When I first downloaded the Win 7 beta, I was disappointed to find that there was no classic menu. In the forums, I made the point that it was missing and that it should be present. As the versions rolled in, there was still no sign of the classic menu, so I upped my protest, and I was not the only one.

The RC appeared and I felt sure that there would be a classic menu in there somewhere. Just like Quicklaunch, it was probably hidden, but no, it wasn’t there. It was time for a full scale mutiny and I openly declared that I would stay with Vista unless it was included in the RTM. I was always going to install Win 7 but I wasn’t going to run it fulltime. I considered that if I had a play with it now and again, I would be able to do community help for it, so nobody would lose out.

Since installing Windows 7, I have been back to Vista for only two short visits. The first visit was to collect my PST data files, the second to get credentials for the various newsgroups and forums to which I subscribe. That’s it. No updates, no maintenance, nothing. Throughout the Vista beta test, I used XP Pro, and even when I install the Vista RTM, I kept XP fully updated, even updated programs and utilities.

Apart from a sidebar gadget for which I found a replacement, I have not had any problems with Windows 7 at all. Even without the classic menu, it really is that good. I was made aware of a utility which can bring some of the classic menu functionality back, but I haven’t tried it. It looks to just bring back a look, and I can’t see anything in documentation to suggest that the results are customizable. It is here if you want to know more.

http://windows7forums.com/windows-7-desktop-customization/5369-windows-7-classic-start-menu.html

To be perfectly honest, I see no reason to spoil a fully working operating system with dubious third party stuff. I haven’t done so with any previous Windows OS, so why start now? The classic menu was important to me, but for the sake of an extra mouse click and a small amount of scrolling, it has lost its importance, and I am none the worse for it in real terms. I still use Quicklaunch, and I also have a ‘user pinned’ section on my double height task bar, so all is well wit the world and Windows 7.

For now, I will leave Vista on the computer. It is not set up as dual boot, and is doing no harm. It may also be useful if I need to refresh my memory of what Vista was and could do for the purpose of supporting it still, and I have XP running on a computer I use a spare, so I am covered well enough.