This Windows XP/7 tip is only for advanced windows users or users with medium programming skill.

To rename the start button, you will need a hex editor. With hex editor you can see the content of compiled programs (exe or com files). For that purpose I use UltraEdit (www.ultraedit.com). To change the name of Start button in Windows follow next steps:

1. Copy the \windows\explore.exe file to a new name (e.g. explorer_1.exe)
2. With the hex editor, open that file and go to offset 412b6
3. You will see the word start with blanks between each letter
4. Edit it be any 5 characters or less (very important)
5. Save the file
6. Boot to DOS
7. Copy the existing c:\windows\explorer.exe to explorer.org
8. Copy explorer_1.exe to explorer.exe
9. You will also need to replace the explorer.exe in the c:\windows\system32\dllcache file as well with the new one.

Important: If the partition is NTFS and you can’t access the files from DOS. To change the names of explorer.exe do next:

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Winlogon.
3. Change the value of Shell from Explorer.exe to explorer_1.exe

If you mess something you always can back explorer.exe from your copy.

Tags | Howto, Look and Feel, Tips and Tricks, Windows