Change the Text on the Windows Start Button

If you've ever wanted to change the text that appears on the Windows start button, read this simple guide. Contrary to popular belief, there is no limit as to how long or short you can make the text, so be creative!

Steps

  1. Download the required software. Resource Hacker, which can be used to manipulate the strings in executable files can be downloaded from this Link.
  2. Make a backup! Just in case you screw something up, open your Windows directory, which is commonly situated in C:\Windows\, and copy the executable titled explorer.exe, then paste it in the same location and name it anything you like (explorer2.exe will do). NOTE: DO NOT delete the old executable titled explorer.exe, simply paste your copy in the same directory (eg: C:\Windows\).
  3. Manipulate. Open Resource Hacker (which should have been downloaded in step 1), and open explorer2.exe. You should now see a list of folders named Bitmap, Icon etc. on your left hand side. Scroll down to the folder named "String Table" and open it. Its contents should now be displayed below it. FOR THOSE USING THE STANDARD WINDOWS XP THEME (Blue, Silver or Olive themes that are exclusive to Windows XP): Open the folder named 37, and click on the file that is within it, named 1033. The file's contents should be displayed on the right hand side of the window. Simply change the line that contains "start" to anything you wish, but include the quotation marks. FOR THOSE USING THE CLASSIC WINDOWS XP THEME: Open the folder named 38, and click on the file named 1033 that is within it. Simply change the line that contains "start" to anything you wish, and include the quotation marks. click the compile script button. Save the executable (File>Save).
  4. To edit the text that appears when you hold your mouse over the "start" button, go to Folder 34 and click on resource 1033. Find the text that says "Click here to begin" and change it to something cooler. Click on the Compile script button to update this resource.
  5. To edit the picture on the Start button (the Windows Icon, collapse the String Table folder and expand the Bitmap folder at the top of your folder list. Click on folder No. 143 and click on resource 1033. You should see that familiar Windows icon. Go to the Action Menu and select "Replace bitmap." Select "Open file with new bitmap", and locate the replacement image on your machine. Note: The image must have a .bmp extension and a size of 30 pixels by 30 pixels. Then click the Replace button.
  6. Change shell. Run the registry editor, found by selecting the 'run' command (Start>Run) and entering "regedit" (quotes not inclusive). Locate the folder HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon, and double-click on the file named "shell". Its default value should be EXPLORER.EXE, but change it to explorer2.exe or whatever you chose to name it. Once you have changed this, the windows shell (taskbar etc.) should disappear. Don't panic, however, as you can still launch explorer2.exe another way, and all will be solved.
  7. Test. Press Crtl. Shift Esc in order to bring up the task manager. Go to the "Processes" tab and select explorer.exe, then "End Task". Now, go to the "Applications" tab and select "New Task" locate the new executable that you made (explorer2.exe) and launch it.
  8. Success! By now it should have worked, and the text on the start button should have changed. If not, read through these instructions again in case you missed something. If all fails, simply end explorer2.exe via the task manager and re-launch explorer.exe after changing the shell values in the registry back to "explorer.exe" (excluding quotes).



Tips

  • When you open up the registry, open the folder "Windows NT", not "WindowsNT". Make sure the space is there. Windows NT is a different folder with some other stuff in it.

Warnings

  • A backup is essential! If you ruin your explorer file you may not be able to access your desktop or load any windows until it is fixed. Fixing it would be very difficult without windows explorer itself.
  • BE WARNED! We're not responsible if anything goes wrong, so DO NOT attempt to do this unless you believe you are capable of fixing it up if something goes wrong.

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