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        Technical Stuff >> Editing Your Profiles >> Start Button Options
        
(Message started by: Mr.Happy on Mar 10^th, 2003, 3:56pm)

Title: Start Button Options
Post by Mr.Happy on Mar 10^th, 2003, 3:56pm

Didn't know where else to plop this. It's for those of you looking for a "minor" change in your windoze screen. It's about that stupid little "START" button. Why do we go to Start when we want to End, etc.? Why not be creative, and give that desktop your own personal touch?
This is for those of you with far too much time on your hands, and willing to possibly break a file that makes your whole system run. Not for the faint of heart.

The end result will give you something like this:
http://drfeller.com/pix/startbut.jpg
You'll notice, No "Start" button........

I think this originally came from Lockergnome........

Start Button Text

First, start a command prompt and change to the C:\Windows or C:\WinNT directory or the appropriate directory containing Windows system files on your PC. Next, make a copy of the Explorer.exe file called Explorer.wrk (or other filename as you choose). Then type Edit /70 Explorer.wrk to edit the file. The /70 switch specifies a column width of 70 characters, which makes the display much easier to navigate.

Here's where it gets a little tricky. Each version of Windows can house the target text in different locations. What you're looking for is a string of text that simply says S t a r t (note the spaces) and has a club symbol preceding it (club as in the playing card suit). Here are the line numbers of the target text on a few systems I tested with, though this may vary on your particular PC, as Microsoft has changed the Explorer.exe with OS updates:

Win98SE: 2390
WinME: 3035
WinNT: 2390
Win2K: 3299 or 3236
Once you've located the text, simply replace each letter of the word Start with the custom text you'd like to specify making sure you only replace the characters and do not modify the null characters in between them. You have 5 characters total to work with, so keep it short. Once you're finished, save the file and exit the Edit program.

Now you'll need to boot to DOS or another operating system so you can copy your new file into place. The Explorer.wrk file will replace the Explorer.exe file, which cannot be done while Windows is running. Once you've managed to replace the file, simply start Windows and enjoy your new button text! As per my usual recommendation, be sure to make a backup copy of Explorer.exe before you go messing with it or you may be left with a non-functional shell if you make a slip-up.

Oh, the Fun of it all,
RJ