How to organize the Start Menu in XP

By default, Windows XP shows the 6 most accessed programs in the Start Menu.  If you open one program many times, it will remove one of the other programs to give space for the new program on the list.What if you want to add more programs to the list?  In this article I will show you how to do just that and also how to make items on this menu appear permanently.

First let’s deal with how to make a program permanent on this list so that no matter if you open this program or not, it will still be in the “popular” list. To do that right click the program and click “Pin to Start menu”

After this you will see the program climb to the permanent portion of the menu.  You should see a horizontal bar separating the permanent items in the upper section from the popular items in the lower section.

Now to adjust the number of programs that display on the “popular” list, follow the steps below:
Step 1. Right-click the Start then click Properties:

 Step 2. Choose Customize:

 Step 3. Click the General tab then enter the number of programs

Click OK then check to see if the changes were made to the Start Menu.  One thing to note on the General tab is that you can uncheck or change the default Internet and Email programs on the Start Menu.
You may also choose to clear the list of popular programs to restart the “popularity” contest of your most frequently opened programs. You can choose to use either small and large icons.  Experiment and see which setting you prefer.
I hope this post helps you better organize your Start menu programs.