How to Disable Start Menu Auto-Expand on Windows 10

Windows 10 does not document a built-in switch for the Start menu’s old hover-to-expand behavior. The historical workaround uses Mach2, a third-party utility that changes hidden Windows feature settings. It is a legacy method, not a supported fix for current Windows builds: Mach2’s maintainer says the tool is retired and unsupported on Windows 10 version 2004 or newer. Check your version before downloading anything, and skip the commands if your PC is on 2004 or later.

Check your Windows 10 version

Open Start > Settings > System > About and look under Windows specifications for Version and OS build. Microsoft’s device information guide describes where to find these details. This workaround was associated with the Windows 10 version 1909-era Start menu; it is not verified for every older build. If About shows version 2004 or newer, stop here.

The example About screen shows version 22H2, so it is outside Mach2’s supported range. The tool controls an undocumented Windows Feature Store. Its own documentation notes that Windows may ignore a configured feature state depending on the build. A successful command therefore does not guarantee that the Start menu will change.

Disable auto-expand with the legacy Mach2 method

1. Get the archive from the project’s release page. Use the official Mach2 releases on GitHub, not a third-party repack. The repository is archived and read-only. If Windows Security blocks the file, do not bypass the warning.
2. Extract the ZIP file. In File Explorer, right-click the downloaded ZIP and select Extract All. Keep the extracted files together; the project README notes that Mach2 requires the companion msdia120.dll file.

After extraction, confirm that the Mach2 executable and its companion files are in the folder you plan to use. The Downloads view below shows an example of the ZIP and extracted folder side by side.

3. Open Command Prompt as administrator. Select Start, type cmd, right-click Command Prompt, choose Run as administrator, and approve the User Account Control prompt if you trust the downloaded tool.

4. Go to the extracted folder and disable the feature. In the elevated Command Prompt, change the example path if you extracted Mach2 elsewhere. Then run the feature command:

cd /d "%USERPROFILE%\Downloads\mach2"
mach2 disable 18715789

The feature ID 18715789 is the identifier used by this historical workaround. Restart Windows after the command, then hover over the Start menu’s left-side app-list area to check whether it stays collapsed. If it does not, do not repeat the tweak on an unsupported build or experiment with other feature IDs.

Restore the previous behavior

To explicitly turn the feature back on, reopen an elevated Command Prompt, return to the same extracted folder, and run:

cd /d "%USERPROFILE%\Downloads\mach2"
mach2 enable 18715789

Restart Windows after enabling it. Mach2 also describes a Revert operation that removes a forced setting and lets Windows choose the default state; because command options can vary by release, check mach2 --help in the copy you downloaded before using that option.

Use a built-in Start menu option instead

If your goal is to keep the full app list out of sight, Windows 10 offers a supported setting: open Settings > Personalization > Start and turn off Show app list in Start menu. Microsoft documents this option in its Start menu customization guide. This hides the app list; it does not disable the mouse-hover expansion behavior.

Keep the support dates in mind before relying on an old workaround. Windows 10 version 1909 Home and Pro left servicing on May 11, 2021, and Microsoft lists October 14, 2025, as the end-of-support date for Windows 10 version 22H2. See Microsoft’s 1909 servicing notice and Windows 10 end-of-support notice for edition details. On an unsupported PC, prioritize moving to a supported Windows release over changing undocumented feature switches.