SOLVED: Classic Shell Start Menu stops loading at startup after you upgrade to Windows 8.1

If you are using the Free Classic Shell program to add a start menu back to Windows 8 and you upgrade to Windows 8.1 you may experience issues with it running at startup and taking you to desktop mode.  It is a simple fix as long as you know whether you are running the 32 or 64 bit version of Windows on your computer.

Start by right clicking on your desktop and choose new and create a new shortcut to cmd.com.  Then right click on the shortcut and choose run as administrator from the popup context menu. Click OK if you get any security warnings.

When the command C prompt appears type the following in the window:

For a 64 bit version of Windows 8.1 type:

regsvr32 startmenuhelper64.dll

then press the return key.

For 32 bit version of windows type:

regsvr32 startmenuhelper32.dll

then press the return key

That should resolve the problem and Classic Shell should work properly.  If you don't know what version you are running right click on your computer icon in the start menu and choose properties to get your windows version. 

Be sure you go into the advanced settings of Classic Shell and set it to skip the metro screen if you want to boot to the desktop.