Remove “Getting Started” from the Windows Phone Home Screen
Oct 25th, 2009 by Joey
In last week’s post about my new AT&T Tilt 2, I asked the question if anyone knew how to remove the “Getting Started” item from the Windows Mobile, I mean Windows Phone 6.5 default menu. There is no menu editor included with my phone (that I can find) so I was stuck with this useless item taking up real estate. Well, I’ve had MANY hits on this blog entry but no one has posted an answer. After poking through the Windows Phone Marketplace I found a free app called the “Home Screen Customizer.” This app is simple and does one thing – allows you to customize the home screen menu. You can remove any item from the menu, but for some reason you can only add certain apps. Additionally, you can easily rearrange the order of the items in the menu.
By the way, if you like the Autumn theme in the screen shots below, you can download for free in this post.
The following screen shots show the Windows Phone 6.5 menu before and after editing. You can clearly see the “Getting Started” item is present in one shot and missing in the next (ignore the time stamps).
Below is the interface of the Home Screen Customizer tool. It’s simple and does its intended job well. To remove an item simply tap the “X” – don’t worry you can add it back if needed. The red heart denotes which menu item is highlighted at load time.
After you customize the menu you can remove the app, or it is small enough to leave in-place. Thanks to these guys for creating this great free app. It is something I was looking for.
![[Bloglines]](http://www.bowlesonline.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/bloglines.png)
![[del.icio.us]](http://www.bowlesonline.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/delicious.png)
![[Digg]](http://www.bowlesonline.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/digg.png)
![[Facebook]](http://www.bowlesonline.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/facebook.png)
![[Google]](http://www.bowlesonline.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/google.png)
![[MySpace]](http://www.bowlesonline.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/myspace.png)
![[Reddit]](http://www.bowlesonline.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/reddit.png)
![[Slashdot]](http://www.bowlesonline.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/slashdot.png)
![[StumbleUpon]](http://www.bowlesonline.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/stumbleupon.png)
![[Twitter]](http://www.bowlesonline.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/twitter.png)
![[Yahoo!]](http://www.bowlesonline.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/yahoo.png)
![[Email]](http://www.bowlesonline.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/email.png)
[...] How do I remove the “Getting Started” menu item? This problem is sovled HERE! [...]
Had you installed .net cf 3.5 on your phone? That messes up Getting Started. I’ve just been able to remove “Getting Started” from the menu by uninstalling .net 3.5 and selecting the ‘Remove Getting Started’ option.
That got rid of it, so now I’ve reinstalled .net 3.5 and the thing hasn’t come back. Hope that helps.
@monomer888, no I have not installed .net. The app worked well for me and it also allowed me to add a few more items to the menu. They just released a new version yesterday.
Thank you!!! This has been driving me crazy! My day is a million times better now that “Getting Started” is gone.