ViStart replaces the Windows Start menu with a fully skinnable Windows 7-style menu, on every version of Windows from XP through 11. It lists your installed programs, jump lists and Microsoft Store apps, searches files and settings, and takes over the Start button so the menu opens where you expect it.
Thirteen skins ship with it and the skin format is open, so the menu can be made to look like almost anything. It installs per-user, needs no administrator rights, carries no adverts and asks for no account. Free and open source, written in Visual Basic 6 and maintained since 2009.
What's new in 8.1.0.5344
Runs alongside ViFind now.
ViFind keeps a decoy Shell_TrayWnd window to host the notification area, and ViStart's taskbar lookup took whichever Shell_TrayWnd the shell handed back first - so on a machine running both, ViStart adopted ViFind's window as the taskbar and put its Start orb on ViFind's bar at the top of the screen. It now walks every Shell_TrayWnd and takes the first one owned by explorer.exe. An unidentifiable owner still passes, so Windows XP keeps its taskbar.
Yes. ViStart is free and open-source software released under the AGPL-3.0-only license.
What is the latest version of ViStart?
The latest version is 8.1.0.5344, released on Aug 24, 2026.
Is it safe to download ViStart?
The download button links to the official installer published on lee-soft.com, the same file Windows Package Manager installs. You can verify the downloaded file by comparing its SHA-256 checksum with 6bdebe7fd370685ba4ec182d4f0f57889d1a0e4fd78eb28738f1d311f38e434b.
Which Windows versions does ViStart support?
ViStart runs on Windows and is available for 32-bit (x86) systems.
How do I install ViStart silently?
Run the offline installer with "windows-start-menu-vistart-8105344.exe" /VERYSILENT /SUPPRESSMSGBOXES /NORESTART /NOVIDECK, or install it with Windows Package Manager: winget install --id=LeeSoft.ViStart -e --silent.
How do I uninstall ViStart?
Open Settings › Apps › Installed apps, find ViStart and select Uninstall. From the command line, run winget uninstall --id=LeeSoft.ViStart -e.
Alternatives to ViStart
Other Themes programs for Windows from different developers.
