What Killer? - What exactly does it kill, again?

For those who want to completely disable the Windows Keyboard Key as well as the ability to click on the start menu. Create and run these reg files. Note, these must be run as an admin user.

This will disable the Windows Key on the keyboard from working. This also disabled CTRL+ESC from working too.
filename = disable_windows_key.reg

Code:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Keyboard Layout]
"Scancode Map"=hex:00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,03,00,00,00,00,00,5b,e0,00,00,5c,e0,00,00,00,00

Now to stop the Start Menu from working.

First you need to remove the default values
filename = remove_original_keys.reg

Code:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

;; remove key for start menu before adding new keys to disable it
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{5b4dae26-b807-11d0-9815-00c04fd91972}]

Now we add the values to disable the start menu
filename = disable_start.reg

Code:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

;; IMPORTANT!!! remove original key before creating these
;; add new keys to disable start menu
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{-5b4dae26-b807-11d0-9815-00c04fd91972}]
@="Menu Band"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{-5b4dae26-b807-11d0-9815-00c04fd91972}\InProcServer32]
@=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,\
  00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,53,00,48,00,\
  45,00,4c,00,4c,00,33,00,32,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,00,00
"ThreadingModel"="Apartment"

The start menu will not respond when clicked on.

To reverse all of this we need to remove the registry keys that disable the start menu.
filename = remove_disable_keys.reg

Code:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

;; Remove the disable keys before restoring default
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{-5b4dae26-b807-11d0-9815-00c04fd91972}]

Now we replace the keys for the original/default setting.
filename = restore_default.reg

Code:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

;; Restore Default Keys for Start Menu
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{5b4dae26-b807-11d0-9815-00c04fd91972}]
@="Menu Band"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{5b4dae26-b807-11d0-9815-00c04fd91972}\InProcServer32]
@=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,\
  00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,53,00,48,00,\
  45,00,4c,00,4c,00,33,00,32,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,00,00
"ThreadingModel"="Apartment"

I hope this helps anyone else trying to completely disable the start menu.

Well said, Yuri (nice man -- nay, very nice man)!

And thank you, Sophos7, for providing the 'fix' that some people require for their own situations.

@Sophos7: your trick didn't do it for me. Even after a reboot, Start menu still shows up. The only thing it disabled is the dropdown menu within the start menu, the one with the shutdown options.
(I have x64 Vista... but even applying the fix also to the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{5b4dae26-b807-11d0-9815-00c04fd91972} node, it still doesn't work...)

@Yuri: all due respect for your fantastic work, I think this problem should be addressed. If it becomes a acknowledged feature of StartKiller, it should be optional.

See, I want to *kill* the start menu. I created my own start menu with TLB, am happy with it, and don't need the win start menu anymore.

I don't want it to show up every time my mouse moves a few little pixels to the left or to the bottom. It's annoying and it wastes my time.

Please, if it is feasible, solve this. Thanks

@nonhocapito, I'm a bit puzzled by your observations, because on my Win7 system I have to click in the relevant positions to get the Start Menu; just hovering my mouse doesn't do it. I assume that there is a Windows setting that you can change so that just hovering the mouse pointer no longer opens the Start Menu.

@Sophos7: your trick didn't do it for me. Even after a reboot, Start menu still shows up. The only thing it disabled is the dropdown menu within the start menu, the one with the shutdown options.
(I have x64 Vista... but even applying the fix also to the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{5b4dae26-b807-11d0-9815-00c04fd91972} node, it still doesn't work...)

@Yuri: all due respect for your fantastic work, I think this problem should be addressed. If it becomes a acknowledged feature of StartKiller, it should be optional.

See, I want to *kill* the start menu. I created my own start menu with TLB, am happy with it, and don't need the win start menu anymore.

I don't want it to show up every time my mouse moves a few little pixels to the left or to the bottom. It's annoying and it wastes my time.

Please, if it is feasible, solve this. Thanks

The batch registry edits were originally designed and tested only for Windows XP. Vista and 7 probably use different keys and may even be different from each other.
You'll have to do some searching around for the equivalent under Vista 64bit.

@nonhocapito, I'm a bit puzzled by your observations, because on my Win7 system I have to click in the relevant positions to get the Start Menu; just hovering my mouse doesn't do it. I assume that there is a Windows setting that you can change so that just hovering the mouse pointer no longer opens the Start Menu.

c'mon. who said anything about hovering? :?
I said the mouse "moving" a few pixels to the left, obviously implying "just as I am about to click".

When I click at the left end of the taskbar, I want the start menu, *my* start menu, to appear. More often than not, if the movement is not precise because I just "threw" the mouse there in the corner, I get the old official start menu: which by now is completely useless to me.
Again: "when I click".

The batch registry edits were originally designed and tested only for Windows XP. Vista and 7 probably use different keys and may even be different from each other.
You'll have to do some searching around for the equivalent under Vista 64bit.

Thanks for the tip. I looked around and found this other key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{a2a9545d-a0c2-42b4-9708-a0b2badd77c8}

When this key is deleted from the registry under Vista (possibly under 7 too), the start menu doesn't show up anymore!

So I am partially happy, although if I really wanted to be pedantic, I would love for my replacement button to "claim" those few pixels around as well, like the official start menu does (and with reason, since we are rarely precise with a movement we do tens of times a day). Unfortunately using a larger custom image for the button doesn't do it, those few pixels in the corner are still left uncovered.

The batch registry edits were originally designed and tested only for Windows XP. Vista and 7 probably use different keys and may even be different from each other.
You'll have to do some searching around for the equivalent under Vista 64bit.

Thanks for the tip. I looked around and found this other key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{a2a9545d-a0c2-42b4-9708-a0b2badd77c8}

When this key is deleted from the registry under Vista (possibly under 7 too), the start menu doesn't show up anymore!

So I am partially happy, although if I really wanted to be pedantic, I would love for my replacement button to "claim" those few pixels around as well, like the official start menu does (and with reason, since we are rarely precise with a movement we do tens of times a day). Unfortunately using a larger custom image for the button doesn't do it, those few pixels in the corner are still left uncovered.

Thanks for following up. I am sure this will be helpful to new users since more people are move to Windows 7. I will be towards the end of next year for the whole company and I will certainly need this reg edit then.

Thanks for following up. I am sure this will be helpful to new users since more people are move to Windows 7. I will be towards the end of next year for the whole company and I will certainly need this reg edit then.

I am trying windows 7 these days (and i am not very happy actually, for a number of reasons) and unfortunately the trick does not work anymore.
To delete this key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{a2a9545d-a0c2-42b4-9708-a0b2badd77c8}
disables the start menu, but also causes the taskbar to stop showing buttons for the open apps.
So we're back at square one, start menu is NOT killed.

(This is another of the aggravations of windows 7, others being the horrible, unpractical system tray, which seems to be meant to plainly waste space, and the loss of the traditional context menu of the taskbar buttons, as if the "restore" or maximize commands were not most useful when the titlebar ends under the taskbar. You gotta wonder why to make this changes, only to imitate macs. If I wanted a mac I'd use a mac... #-o )

I disagree that this alledged 'bug' should not be fixed!

I work for a company whose product is used on thousands of public PC's and we recommend StartKiller as a means to 'KILL' the start button and prevent access to the Start Menu.
Our product already disables the windows key as an optional, configurable feature, plus disables many other keyboard combos, what our customers needed, in addition, was a product to completely stop users from gaining ANY mouse access to the start button whatsoever! Rather than trying to develop a product that may be covered by an existing product, we came across StartKiller and have happily recommended your product to our customers who wish to completely stop public users from accessing the start button and or menu.

Some will use registry hacks, some will use local or group policies to disable start menu options and enforce other restrictions to stop the public from gaining access to programs via the startmenu they do want public users to access.

In my opinion most people use StartKiller for one or both of two reasons...
1. To hide the start button and menu to provide extra space on the taskbar but still access the start button and menu as and when required.

2. To Comletely KILL the start button or access to the start menu

It has been reported today that this 'bug' (and it is a bug in my opinion) allows users to access the start menu using the mouse and in a public environment this is NOT the required behaviour from StartKiller.

I believe very strongly that this issue should be resolved and that it should be an optional feature so that users of StartKiller can choose to completely block access to the start button or not if they wish.

By providing a product that appeals to a wider base of users cannot be a bad thing?

If this issue is not going to be fixed, maybe you should consider renaming StartKiller to something else, because it does not 'kill' the start button completely.

If it is not possible to resolve this issue, then please, just say so.

I had been running 3.0 and just install 3.1. I still have this issue of being able to open the start menu by clicking in the far left of the screen with the classic theme.

Well, I've updated the Start Killer. In the version 3.2 this problem is fixed. The start menu is blocked only if the option "Disable Start Menu" is turned on.