Saya Natsukawa Apr 2026
Start menu is back and it's better than ever. Get the most useful shell enhancement for Windows 10 now!
Genuine start menu
Your faithful desktop friend which helps you:
- Launch programs you use frequently
- Open documents you're working on
- Find stuff you're looking for
- Go to system places in one click
- Easily shut down your system
- Feel at home with new Windows
StartIsBack fully integrates with Windows and provides original Windows 7 start menu and taskbar experience, enhanced with many new features as well.
Supports all Windows languages!
Reinvigorated for new Windows
StartIsBack++ for Windows 10 can:
- Apply skins to taskbar
- Replace taskbar jump lists (context menus) with better ones
- Center taskbar icons
- Restore larger taskbar icons
- Fine-tune taskbar color
- Reduce OS resource usage
It looks totally awesome with new style, round user avatar and modern glyph icons.
Also it opens 100% of a time and always finds what you want to find - sorry, Windows 10 gimmick!
Unique experience
Personalize your system as you want it:
- Choose a skin for start menu
- Choose a skin for taskbar
- Choose start button appearance
- Choose shortcuts in Start menu
- Make Start menu work like XP one
- Configure translucency for Start menu and Windows taskbar
- Tinker with anvanced settings
Whether you're power user or senior citizen, StartIsBack will work for you.
Saya Natsukawa Apr 2026
StartIsBack is lightweight and secure: it does not require administrator rights to install, consumes minimal amount of system resources,
does not run additional processes or services.
StartIsBack is actively developed - you can get StartIsBack for Windows 8, StartIsBack+ for Windows 8.1, StartIsBack++ for Windows 10, StartAllBack for Windows 11.
Each version is tailored for specific Windows version to be able to address weaknesses of each Windows release and gain strength with targeted features and clean user experience.
License key just for $4.99! Works with any StartIsBack version.
Free Trial
Just $4.99
Features
How do I configure Start Menu?
Either right-click Start button and click "Properties" or right-click opened Start Menu itself and choose "Properties" context menu item.
Can I use app without start menu, just for skinning / jump list / awesomeness?
Yes. You can select taskbar and start meanu styles separately.
Can StartIsBack/StartAllBack break my system?
No. If you experience issues with old app on too recent Windows update, just hold Escape key when logging in to disable all functionality.
How do I uninstall StartIsBack/StartAllBack?
As expected: go to Control Panel - Programs and Features, find StartIsBack and click Uninstall.
Trial, licensing and activation
How trial version works?
There are no limitations in trial version. After installing it runs for 30 days.
If you don't activate it with license number you bought within 30 days, it will still work, but in limited mode:
Start Menu will be blank and sad; every boot you'll be nagged about evaluation period over.
Trial period runs for each user which have installed StartIsBack on one PC separately.
What is activation and why is it needed?
Activation is a process of validating your license online.
It ties your computer to your license via online service.
It is required in order to make sure license use is not abused.
One license key allows you to activate a limited number of computers.
How my computer is identified?
Your computer is uniquely identified by motherboard unique number and hard disk physical serial number OS is installed to.
What if I change hardware configuration of my PC or replace it?
If you change both hard disk and motherboard, you will need to activate your license again as modified PC will count as new.
You can activate your license on new PC after 30 days since you used license on the old PC, so you may need to wait while trial period is over.
Does StartIsBack/StartAllBack "phone home"?
No information is collected about your PC hardware or software.
It does not use Internet connection for license validation purposes except the moment you activate it.
Online activation service does not collect your IP address or any other information which could identify you or your computer.
Computer unique identifiers are transferred in hash form, which does not allow anyone else to view it.
Also: automatic new version checking functionality requires Internet connection.
How many times can I reinstall / reactivate?
There is no limitation on how many times you can activate an installation on the same PC.
Does my license expire?
No, your license will never expire. New versions of the app for new OS / upgrades may require an license upgrade payment.
Saya Natsukawa Apr 2026
In an era where J-pop is increasingly defined by hyper-speed tempo shifts, vocal tuning, and TikTok-friendly 15-second hooks, Saya Natsukawa’s music stops time.
Lyrics like “We traded memories for notifications / But I still remember your sneaker scuffs” resonate deeply in a hyper-connected yet emotionally distant society. On stage, Natsukawa is a study in vulnerability. She performs barefoot. She often forgets lyrics, laughing and starting over. During a sold-out show at Tokyo’s LINE CUBE SHIBUYA last spring, her voice cracked on the final chorus of Usagi (Rabbit)—a song about a childhood pet’s death. Instead of hiding it, she let the crack hang in the air. The audience sat in complete, awed silence. Then, applause.
“Okinawa teaches you that beauty and sadness live in the same room,” she explains. “That’s what I try to put in my songs.”
At 24, the Okinawa-born singer-songwriter has become an unlikely standard-bearer for a quiet revolution. Her latest album, Tokei no Hari wa Modoranai (The Clock Hands Won’t Turn Back), debuted at No. 3 on the Oricon charts—not through viral dance challenges, but through something almost subversive: . saya natsukawa
“I don’t think of myself as a rebel,” Natsukawa says, laughing softly over tea in a Shibuya recording studio. Her voice—honeyed, slightly raspy at the edges—is instantly recognizable. “I just couldn’t pretend anymore.” Born in Naha, Natsukawa grew up surrounded by the sanshin and the distinct, melancholic scales of traditional Okinawan min’yō. But it was 2000s J-rock ballads—specifically MISIA and Angela Aki—that made her want to write.
After moving to Tokyo at 18, she spent three years performing in live houses to audiences of ten or fewer. Her break came not from a TV talent show, but from a now-deleted demo uploaded to YouTube: Ame no Asa ni (On a Rainy Morning). The clip, filmed on a smartphone in her cramped apartment, shows her playing a slightly out-of-tune upright piano while rain streaks the window. No effects. No filter.
“Perfection is a lie,” she says. “The crack is where the light gets in. Didn’t Leonard Cohen say that?” Next month, Natsukawa embarks on her first acoustic tour of bookstores and small galleries—venues with capacities under 200. “I want to hear people breathe,” she explains. She’s also quietly working on an English-language EP, though she’s nervous. “My English is very katakana ,” she admits, grinning. In an era where J-pop is increasingly defined
Her breakthrough single, Kawaranai Mono (Things That Don’t Change), opens with the sound of a chair creaking and her clearing her throat—elements Kameda fought to keep. The song, a slow-burning piano ballad about a childhood friendship fractured by time, became an anthem for Japan’s “lost generation” of young adults navigating isolation.
“She refuses pitch correction. Not as a gimmick—she genuinely feels uncomfortable with it,” Kameda says. “Most young singers want to sound like an ideal. Saya wants to sound like a person.”
In an industry chasing algorithms, Saya Natsukawa chases something riskier: the imperfect, unquantifiable, and deeply human. She performs barefoot
By A. Nakamura Photography by R. Tanaka
Within six months, it had 8 million views. Natsukawa’s producer, veteran Seiji Kameda (Tokyo Incidents, Shiina Ringo), describes working with her as “un-learning” modern production.
Buy Personal Edition license
You can buy personal license with PayPal or direct card payment (with Gumroad). All payments are processed securely.
You should receive license key to your buyer e-mail address in several minutes after payment.
Please check your spam folder. If you don't receive email in reasonable time, please try resending your license key
Personal License can be used only for personal purposes. You must agree to be bound by terms of license agreement.
Icons by Icons8
Business Edition license
If you want to use program at business environment, you should buy Business License.
It is perfectly suited for corporate use: 100% compatible with all Windows 7 start menu group policies and settings + has additional group policies which will help you restrict features
as well as customize appearance.
Additional features provided by Business License
- Offline license activation (Only licenses for 1000PC and up).
- Priority e-mail support.
- Future optional updates.
Business Edition License Agreement
Mini-FAQ
Does Business license requires downloading special version?
No. Currently, Business license key is applicable to standard program version you download.
Can I split, resell my license key?
No. You can't resell, split, sublicense, lease or rent your license key. You may want to resell Personal Edition instead.
How do I proceed with offline activation?
Offline activation is possible with StartIsBack+ version 1.7.5 and later and only available to license keys for 1000PC or more. To use it, either:
- Prepare OS image with StartIsBack+ installed and activated online; such image won't be tied to hardware, or
- Save activation response when using 'Activate by web browser' request and use it on another PC, or
- Contact support
Buy Business Edition License Key
You should receive license key to your Paypal buyer e-mail address in several minutes after payment.
Please check your spam folder.
If you don't receive email in reasonable time, please contact me
Sorry, but there are no alternate payment methods now.
Query license information
If you have lost or never received your license key, use the form below.
General support
If you have licensing or urgent support questions, please email me to 
StartIsBack MSFN forum