{"id":3682,"date":"2016-08-04T19:27:34","date_gmt":"2016-08-04T13:57:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.58.113.91\/blog\/?p=3682"},"modified":"2022-08-17T16:49:59","modified_gmt":"2022-08-17T11:19:59","slug":"backup-start-menu-layout-windows-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/backup-start-menu-layout-windows-10\/","title":{"rendered":"Backup, Restore, or Reset Windows 10\/11 Start Layout & Shortcuts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Almost every Windows user would customize their Start menu layout as per their requirement, to ease their workflow. It’s also helpful if you backup the Start menu tiles layout in Windows after customizing it, just in case your profile becomes corrupt at some point of time due to one reason or the other.<\/p>\n

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Contents<\/h4>\n
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  1. Backup & Restore Windows 10\/11 Start Layout Manually<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. Automate using Start menu Backup & Restore utility<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. Procedure for Older Windows 10 versions (v1607 & earlier)<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. INFO: Where is the Start menu layout stored in Windows 10\/11?<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. Backing up the Start menu shortcuts (“All Apps” listing)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n

    <\/a>Backup & Restore Start Layout<\/h2>\n

    Backup Windows 10 or 11 Start Layout<\/h3>\n

    To back up Start menu tiles in Windows 10 (v1703 and higher – tested till 21H2) and Windows 11, use the following steps:<\/p>\n

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    1. Start the Registry Editor (regedit.exe<\/code>) and go to the following branch:\n
      HKCU\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\CloudStore\\Store\\Cache\\DefaultAccount<\/pre>\n
      \"backup<\/li>\n
    2. Export the key to a .reg file — eg., D:\\Shell\\start_layout.reg<\/code><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      If you’re on Windows 11, there is an additional step to perform.<\/p>\n
        \n
      1. Open the following folder via the File Explorer Address bar or Run dialog:\n
        %LocalAppData%\\Packages\\Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy\\LocalState<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n
      2. Copy the file named “Start.bin<\/code>” from the above folder to the “D:\\Shell\\<\/code>” folder.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        Your Start menu tiles are now backed up.<\/p>\n
        \n
        Restore Windows 10 or 11 Start menu Tiles<\/h3>\n
        To restore the Start tile layout to another user profile or computer, follow these steps:<\/p>\n
        The following assumes that the tile backup registry file is located at D:\\Shell\\start_layout.reg<\/code><\/em><\/p>\n
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        1. Log in to the user account where you want to apply the Start tile settings from the backup.<\/li>\n
        2. Open a Command Prompt window.<\/li>\n
        3. In the Command Prompt window, type the following commands and press Enter<\/code> after each command:\n
          reg delete \"HKCU\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\CloudStore\\Store\\Cache\\DefaultAccount\" \/f\r\nreg import d:\\shell\\start_layout.reg<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n
        4. If you’re on Windows 11, you need to run an additional command, which is mentioned below:\n
          copy \"d:\\shell\\start.bin\" \"%LocalAppData%\\Packages\\Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy\\LocalState\\\" \/y<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n
        5. Restart the Explorer shell<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
          This starts the Explorer shell, and your Start tiles will now be refreshed.<\/p>\n
          \n
          <\/a>Automate Using Backup & Restore Start Layout utility<\/h3>\n
          Backup Start Menu Layout<\/a> can backup, restore or reset the Start menu layout for you in a single click. It works on Windows 10 v21H2 and Windows 11. Backup Start Menu Layout v1.5 has Windows 11 Support, wherein the tool backs up “start.bin” in addition.<\/p>\n
          \"backup<\/p>\n
          Backup Start Menu Layout also supports the following command-line arguments:<\/p>\n