Backup & restore the start menu layout in Windows 10

Software: Windows 10 | Last modified on 2018-06-18

Backup or restore the start menu layout on any Windows 10 PC.

[Step 1] Backup the Start Menu database

1. Open the Control Panel and click Appearance and Personalisation.
2. Open File Explorer Options and select View.
3. Check Show hidden files, folders and drives and click OK to save the setting.
4. Open the Windows Explorer and navigate to C:\Users \Username \AppData \Local \TileDataLayer. Replace Username with your account name.
5. Copy the Database folder and save the folder on an external location.

You're able to use this folder on any Windows 10 installation to restore your Start Menu layout.

[Step 2] Restore the Start Menu database

1. Sign in with an administrator account other than the account where you want to restore the backup.
2. Open the Windows Explorer and navigate to C:\Users \Username \AppData \Local \TileDataLayer. Replace Username with the account name where you want to restore the backup.
3. Rename the Database folder into Database.old and paste the backup folder inside the TileDataLayer folder.
4. Sign in with the account you've used in step 2 and the restored menu will load.