Stop! Don’t Let Your Windows Start Menu Fall Apart – Lock Now in 3 Steps!

3. Create a New Value: LockedStartLayout

• Right-click on the right-hand panel.
• Select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value
• Name it LockedStartLayout (without spaces).

4. Set the LockedStartLayout Value

• Double-click on LockedStartLayout.
• Change Value data to 1.
• Click OK to save the changes.

5. Restart the Computer

Method 3: Lock the Start Menu via PowerShell (For Advanced Users)

For those of you who are used to working with the command line or managing systems through automation scripts, PowerShell is a very powerful and flexible tool. One of its uses is to make direct and efficient system configuration modifications, including locking the Start Menu layout without the need to manually open the Registry Editor.

Steps to Lock Start Menu with PowerShell

The following is an easy and quick way to lock the Start Menu using PowerShell in Administrator mode:

1. Open PowerShell as Administrator

• Click Start Menu, type powershell.
• Right-click on Windows PowerShell, then select Run as administrator.
• If you see a notification from User Account Control (UAC), click Yes to continue.

2. Run the following command

Enter the following PowerShell command directly into the terminal:

New-ItemProperty -Path “HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer” -Name “LockedStartLayout” -Value 1 -PropertyType DWORD -Force

Brief explanation of the command:

• New-ItemProperty: Creates or updates a value in the registry.
• -Path: Indicates the location of the key registry.
• -Name: The name of the property that was added, i.e., LockedStartLayout.
• -Value 1: Value 1 means enabling lockout.
• -PropertyType DWORD: The type of data used.
• -Force: Force value creation even though it exists before.

3. Restart explorer.exe or System

For the changes to be implemented effectively, you need to do one of two things:

• Restart Explorer only (faster):
• Or restart your computer for definitive results.

Start Menu Locking Effect: What’s Changed?

“Locking the Start Menu doesn’t mean freezing everything! It’s the boundaries and flexibility that you still have.”

When you enable Start Menu locking through any method (Group Policy, Registry, or PowerShell), there is a change in system behavior that you need to understand in detail:

Blocked Activity

Here are the things that  users can’t do after the Start Menu is locked:

1. Tile Modification/Application Display

• Add a new tile to the Start Menu
• Delete an existing tile
• Resize tiles (small/medium/wide/large)
• Moving tile/group positions

2. Changes in Group Structure

• Create a new app group
• Delete an existing group
• Change the group name
• Move apps between groups

3. Pinned Apps Manipulation

• Unpin the app from the Start Menu
• Change the order in which the pinned apps are on the left