If you’re looking for a way to change the Windows 7 Start Orb, there are a few ways to do it. One way is to use the command prompt. Another way is to use the Windows 7 Start Menu applet. The third way is to use the Windows 7 Task Manager. All three methods work in different ways, so you’ll need to experiment before finding the one that works best for you. The easiest way to change the Windows 7 Start Orb is to use the command prompt. To do this, open a command prompt window and type “cmd” followed by your desired commands. For example, if you want to change the color of the Start Orb, you would type “cmd /c " followed by “color=green”. The second easiest way to change the Windows 7 Start Orb is through the Windows 7 Start Menu applet. To do this, open the Windows 7 Start Menu and select " Apps “. Then select " System “. On the left side of this screen, select " Settings “. On the next screen, select " Appearance and Personalization “. In this section, under " Startup “, select " Change Icon “. Then click on OK . The third easiest way to change the Windows 7 Start Orb is through the Task Manager. To do this, open Task Manager and click on its button in the top left corner of Task Manager. Then on the right side of Task Manager, click on " Processes “. On top of Processes , click on " Add/Remove Item “. In Add/Remove Item , select " Window7StartOrb “. Click on Add . Then click on OK .
Getting Started
First, download the free Windows 7 Start Button Changer (link below), and extract the contents of the folder. It contains the app along with a selection of alternate start button orbs you can try out.
Before changing the start button, we advise creating a system restore point in case anything goes wrong. Enter System Restore in your Start menu search, and select “Create a restore point”.
Please note: We tested this on both the 32 bit and 64 bit editions of Windows 7, and didn’t encounter any problems or stability issues. That said, it is always prudent to make a restore point just in case a problem did happen.
Click the Create button…
Then enter a name for the restore point, and click Create.
Changing the Start Orb.
Once this is finished, run the Windows 7 Start Button Changer as administrator by right-clicking on it and selecting “Run as administrator”. Accept the UAC prompt that will appear.
If you don’t run it as an administrator, you may see the following warning. Click Quit, and then run again as administrator.
You should now see the Windows 7 Start Button Changer. On the left it shows what your current (default) start orb looks like inactive, when hovered over, and when selected. Click the orb on the right to select a new start button.
Here we browsed to the sample orbs folder, and selected one of them. Let’s give Windows the Media Center orb for a start orb. Click the orb you want, and then select open.
When you click Open, your screen will momentarily freeze and your taskbar will disappear. When it reappears, your computer will have gone from having the old, default Start orb style…
…to your new, exciting Start orb! Here it is default, and glowing when hovered over.
Now, the Windows 7 Start Orb Changer will change, and show your new Start orb on the left side. If you would like to revert to the default orb, simply click the folder icon to restore it. Or, if you would like to change the orb again, restore the original first and then select a new one.
The orbs don’t have to be round; here’s a fancy Windows 7 logo as the start button.
The start orb change will work in the Aero and Aero basic (which Windows 7 Start uses) themes, but will not show up in the classic, Windows 2000 style themes. Here’s how the new start button looks with the Aero Classic theme:
There are tons of orbs available, including this cute smiley, so choose one that you like to make your computer uniquely yours.
Conclusion
This is a cute way to make your desktop unique, and can be a great way to make a truly personalized theme. Let us know your favorite Start orb!
Link
Download the Windows 7 Start Button Changer
Find more Start orbs at deviantART
