besides, why would want to use such a bizarre and inconvenient method as right-clicking and selecting a context-menu entry to open Explorer when plenty of much better methods exist?)
    – Synetech
    Aug 30, 2013 at 18:09
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    @techie007, thanks, added (though I don’t think they care for that either). Hopefully the explanation clarify things for them and convince them to just make a shortcut to the folder they want to open.
    – Synetech
    Aug 30, 2013 at 18:11
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    @techie007, Synetech: Okay, armed with the knowledge gained from comments and answers here, I've just spent another 1/2 hour seeing what else I could dig up through Google. Presumably you won't be surprised to learn that all the evidence indicates you guys are right - in practice, there's simply no way to do what I want, the way I wanted to do it. I confess I didn't know about the Win+E shortcut - if I had known, I wouldn't have been so preoccupied with trying to customise my existing method. Older and wiser, I shall start getting used to Win+E, thanks! Aug 30, 2013 at 21:19
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You could do this by changing some tiny harmless registry keys. (If you don't like it you could simply revert them back, without any problems. So if you go directly where I tell you to go, you don't need to worry). I checked this on Windows 7, and it could be applied there too.

First you need to run Registry Editor. Press Win+R on your keyboard and then enter the text "regedit" in the 'Open:' textbox, and hit enter. In Registry Editor find the following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders

In this key, find the value "Start Menu" and change it to your desired folder (the folder that you want opened). Enter the address to your destination folder in full format, like this, for example:

C:\XYZ\WWW\BlahBlahBlah

Then find the following key in your registry:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders

Again find the value "Start Menu", and change it to your desired folder.

Note: this might be a little different on vista, because I didn't get a chance to test it on vista itself. Either way, if what I mentioned above does not work, which is very unlikely, try to find the values which are pointing to your "C:\Users\Admin.VISTA-IMAGE\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu" in someway, and try changing them (but be extremely careful).

Don't forget to restart your system. Or you could simply restart explorer.exe . Please let me know if it works.

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  • I forgot to let you know that you should either restart explorer.exe (using task manager) or restarting your whole system, and then try and see if it works. Please let us know about the result. Aug 30, 2013 at 18:39
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    The result would be exactly what I said: it would change the location where the Start Menu items are stored, not what Fumble is asking. If they do what you suggested, they will simply be back here posting a question like My START menu is broken!!! it shows my personal files and other weird stuff instead of my programs. how can I fix it?? I highly recommend you read my answer to understand why your answer is incorrect and would actually make things worse for the OP. (You may also want to delete it yourself instead of waiting for it to get down-voted and deleted by a moderator.)
    – Synetech
    Aug 30, 2013 at 19:20
  • @Synetech : I somehow figured something like this is probably going to happen, but they want this to work that way so bad, that I don't think that we have any other options. When you say to explorer: "Please Explorer "Start Menu" folder for me" it means that it would open the folder that is recognized in the whole system as Start Menu and its subfolders. You want to change one of them, the other has to change too. I think, all the newly installed applications would make their icons in this new folder too. But your solution is really amazing. Aug 30, 2013 at 19:35
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    "Please Explorer "Start Menu" folder for me" it means that it would open the folder that is recognized in the whole system as Start Menu and its subfolders. Yes, and that’s the problem; Fumbles is misunderstanding what the Explore command is doing. They don’t understand that they are exploring the Start menu folder. But they want this to work that way so bad, that I don't think that we have any other options. True, but this would only make things worse when the can’t find Notepad, etc. (besides, modifying Windows to slightly accommodate their misunderstanding isn’t a good solution).
    – Synetech
    Aug 30, 2013 at 19:44
  • You want to change one of them, the other has to change too. Yes, if you want to actually change the Start menu folder location (in XP, I moved the Startup folder to my data drive but left the rest in the defaul location). I think, all the newly installed applications would make their icons in this new folder too. Yes, they will, but all of the existing ones won’t be moved, so they will freak out when they “disappear”. Basically, they didn’t ask how to change the location of their Start menu folder, they asked how to change the behavior, which just isn't possible they way they want.
    – Synetech
    Aug 30, 2013 at 19:47
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You can modify the above registry settings, but there is another bit of trickery that makes it work better.

  • Pick where you want it to start. I pick c:\001-I-hate-windows. This way it starts at the top of the c: drive.
  • Then, create a 'directory link' or mount point of this directory that points to Start Menu. From c:\

    mklink /J 001-I-hate-windows c:\users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu
    
  • Right click start -> explore and you have what you want.

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  • This has the exact same effect as changing the registry key: you modify where Windows stores the contents of the Start Menu. Doing this would still result in the contents of the Start Menu being shown when exploring it.
    – Synetech
    Sep 2, 2013 at 16:21
  • Yes, this modifies where they (start menu items) are stored, but the directory link can be set up to put them back where they belong. The cool thing about this is that right click->explore does not expand the left hand pane of the explorer window. It shows you an un-expanded directory structure, which is what this is really all about.
    – todd
    Sep 2, 2013 at 21:25
  • If he does what you suggested, then his Start Menu items would disappear and be replaced with other files because Windows would load the Start Menu from the new folder (c:\001-I-hate-windows). If he moves the items from the original location to this folder, then they will be there every time he opens an Explorer window which is not what he wants.
    – Synetech
    Sep 2, 2013 at 21:45
  • Dude, the two folders are the same. It is a symbolic link. What shows up in one will also show up in the other. This work perfectly for me. Did you try it?
    – todd
    Sep 5, 2013 at 14:17
  • This works as advertised when using the classic Windows start menu. When using the new start menu, I don't see the startup items appear anywhere, but that is not because of this change. Nonetheless, the startup items are not lost. I don't use them anyway, so it makes no difference to me. The whole reason for this is to change where right click->explore defaults to.
    – todd
    Sep 5, 2013 at 14:42

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