How to Change Start Menu Size in Windows 11

Option 1Change Start Menu Size in Settings

Changing the windows 11 start menu ⊞ size using the Settings ⚙️ app is the quickest and safest way to make the menu larger or smaller. Open the Settings app by pressing the Windows and I keys together, go to Personalization and then Start, and choose your preferred layout option from the menu size settings.

1. Open Settings. You can press the Win and the I key together.
2. On the left side, click Personalization. Then, on the right side, click Start.
3. Look for Start menu ⊞ size. Click the box next to it.
4. You can choose Automatic (this is the default), Small, or Large. Pick the size you want.
5. You can now close the Settings ⚙️ window.

Option 2Change Start Menu Size using the Registry

Adjusting the windows 11 start menu ⊞ size through the Registry Editor allows you to force specific layout changes when the standard options do not work. Open the Registry Editor by typing regedit in the taskbar 🖥️ search, go to 🗝️HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advancedcopy, and modify the relevant key values to update your menu dimensions.

Why do this? Changing the Registry lets you adjust settings that are missing from the Settings ⚙️ app.

What happens when done? Your Start Menu ⊞ will change its size based on the setting you choose in the Registry. You might need to restart your 🔄 computer for the changes to take full effect.

Step 1Open Registry Editor

Note: This step requires administrator privileges.

Press the Windows key and type regedit. Then, right-click on Registry Editor in the search results and select Run as administrator.

Click Yes if a User Account Control prompt appears.

Step 2Navigate to the correct Registry key

In the Registry Editor, go to the following path:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

You can copy and paste this path into the address bar at the top of the Registry Editor window and press Enter.

Step 3Create or Modify the 'StartMenuSize' DWORD value

In the right-hand pane of the Advanced folder, right-click on an empty space. Select New, then click on DWORD (32-bit) Value.

Name the new value StartMenuSize.

Double-click on the newly created StartMenuSize value to edit it.

Step 4Set the Value Data for your desired size

A new window will pop up. In the Value data field, enter one of the following numbers:

• 0 for "Automatic" (default)
• 1 for "Small"
• 2 for "Large"

Step 5Apply the changes

Click OK to save the change.

Close the Registry Editor.

To restart Windows Explorer: Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager. Find Windows Explorer in the list, right-click it, and select Restart.

Summary

Change your Windows 11 Start Menu size using the Settings app by going to Personalization › Start and selecting your preferred layout option (Automatic, Small, or Large). For more advanced control, manually edit the Windows Registry, though this method requires caution and administrator privileges.