You may want to change your Windows system Start button to display your name, a company signature, or any other word that is five letters or less. It takes only a simple registry edit to manually modify the Start button text in Windows.

How to Customize the Text of “Start” Button (Registry Tweak Instructions)

For registry fix “Customize the Text of “Start” Button,” you’ll need to:

Backup your system and its important files before editing your registry.

Now, open your registry. You can open your registry by using the Registry Editor (REGEDIT.exe), which is a program automatically included with most Windows operating systems. The Registry Editor lets you view, edit, and search data within the your system’s registry. You can launch your Registry Editor many ways, and the easiest way to is to click the “Start” button, select “Run,” and type “regedit” inthe “Open” box (click here for a sample image of Registry Editor and instructions on how to use Registry Editor).

You will need to start by finding the binary file editor, also known as the hex editor. This is the only way you can alter the main files in Windows, and should not be accessed by a user with limited experience. The following is a successful method for Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000, and XP and is relatively safe if followed according to each step.

If you do not have a hex editor installed on your computer, you may need to download one from a shareware site that offers the basic features.

First, you’ll need to modify parts of Windows Explorer, so you’ll need to make a backup before beginning. C:\Windows for Windows 95, 98, ME, and XP is a good choice, while C:\WINNT for Windows NT/2000 is more appropriate. You’ll need to make a copy of Explorer.exe and save it under anew file labeled C:\BACKUP.

Second, make a second copy of the original Explorer.exe file and call it Explorer1.exe. You’ll need to open this version in the hex editor.

Third, locate the word ‘Start’ by using the search function in the hex editor. All the strings equal to “S t a r t” (hex values for this equal to “53 00 74 00 61 00 72 00 74″) and can be located before the text, but here is a list to help find them:

• Windows 98: Offset: 0×00028D6E - 0×00028D76
• Windows NT4: Offset: 0×00028BEE - 0×00028BF6
• Windows ME: Offset: 0×00033DDE - 0×00033DE6
• Windows 2000: Offset: 0×0003860E - 0×00038616
• Windows XP (Enhanced Start Menu): Offset: 0×000412B6 - 0×000412BE
• Windows XP (Classic Start Menu): Offset: 0×0004158A - 0×00041592
• Windows XP SP1 (Enhanced Start Menu): Offset: 0×0004208E - 0×00042096
• Windows XP SP1 (Classic Start Menu): Offset: 0×0004259A - 0×000425A2

Fourth, after locating the string, replace the letters in “Start” with your choice of five characters. You can only use five characters, including the space key. If your chosen word is less than five character, fill the rest of the space with spaces.

Fifth, save the modified version of Explorer1.exe in the Windows directory, and double check that you have two Explorer files with different modified dates.

Lastly, you will need to do the following, depending on your Windows operating system:

• Windows 95, 98 & ME: Exit to DOS and change to access the Windows directory. Here you will need to modify the explorer.exe file to ‘explorer.old’. Copy the modified Explorer ‘explorer1.exe’ to ‘explorer.exe.’ You can run a directory listing to make sure you have the most recent time and modified date. Restart the computer and Windows will reload with the new text.
• Windows NT: Close all open applications and open up the Command Prompt window. You’ll need to switch back to the GUI and open the Task Manager, to locate the ‘explorer.exe’ process and end it. Switch back to the command prompt and change the Windows directory from ‘explorer.exe’ to ‘explorer.old.’ Copy the newly modified Explorer ‘explorer1.exe’ to ‘explorer.exe.’ You’ll need to run a direcotyr listing to confirm that you have the most recent time and modified date. Switch back to the Task Manager and launch ‘New Task’ called ‘explorer.exe.’ You’ll notice a fresh reload along with the new text.
• Windows 2000 and XP: Open your Windows system registry editor and locate the [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon] key. You’ll need to change the value named Shell and to explorer1.exe. Exit the registry editor and the changes should take effect immediately.

Click here for more about registry settings.

Now you can exit your registry and Registry Editor. You’ll probably need to log out of Windows for this registry tweak to take effect.

Remember:

Modifying your system’s registry can cause serious problems that may require reinstalling your Windows OS. We can’t guarantee any problems resulting from your modifying your Window registry can be fixed. You’re using these manual Windows registry fix or registry repair instructions at your own risk. It’s highly recommended you backup your system and its important files before editing your registry.

Data Type

The “Data Type” refers to the type of data - or data format - of the registry value. Data types are usually:

• REG_BINARY, in which the value is stored in raw binary code.
• REG_DWORD, which is typically used for boolean values in your registry and is a four-byte number. This registry data type might show in your REGEDIT tool as a decimal or hexadecimal format.
• REG_EXPAND_SZ, which is a string of variables that are replaced when this data type is called to action by software.
• REG_MULTI_SZ, which is used for registry values that are composed of multiple values or lists. In this data format, each of these values or lists are seperated by a null character type.
• REG_SZ, which is used for text values and strings.

System Key

“System Key” stands for the location of a Windows registry value. Usually your computer’s system keys can be found under “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE”, and because of this system keys will affect your entire system.

User Key

Your “User Key” in your registry stands for the location of a specific Windows registry value. Typically, your computer’s user keys can be found under “HKEY_CURRENT_USER”, and because of this, user keys only affect the settings of the current Windows system user or account.

Value Data

“Value Data” refers to what data is acceptable to be written to the registry value.

Value Name

The “Value Name” refers to what the name of a registry value that you’ll be creating or editing. Typically, value names are not case sensitive.

Enhance Your Security Through Registry Tweaks and Registry Hacks

Registry hacks and registry tweaks are not limited to improving your system’s software and account settings — you can also edit your Windows registry to enhance and improve your computer’s security.

And learning how to Customize the Text of “Start” Button isn’t the only registry tweak for your Windows security –there are various registry tweaks you can perform that will improve your PC’s security. You can edit your registry and reset your screensaver’s password, you can edit your registry so that specific users are blocked from running certain software, you tweak your registry so that drives are hidden on your computer, you can even edit your registry so that registry editing tools aren’t allowed.

If you’re a computer expert, you can browse the other security registry tweaks below to improve your PC’s security.

Registry Tweaks Related to Customize the Text of “Start” Button

  » Block Windows Hotkeys
  » Block Users from Accessing Certain Drives
  » Allow Certain Users to Access Windows Updates
  » Customize Shells for Users
  » Block User Profiles
  » Block Users from Shutting Down System
  » Stop Showing Last Windows Account Logged In
  » Conceal Your PC from the Browser's List
  » Control Network Connections
  » Block Access of Anonymous Users
  » Conceal Drives in Explorer and My Computer
  » Restrict Active Desktop
  » Deactivate Active Desktop
  » Block Windows Registry Editing Software
  » Require "Ctrl+Alt+Delete" for User Log In
  » Restrict Certain Users from Using Programs on Your PC
  » Stop Applications from Launching at Startup
  » Change Your Screen Saver's Password