Where is the start menu in Windows 7?
In Windows XP and previous version of Windows, you had a start button in the bottom left corner of the screen labeled "Start", which once clicked, opened the start menu. Windows 7, like Windows Vista, changed this to now remove the word Start altogether from the start menu, which has many users confused. The Windows 7 start menu, however, will look familiar and behave as expected for anyone who has used the regular, default Windows XP start menu (not the "classic start menu"). In this tutorial, we will show you where is the start menu in Windows 7, and several ways in which you can open the start menu, even without a mouse.
How to show the start menu in Windows 7
Your "taskbar" (the place where Windows 7 shows icons of opened programs) has a Windows logo in the left corner, just like it did in Windows Vista. As shown on the screenshot, all you need to do is move your mouse pointer (cursor) above this icon, the Windows logo, and a "Start" callout will appear on screen, indicating that you need to click to open the start menu. Once you do, the Windows 7 start menu will open and deploy in all its glory. This is the easiest way to remember how to open the start menu.
But you can also (and it is quicker) open the Windows 7 start menu with a keyboard shortcut: just find the key on your keyboard that shows a Windows logo: in many cases, you will have two of them, one on each side of the spacebar. Just press on it, and the start menu will open!
Tip: if your keyboard doesn't have a Windows logo key, not to worry! You can also press the following keystroke, another keyboard shortcut, to launch the start menu without your mouse. Press and hold down the control key ("Ctrl", in the bottom left corner of your keyboard), and then at the same time press the escape key ("Esc", in the top left corner of your keyboard). Pressing Ctrl+Esc simultaneously will also open the Windows 7 start menu!
There is no difference in any of these method, and this is not affected either by the position of your start menu on the screen. (The Windows 7 start menu can be placed anywhere on screen just by moving the taskbar.) You now know where the start menu is in Windows 7.
up ↑