The mysterious Windows XP Start button...why is it there? How did it get it's name? Why is it so green? But most asked question of all is "How can I screw it up?". There are many articles on the internet about this, however many of them are incomplete, difficult or unsafe. You will now learn exactly how to change "start" to whatever you like and even change the picture next to it.



WARNING! This article assumes you know a bit about computers, and can easily fix everything up if something goes wrong. Nothing should go wrong though, if you are careful and follow the instructions...

1. Download Resource Hacker from:

http://grandfiles.com/programs/utilities/resource-hacker.html

2. Locate explorer.exe in C:WINDOWS. Copy the file and name it explorer1.exe.

3. Run Resource Hacker. Select File, then Open, and select C:WINDOWSexplorer1.exe.

4. Expand the "String Table" menu, then select folder 37 and click on 1033. Change "start" to whatever you want. Click on the button labeled Compile Script. Try chaning it to "strat" and see if anyone notices.

5. Collapse the String Table folder and expand the Bitmap folder, then select folder 142 and right-click on 1033. Select "Replace Resource", then click on "Open file with new bitmap". Select a Bitmap picture (.bmp extension) with a size of 25 pixels by 20 pixels. Click the Replace button. if you would like to make a bitmap image with transparency, you will need an advanced icon making program such as Axialis IconWorkshop.

6. Select File, then Save.

7. Exit Resource Hacker and click on the start button and select "Run...". Type in "regedit" without quotes.

8. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionWinlogon.

9. Double click on the Shell entry and input "Explorer1.exe" without quotes in "Value data".

10: Restart Windows. Tada!

There you have it folks, the definitive way to change your start button easily and reasonably safely. To change the start button back to it's normal self, simply Explorer.exe in the registy entry you changed. Have fun!