Below my rant, you will find detailed instructions

The title of this Random Thought should be: Microsoft, Stop Changing What Works!

Whenever Microsoft comes out with a new operating system, I groan inside. It means I will have dozens of customers arriving in my store with endless questions about it. It’s not that I mind my customer’s questions. On the contrary, after fifteen years of repairing computers for my overwhelming senior citizen clientele, they have become more than customers. They have become family. I love my customers. But I hate seeing them struggle with significant Windows Operating System changes.

I know how they feel; entering my mid-fifties has come with challenges in embracing change. My customers keep their computers until the poor electronic devices are so dead they are beyond repair. Why? Because most of them are still in love with Windows XP. They finally adjusted to Windows 7 and kept them for as long as possible. Their migration to Windows 10 is like leaving Earth and landing on the moon. How does one navigate with such decreased gravity? How does one understand Windows 10 with its new start button?

My biggest complaint from my customers was about the start button. They could not wrap their heads around the box-like pinned icons. It confused them. The earlier versions of Windows 10 did not have an easy way to find all of your programs, but the later versions did. Amazingly, the minute I installed Classic Shell software which changed the start button function to mimic Windows 7, my customers no longer had a problem or many complaints.

Windows 8 was a nightmare for so many seniors that I deliberately left it out in the above commentary. In my life, I have erased the Windows 8 memories from my memory banks.

Now we are in Windows 11 territory. Oh dear Zeus. What the hell were the developers thinking? That dreadful Start Button or Start Menu has found a new home. In the center of the taskbar! Along with an all-new design when you click on it. Unfortunately, classic Shell does not work with Windows 11 at the time of this writing. If you hate this new location, do not worry, it is relatively easy to change.

Step 1) Right-click your mouse on an empty part of your desktop. A menu will appear beside the mouse. Left-Click on the word “personalize.”

Step 2) Scroll down and Left-Click on the work “Taskbar.”

Step 3) Scroll down and click on Taskbar Behaviors

Step 4) Under the caption “Taskbar Alignment” click on the box that says center and change it to Left

You will see the Taskbar automatically align itself to the left side on the monitor. Now just close the settings window. You are done.