Start button

1. The Start button was first introduced with the release of Microsoft Windows 95 and found with all future releases of Microsoft Windows up to Windows 8. The Start button allows users to access their computer programs or configure Microsoft Windows easily. In the picture to the right, are different examples of the Start buttons found in Windows. The first gray Start button was the first Start button found in many of the initial releases of Microsoft Windows. In the second picture, this Start button made a brief appearance in Windows XP. Last, this Start button also known as the Start Orb is just the Windows logo in a circle and used with Windows Vista and Windows 7.
By default, the Windows Start button has always been found in the bottom left-hand part of the screen. This can be changed to the top left or top right-hand of the screen by moving the Windows Taskbar. Clicking the Start button opens the Start Menu, which gives access to all the programs installed on the computer, search, run, access to the Control Panel, and documents.

Tip: In Windows 8, the Start button has been replaced by the Start Screen. Users can also get the Windows 8 Start button back by using a third-party utility.

2. Start is also a command line command that enables a user to start a separate window in Windows from the Windows command line. See the start command page for further information on this command.