Windows 10 Start Menu - A Working Solution

[Michael]

Hi thanks for suggestion , its still happening i havent got clue whats causing it and its such a shame as was planning a major rollout of windows 10 this summer.

 

Logon as user and explorer becomes unresponsive i can load all other programs but file explorer , this pc all lock up and dont open .. retsrating explorer fixes it for short time before it comes back.. any other help or suggestions what to look for will be most appreciated.

 

I'd suggest you look at the event logs as it may be something else you've installed which is causing Explorer to crash.

 

You could also try experimenting and running Explorer instances separately by enabling -

 

Control Panel > File Explorer Options > View - Launch folder windows as a separate process

[Techie-v2]

Hi all,

 

I really can see what i'm doing wrong but I cannot get the Group Policy settings imported. I have copied the folders ({72B84CF5-EE98-4BDA-93AC-27E836172731}, {AB0FBCC4-DF0F-4DBC-8830-1FEF8C4E7688}, {D1A4D662-35AA-4F6E-946B-17D8FFB46511}) to my SYSVOL/Policys folder like I usually do when adding new ones but nothing is showing up under User or Computer settings when I go to make a new policy. Am i missing something........

 

Our domain level is 2008 R2, do I need to be doing it form a windows 10 machine? ( Obviously I installed classic shell on the windows 10 machine but my office machine that I do everything from is 8.1) I have tried copying the to Svsvol/policies, sysvol/policies/policydefinitions, sysvol/policies/policydefinitions/en-us

 

Thanks for you help.

[Oaktech]

Yes, you need to manage your GPO from a w10 machine or from server 2016.

[kwetiaw]

Hi all

Is there a way to implement this only using local group policy? I have 20+ WORKGROUP (Non domain) computers

If can, how do i import the attached GPO to the local GPO i have set up on those 20 machines.

Thanks!

[Guest obsidianpillar]

Hi all

Is there a way to implement this only using local group policy? I have 20+ WORKGROUP (Non domain) computers

If can, how do i import the attached GPO to the local GPO i have set up on those 20 machines.

Thanks!

 

You can implement the solution using Local Group Policy on Windows 10. I have done it on a standalone machine, specifically standalone as it has no NIC or Wireless Card! If your doing this on a large scale, I'd suggest doing it once and then image that machine with something similar to Ghost to save you replicating the steps.

[kwetiaw]

@TomMagee

 

that's how i done the current image of these 20+ computers with the help of Fog Clone Project.

 

How do you tell classicshell to use GPO? I tried searching their forum, do they have .admx template?

 

Or how do I import the OP's GPO?

 

Thanks!

[Michael]

@TomMagee

 

that's how i done the current image of these 20+ computers with the help of Fog Clone Project.

 

How do you tell classicshell to use GPO? I tried searching their forum, do they have .admx template?

 

Or how do I import the OP's GPO?

 

Thanks!

 

This is discussed in the first post

[kwetiaw]

This is discussed in the first post

 

But thats how to import the GPO to the server. Not local gpo. Is it not?

[Michael]

But thats how to import the GPO to the server. Not local gpo. Is it not?

 

I believe you just copy the files into:

 

C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions

 

For a local configuration.

[Localtechie]

I believe you just copy the files into:

 

C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions

 

For a local configuration.

That is the correct folder, I often test a group policies on a local machine before putting on the server in case they have problems. They never usually do but better to be safe than sorry.

[aldo]

Does anyone have a copy of a Business Case Study for Windows 10 i could have a quick look at. I am in the process of preparing one for our SMT.

[Simcfc73]

Does anyone have a copy of a Business Case Study for Windows 10 i could have a quick look at. I am in the process of preparing one for our SMT.

 

Prepare to get some sarky replies!!

[mavhc]

You have to buy it or switch to linux in 3 years.

[kwetiaw]

Hi Michael,

 

I tried this but it does not appear on my GPO editor. I tried copying the folder Classic Shell entirely as well as copying only the content.

 

Am I missing something?

 

[Michael]

Hi Michael,

 

I tried this but it does not appear on my GPO editor. I tried copying the folder Classic Shell entirely as well as copying only the content.

 

Am I missing something?

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]39480[/ATTACH]

 

Within the Classic Shell install directory (in Program Files), there's a Zip file called PolicyDefinitions.zip. Extract its contents 'as is' so the language files go into en-us and the policy files in the same directory as per your list above. You should delete the Classic Shell folder in your above illustration as it serves no purpose.

[kwetiaw]

Ok great, that make sense. I should read the instruction more carefully next time around.

 

I can see the Classic Shell now in GPO editor.

 

I'm trying to import your template in, however im stuck again .

 

Where do I copy these files to? C:\Windows\System32\GroupPolicy ?

 

[Michael]

Create a fresh GPO, then right click it and Import the settings.

[kwetiaw]

Hi Michael

 

Appreciate the reply but I cant seem to see the import function.

 

It's a standalone machine and I am using Local Group Policy Editor to edit GPO.

 

Regards

[Michael]

You can't in a local context. You'll have to create the GPO from scratch unfortunately by copying the settings on a real server.

[kwetiaw]

Ok thanks, appreciated the help!

[kennysarmy]

I downloaded and pushed the MSI out via GPO.

 

Does anyone know how to remove the little blue shell that appears on our test student, which opens the below when clicked on?

 

Cheers

 

[kennysarmy]

I downloaded and pushed the MSI out via GPO.

 

Does anyone know how to remove the little blue shell that appears on our test student, which opens the below when clicked on?

 

Cheers

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]40132[/ATTACH]

 

OK - got it - disabled settings in classic explorer - did n't realize I'd have to make any changes to this as I only wanted to use the Start Menu elements....

[altecsole]

OK - got it - disabled settings in classic explorer - did n't realize I'd have to make any changes to this as I only wanted to use the Start Menu elements....

 

If you download and extract the msi you can just install Classic Shell

 

Extract msi:

ClassiceShellSetup_4_2_5.exe extract64 (or exract32)

 

Install just the StartMenu - I use SCCM to deploy

msiexec /i "ClassicShellSetup64_4_2_5.msi" /qn ADDLOCAL=ClassicStartMenu

[GilCarr986]

Hello all,

 

After battling for what seems weeks/months trying to get a redirected Start Menu working, I gave up and instead I'm now using Classic Shell successfully. This took one afternoon to read the notes, make the necessary configurations and test.

 

You can download Classic Shell here. The latest at the time of writing is 4.2.5 and works perfectly on Windows 10240 and 10586 builds.

 

To extract the MSI, run the following from an elevated Command Prompt for 32 or 64 instances:

 

ClassicShellSetup_4_2_5.exe extract32

or

 

ClassicShellSetup_4_2_5.exe extract64

 

Install Classic Shell manually on one domain connected workstation. Then navigate to:

 

C:\Program Files\Classic Shell

and open/extract the contents of the PolicyDefinitions Zip file.

 

Copy/paste this into your Policy Definitions folder on your server, located:

 

C:\Windows\SYSVOL\sysvol\Domain_Name\Policies\PolicyDefinitions

 

Open up Group Policy and you'll see a new option labelled Classic Shell under:

 

User Config > Policies > Admin Templates > Classic Shell

 

Computer Config > Policies > Admin Templates > Classic Shell

 

As a recommendation (in my configuration), I've created two new GPOs - Classic Shell Curric and Classic Shell Admin. As the name suggests, Curric is suitable for Pupils/Teachers and Admin, either Domain Admins and/or MIS Staff.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]33816[/ATTACH]

 

Above I've attached the GPOs I've configured, which you can easily import, then link into your Group Policies. All the GPOs I've configured focus on the user context and not the computer context. It's a Zip file and is 100% free from viruses (I can promise you that)!

 

Most configurations are using the newly imported Classic Shell GPOs. Some settings however cannot be configured by a GPO, so the remainder are done by a GPP regedit to import additional settings. Additional settings for example, included removing the Games option from the Windows 7 Start Menu.

 

To import a GPO, create the GPOs (as per my example above), then under Group Policy Objects, right click Classic Shell Curric (for example), then select Import and follow the on screen prompts. Now link the newly created GPO as required.

 

What to expect?

 

Here's what the Curric Start Menu looks like:

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]33817[/ATTACH]

 

The Admin Start Menu looks the same, apart from it has Control Panel, PC Settings > Administrative Tools and Run (to name a few)!

 

Thank you so much been trying to find a solution for days.

[Simcfc73]

The only issue i have is the delay when you first login and press the start button. If your inpatient and click the start button again it causes explorer to restart.

 

Worse on my servers but I have learnt to wait.