Windows Start Menu is used to quickly access the programs installed on the computer, documents and system settings. Usually, it is the first place we look into after powering up the PC. It contains a collection of useful shortcuts such as our Internet browser, an email client, the programs and folders that we frequently use and even the most recent documents we opened.
If you are still running Windows XP but also want a modern-looking, full blown Start Menu you should try ViStart. ViStart is a compact application that can also provide a lot of extra features.
The program actually replaces the start menu with a fully customizable solution that has the same look and feel of a Windows 7 menu. The shape and buttons arrangement are similar and the application provides even the transparency and blur features. The menu responds very well to commands and we did not feel any impact on the computer's performance. If you get bored of the look or colors of the menu you can change the skin by downloading a skin package from the developer's website.
ViStart's menu provides shortcuts to the user's folders (My Computer, My Documents, My Pictures, My Music and My Videos), Control Panel, the Run command and the Network. The left side includes the Internet browser, the email client, the most recent ten programs that you used and the list of all the programs installed on your computer. Although you can choose the default Internet browser and email client that will be displayed in the menu, the program does not support right-click commands like “Pin to Start Menu” and “Remove from this list”.
The program helps you find files and programs with ease by just typing a few letters in the search box. The search time is quite short because the program indexes all the items. You can change the folder path to your documents and the maximum number of files that will be indexed if you feel that the program starts too slow.
During installation the program prompts you to download a third party software. However, you can easily choose not to install the other program if it doesn't suit your needs.

What's New in This Release:
· Muted string errors with settings.xml
· Improved updater
· SearchProvider plugin now closes when ViStart is terminated
· Some icons fixed
· Fixed backward compatability issues with older skins
· Added jumplists
· Added windows search integration for platforms that support it (XP users should install Windows Desktop Search to take advantage)
· Added pinning lists (right click on programs to pin/unpin them)
· Added additional skinning posabilities

Users are advised to pay attention while installing this ad-supported application:
· Offers to change the homepage for web browsers installed in the system
· Offers to change the default search engine for web browsers installed in the system
· Offers to download or install software or components (such as browser toolbars) that the program does not require to fully function