Add Videos Folder to the Windows Vista Start Menu

Recently I received a tweak request from one of our readers to add the Videos folder to the Windows Vista Start menu. Currently in Start Menu properties you can add Music, Documents, Pictures and Games but for some reason there is no option for Videos.

There is no GUI option to add Videos folder to the Start menu. This can however be done using a registry hack, and that too, only by replacing an existing item in the Vista Start menu with Videos.

Examples

Restore the Start menu Search link in Vista Service Pack 1

Add Favorite Links folder to the Vista Start menu

Below is a registry tweak that replaces Games in the Start menu with Videos. Important: If you apply this tweak, the Games Explorer functionality will be disabled. However, you can run individual games from Start, All Programs, Games folder.

Replacing Games with Videos

1. Download video-sm-vista.zip and save the file to your Desktop.

2. Unzip the file and extract the two .REG files to your Desktop.

3. Right-click on the file videos_sm.reg and choose Merge.

4. Click Yes when asked for confirmation.

5. Logoff and login back so that the Start menu is refreshed.

Editor’s Note: The Info Tip that appears when you hover the mouse cursor over the Videos icon seems to be unchangeable. It still reads Play and manage games on your computer.

Undo Information

To reverse the above setting, right-click on the file undo-videos_sm.reg (which is present in the above Zip file) and choose Merge. Click Yes when asked for confirmation. Logoff and login back.

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20 Comments

  1. Robert Maddox
    said this on Tuesday, March 30th 2010 2:10 pm

    How can I apply your registry patch but with an icon of my choice. Let’s say for example its path was in C:\Icons\Video Icon.ico

  2. Michael
    said this on Sunday, January 31st 2010 7:20 pm

    maybe someone can help me with my mod in Win7.
    I want to replace TV-recording with Libraries in the same way as in this article. But i cannot find the CLSID. As result I want to have a cascading libraries entry at the right side of Win7 Start menu.

  3. said this on Sunday, December 13th 2009 1:44 pm

    @Hairy: We have the Pin Folder script here:
    http://windowsxp.mvps.org/pinfolder.htm

  4. Hairy Toenail
    said this on Sunday, December 13th 2009 12:50 pm

    You can add Pin To Start Menu to Vista and XP by downloading this reg hack (double click on on Enable Pin To Start and accept the changes). There is an undo hack as well.
    Download link: http://www.howtogeek.com/geekers/EnablePinToStart.zip

  5. Hairy Toenail
    said this on Sunday, December 13th 2009 12:34 pm

    You can also drag any file or folder directly to the Start Menu in 7 and pin them there eldin.
    Just rename them to what ever you want.

  6. eldin
    said this on Saturday, December 12th 2009 7:40 pm

    tom in windows 7 if you move mouse over start, right click go to properties… then under start menu tab click customize. there a list and you can set up the downloads, games and videos folder as a link.. its AWESOME all three conveniently located. i love 7

  7. tom
    said this on Saturday, December 12th 2009 1:09 am

    This doesn’t work in 7, right?

  8. gobsmacked
    said this on Saturday, October 31st 2009 3:47 am

    Yep, works perfectly for me too, though you have to make sure you have the games folder selected for display – right click the start menu, properties, in the ‘customize’ section, click the button next to ‘display as a link’ under Games.

  9. eldin
    said this on Tuesday, July 28th 2009 11:17 pm

    this worked for me, but then i also wanted to add the downloads folder to my start menu and so i follow the steps for this, and it got rid of the my videos folder. i rather have the video folder so i will just follow the above steps again to have the video folder back in my start menu

  10. Anon Imus
    said this on Monday, July 27th 2009 10:45 pm

    Wonder how you could replace your user name with Documents, then replace the other Documents with Pictures, then the other Pictures with Music, then the other Music with Videos, to leave in Games.

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