Change XP Start Button
Step 1 - Modify Explorer.exe File
In order to make the changes, the file explorer.exe located at C:\Windows needs to be
edited. Since explorer.exe is a binary file it requires a special editor. For purposes of
this article I have used Resource Hacker. Resource HackerTM is a freeware utility to view,
modify, rename, add, delete and extract resources in 32bit Windows executables and resource
files (*.res). It incorporates an internal resource script compiler and decompiler and
works on Microsoft Windows 95/98/ME, Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Windows XP operating
systems.
get this from h**p://delphi.icm.edu.pl/ftp/tools/ResHack.zip
The first step is to make a backup copy of the file explorer.exe located at
C:\Windows\explorer. Place it in a folder somewhere on your hard drive where it will be
safe. Start Resource Hacker and open explorer.exe located at C:\Windows\explorer.exe.
The category we are going to be using is "String Table". Expand it by clicking the plus
sign then navigate down to and expand string 37 followed by highlighting 1033. If you are
using the Classic Layout rather than the XP Layout, use number 38. The right hand pane will
display the stringtable. We’re going to modify item 578, currently showing the word “start”
just as it displays on the current Start button.
There is no magic here. Just double click on the word “start” so that it’s highlighted,
making sure the quotation marks are not part of the highlight. They need to remain in
place, surrounding the new text that you’ll type. Go ahead and type your new entry. In my
case I used Click Me!
You’ll notice that after the new text string has been entered the Compile Script button
that was grayed out is now active. I won’t get into what’s involved in compiling a script,
but suffice it to say it’s going to make this exercise worthwhile. Click Compile Script and
then save the altered file using the Save As command on the File Menu. Do not use the Save
command – Make sure to use the Save As command and choose a name for the file. Save the
newly named file to C:\Windows.
Step 2 – Modify the Registry
!!!make a backup of your registry before making changes!!!
Now that the modified explorer.exe has been created it’s necessary to modify the registry
so the file will be recognized when the user logs on to the system. If you don’t know how
to access the registry I’m not sure this article is for you, but just in case it’s a
temporary memory lapse, go to Start (soon to be something else) Run and type regedit in the
Open field. Navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\ Windows NT\ CurrentVersion\ Winlogon
In the right pane, double click the "Shell" entry to open the Edit String dialog box. In
Value data: line, enter the name that was used to save the modified explorer.exe file.
Click OK.
Close Registry Editor and either log off the system and log back in, or reboot the entire
system if that’s your preference. If all went as planned you should see your new Start
button with the revised text.[/b]
In order to make the changes, the file explorer.exe located at C:\Windows needs to be
edited. Since explorer.exe is a binary file it requires a special editor. For purposes of
this article I have used Resource Hacker. Resource HackerTM is a freeware utility to view,
modify, rename, add, delete and extract resources in 32bit Windows executables and resource
files (*.res). It incorporates an internal resource script compiler and decompiler and
works on Microsoft Windows 95/98/ME, Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Windows XP operating
systems.
get this from h**p://delphi.icm.edu.pl/ftp/tools/ResHack.zip
The first step is to make a backup copy of the file explorer.exe located at
C:\Windows\explorer. Place it in a folder somewhere on your hard drive where it will be
safe. Start Resource Hacker and open explorer.exe located at C:\Windows\explorer.exe.
The category we are going to be using is "String Table". Expand it by clicking the plus
sign then navigate down to and expand string 37 followed by highlighting 1033. If you are
using the Classic Layout rather than the XP Layout, use number 38. The right hand pane will
display the stringtable. We’re going to modify item 578, currently showing the word “start”
just as it displays on the current Start button.
There is no magic here. Just double click on the word “start” so that it’s highlighted,
making sure the quotation marks are not part of the highlight. They need to remain in
place, surrounding the new text that you’ll type. Go ahead and type your new entry. In my
case I used Click Me!
You’ll notice that after the new text string has been entered the Compile Script button
that was grayed out is now active. I won’t get into what’s involved in compiling a script,
but suffice it to say it’s going to make this exercise worthwhile. Click Compile Script and
then save the altered file using the Save As command on the File Menu. Do not use the Save
command – Make sure to use the Save As command and choose a name for the file. Save the
newly named file to C:\Windows.
Step 2 – Modify the Registry
!!!make a backup of your registry before making changes!!!
Now that the modified explorer.exe has been created it’s necessary to modify the registry
so the file will be recognized when the user logs on to the system. If you don’t know how
to access the registry I’m not sure this article is for you, but just in case it’s a
temporary memory lapse, go to Start (soon to be something else) Run and type regedit in the
Open field. Navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\ Windows NT\ CurrentVersion\ Winlogon
In the right pane, double click the "Shell" entry to open the Edit String dialog box. In
Value data: line, enter the name that was used to save the modified explorer.exe file.
Click OK.
Close Registry Editor and either log off the system and log back in, or reboot the entire
system if that’s your preference. If all went as planned you should see your new Start
button with the revised text.[/b]
