How can I get my registration / product key information
Table of contents
Activation Issues and Questions
Please click here
Information and Usage
Upgrading from Start8\10 to Start11
Corporate Pricing for Start11
Clearing the recently used apps list
How can I disable Start11 for an individual user?
Adding Jump list items
Disable Auto Update
Backing up Start11 settings
Start11 Group Policy
How to activate from a command prompt
How to deactivate from a command prompt
I have reached maximum activations
How do I get the 'Shutdown' option in Start11 in an RDP session?
How can I unload Start11 from a command prompt?
Position the Start11 menu in the absolute center of the Taskbar
Stop the native Windows 10 "Pin to start" / "Unpin from start" doing the same to Start11
Will Start11 work on an ARM-based PC?
Do you support Beta \ Preview \ Developer versions of Windows
Troubleshooting
Start menu is empty
Jump lists not working
Install Error: "This Operation has been cancelled due to the restrictions in effect on this computer."
Collecting crash dumps
Self Support Options
The Start11 Installer Failed And Sent Me Here
Clean Boot - Start11
Purging and re-installing
Upgrading from Start8/10 to Start11
Please see:
https://forums.stardock.com/506553/start11-upgrade-faq
Corporate Pricing for Start11
For orders of 10 seats or less, normal checkout processes and pricing apply and can be seen from the main site:
https://www.stardock.com/products/
Note: as of 01/07/2022, Start11 has yet to be made available with corp purchase options. However, please check back frequently as it will not be long
To view purchasing information for larger deployments, including volume discounts, or to contact the sales team, please click here:
https://www.stardock.com/corporatesolutions/
Clearing the recently used apps list
To clear out your recently used programs, do the following:
Go into Settings from your start menu:
Click personalization:
Click Start and then turn off Show most used apps, click Themes, then click Start again, and then turn it back on:
How can I disable Start11 for an individual user?
Disabling Start11 for an individual user can be done via the Start10tweak.exe application.
This is located in the Start11 install folder (typically C:\Program Files (x86)\Stardock\Start11 ).
Once run, uncheck the following
This will need to be done from each user account you wish to have Start10 disabled on.
Will Startt11 work on an Arm-based PC?
Not at this time but such a version is being considered.
Do you support Beta \ Preview \ Developer versions of Windows?
While we appreciate all feedback, please remember that we offer no official support for beta \ preview \ developer channel versions of Windows. If you report issues while in any of those early release channels, you should not expect them to be addressed unless it still exists in a retail version of Windows.
Adding jump list items
The below is a reg file that will increase the jump list to a higher count, you can change it if you like:
https://cdn.stardock.us/support/uploads/EveryOneJump.zip
Unzip it, run it, accept all the warnings and it should look like this (Notepad example):
If you need to change it more, it is better to edit the reg file and rerun it unless you are comfortable with editing your own registry.
What you want to edit is:
"Start_JumpListItems"=dword:00000015
Changing the 15 to something else (doing so in Notepad is fine).
Disable Auto Update
Please download, and run, the following to stop Start11 from doing an update check:
https://cdn.stardock.us/support/uploads/Start11AutoUpdateStop.zip
Backing up Start8/10/11 settings
It is a manual process
Pinned items are stored in \Users\<USERNAME>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu
The registry is:
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Stardock\Start8
Yes, Start8 is the settings location and a carryover from that product.
This batch file will do the export and place it in the current users Documents folder:
https://cdn.stardock.us/support/uploads/Start10RegExp.zip
Start Group Policy
Note: These Start8/10 policies have yet to be updated for Start11 but should work for some basic things.
Templates for configuring Start via Group Policy can be found in the GroupPolicy folder:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Stardock\Start8\GroupPolicy
These should be placed in .\Windows\PolicyDefinitions on your domain controller and can be accessed [on Server 2012] via Server Manager / Tools /
Group Policy Management. The adml file should be placed in the proper language directory. For English, for example, the adml file would be placed under PolicyDefinitions\en-US.
Right click on your domain, and select "Create a GPO in this domain, and
Link it here..." to create a new GPO, name it, then right click and select
"Edit". You can also edit an existing GPO depending on your setup.
The Start8/10 policies will be located under User Configuration / Policies /
Admin Templates / Start8 in the domain Group Policy editor.
Once you are done, you may need to right click the GPO you created and select
"Enforced" for the policies to start being put into use.
You can see a full list of Start8/10 GPO options here:
What options are available for Start8/10 group policy? » Forum Post by Island Dog (stardock.com)
How do I get the 'Shutdown' option in Start11 in an RDP session?
Download and run this regEdit fileStart Menu Is Empty:
https://sd.stardock.com/Support/uploads/Start10Shutdown.zip
How can I unload Start11 from a command prompt?
From the install directory, use:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Stardock\Start11\Start11.exe UNLOAD
To load again, just run Start10.exe from the same path.
Start Menu Is Empty
Go to 'Windows Settings' - Privacy - make sure 'Let Windows track app launches to improve Start and search results' is enabled.
Jump lists not working
Please follow these instructions for making certain Windows itself is set to show jumplists:
http://www.howto-connect.com/show-jump-lists-on-start-and-taskbar-in-windows-10/
Collecting Crash Dumps
If you are experiencing crashes that you believe are caused by Start11, we would really like a dump file from a crash if you are willing to use WinDBG to capture it.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/windbg-preview/9pgjgd53tn86?activetab=pivot:overviewtab
Once installed, you would make it the default postmortem debugger (click for larger image):
When a crash happens, it will pop WinDBG and PC could become rather slow will it works through it.
Example of what you would type there using your Windows account name instead of 'sdrohan':
.dump /mf c:\users\sdrohan\desktop\Start11_RiverComb_04062022.dmp
The dump command (with the period), the /mf switch, where you want it put, and a name that indicates what app
that it's yours, and the date.
When it is done, you can click the red 'Stop Debugging' button:
It will likely be BIG, perhaps hundreds of MBs. If you could zip it, upload it to a cloud drive service, and paste a shared link in a thread, that would be much appreciated.
Clean Boot - Start11
Prior to continuing, I'd like to make sure the issue you are encountering is not occurring as a result of an application conflict. The best way to proceed would be to try loading under a new Window's Administrator account and in a "clean boot" state.
Create a new Windows Administrator (<--important that its an Administrator) account:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/create-a-local-user-account-in-windows-10
Log in under that account and see if your issue persists.
If so, and while still under that new account, please click the link below for performing a 'clean boot' under it:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/929135
After you've loaded Windows in a clean state, please download this file:
https://cdn.stardock.us/support/uploads/StartStart10_11.zip
Run the batch file in it to start the Start10 service.
See if your issue persists
Purging and re-installing
The following tool will purge the application for a possible re-install (if that is the goal).
**IMPORTANT** Please save any open documents/work and close out all of your applications including browsers. Your PC may restart after running this .bat file.
Please follow this link:
https://cdn.stardock.us/support/uploads/Purge_StartALL.zip
Save the file to your desktop, right click it and select "Run as Administrator" if you're on Vista/7/8/8.1/10
If you are running Windows 8/10, you may be notified that Windows is protecting your PC. Select "More info" and then "Run anyway".
Reboot the computer and reinstall the application. It is important to get the most recent version of the application.
For trials:
Please ensure you have the most recent trial available:
https://www.stardock.com/products/
For Stardock direct purchases:
For getting your product and key, please see the following:
https://www.stardock.com/support/productkeyretrieval
Please DO NOT change any of the default settings until you verify that the application is running as expected in its default state.
For Steam Users:
TBD
