Windows 10: Change Windows 11 Start Menu to Apps-Only

I just installed Windows 11 and, so far, my experience with it is less than enjoyable.How can I change the Start Menu so that it goes to the All Apps list be default? I don't want to use 3rd-party apps, registry hacks/fixes, or any other "quirky" tools.I don't want the "Pinned" or "Recommended" sections to appear at all, just the Apps List.Thank you.

:)

 

Windows 11 Upgrade and Apps in Start Menu

Perhaps you are asking something I wondered at first, when I had just installed Windows 11. Where is the list of apps, when you open the start menu??

At first, I used the search tool to find the ones that immediately came to mind, and pin them to the start menu. I thought, not a good design.

Then I saw the little nondescript button, upper right of the start menu, which says something like "View all apps." (Sorry, I'm on a Win10 computer right this minute.) Push that button, and all of your installed programs are listed in alphabetical order, just as they were in Windows 10.

In Windows 10, the complete list was right there, along with the ones pinned to the Start menu. To me, this is one of several examples of "change for the sake of change," in Windows 11, which work against ease of use. Another blatant example is how to find and connect to a WiFi hotspot. Change for the sake of change, not for ease of use.

 

Cannot hide app list in Start Menu Windows Home

Hi, suggestion in this thread on this topic here:
can not hide app list in start menu Solved - Windows 10 Forums

 

Windows 11 Start menu

Yes, live tiles are gone, in Windows 11, as is the capability of resizing the start menu, or for that matter, to relocate the task bar. I haven't a clue why Microsoft changed some of these things, or why they thought it was an improvement. Possibly, though, some of these features will be re-introduced in future feature updates.

List of Features to be Deprecated or Removed in Windows 11

The Start menu will be rejuvenated in Windows 11 and there will be few old features that will be removed. You will see the following functions to be gone from the Start menu in Windows 11:

1. Live Tiles will no longer be available. There won’t be dynamic previews in the Start menu.
   
2. Pinned apps or sites won’t be mitigated when you upgrade from Windows 10.
   
3. Named groups and folders of apps are not supported. And also, the size of the layout can’t be adjusted currently.
   

I think that word "mitigated" should have been "migrated." In fact, the start menu comes full of apps you probably don't care about, and instead has none of the pinned icons you do care about. But it's easy enough to remove some of the unneeded icons, and re-pin your needed ones.

Also note that to see the complete list of apps, you have to click that small nondescript button, on the upper right of the start menu. Another thoroughly questionable change, in Windows 11.

My own preference is to only introduce changes which improve the product. Make it more intuitive, easier, faster at accomplishing the usual tasks. Instead, in Windows 11 and also in Office updated versions, we often see "change for the sake of change," not "change to something improved."