Anvi OneStart is a replacement Start Menu for Windows 8/ 8.1.

After an easy, ad-ware free installation, the program adds a Windows 7-style Start button to your desktop. Clicking this displays a fairly accurate replica of the old Start menu, with a Search box, pinned programs, links to system folders, and so on. And of course there's a Shutdown menu with Restart, Sleep and all the other usual options.

One immediate problem we noticed is that the Search didn't always find what we needed. We're not sure whether this was due to something unusual on our test system, or a more general problem.

OneStart is generally very configurable. If you're bored with the Windows 7 Start button, for instance, you can choose from 14 others (including Apple, Linux and Android). There are a few more available online, or you can make your own.

The menu itself can be tweaked in many ways. You're able to set its background colour, transparency (on or off), the elements you'd like to be included (pinned applications, system folders, Recently Opened programs, the Run box), the default Power button option, and more.

You can choose where OneStart's Search box will search: Documents, Music, Programs, Control Panel and more. (This didn't seem to affect our Search problem).

What's unusual here, though, is that you can also ditch all this, and choose to display part of your Start Screen in the menu area, instead. Click the Start button and the bottom left corner of your screen will then display your Start Screen, so you can view live tiles, perhaps launch a Windows 8 app without switching fully away from the desktop.