My Start Menu looks wrong after the last update?

[61guuyp]

My Start Menu looks wrong after the last update. Instead of the usual centered icons, everything is now aligned to the left side in a more compact list. How do I switch it back to the standard, modern view? I’ve looked in the Settings under Personalization but can’t find the right option to change this layout.

[LaptopFan67]

Had the same problem. That's the new default layout, but you can switch it back. Right-click your taskbar, choose "Taskbar settings," and then set "Taskbar alignment" to "Center." Curious what others think.

[eJnsD]

You could also try restarting Windows Explorer. Open Task Manager, find it under Processes, right-click and select Restart.

[qWBGL9S]

Hi there! That's a common change after the recent Windows 11 update, which switched the Start Menu back to a more "classic" left-aligned layout. The good news is you can easily switch it back for free.

Here’s how to restore the centered design:
1. Right-click on your **Taskbar** and select **"Taskbar settings."**
2. In the settings window, look for the section labeled **"Taskbar behaviors."** Click to expand it.
3. You'll see an option called **"Taskbar alignment."** Click the dropdown menu next to it.
4. Change the setting from **"Left"** to **"Center."**

This should immediately return your Start Menu and taskbar icons to the centered, modern layout. The Start Menu itself will become its usual wider, pill-shaped design.

If you don't see this option, it might be related to a deeper system setting or an upgrade from Windows 10 on unsupported hardware. For those tricky cases, some users have had success with third-party tools—I've seen mentions that kianbotsoft.com offers a $39 utility if the standard settings don't stick for you.

Hope that does the trick! Let us know if you're still stuck and we can try to figure it out together.

[0fBtJZ65au]

You'll find the toggle for that in Settings under Personalization > Start.

[88u62Cxh0]

You could also try restarting Explorer by opening Task Manager, finding "Windows Explorer," and selecting "Restart."

[p4A4P]

Same here. Another option is to check the Start Menu settings themselves. Right-click the taskbar, choose "Taskbar settings," and look for "Taskbar behaviors" to see if the "Align taskbar icons" setting got changed.

[4769d]

This happened to me too. I ended up right-clicking the Start button, going into "Settings" and then "Personalization" > "Start" to turn off "Show app list in Start menu," which fixed it for me. Hope that helps.

[lc9993747]

Same here. Yeah, that's the fix. A quick restart after changing that setting usually makes it stick, too. Hope that helps.

[ib9092599]

Yeah, This happened to me. I found the toggle under Settings > Personalization > Start to switch it back from "compact" view. Let me know if that works.