Thread: Boot to the 'Classic' desktop in Windows 8 Consumer Preview

If you want Windows 8 to open up to Classic Desktop instead on the Metro UI then you could follow this article


Boot to the 'Classic' desktop in Windows 8 Consumer Preview | ZDNet

Hi Jack! Hmmm, you don't want to yell that at the airport!

Anyway all we really need is some kind of .bat file that clicks the Windows button when the Start Page comes up.

I don't know how you would do that anymore, (at one time I could create .bat files to do anything) but Windows has marched on.

This seems like a lot of work just to not have to push the Windows button to switch back and forth.

I've got my desktop all set up now so that I almost never need to go to the Start Page once I get my desktop loaded.

Everything I use is on my desktop.

Mike

Sorry, I didn't read the article. The eyes are bothering me today.

But what I did was put this shortcut in my Startup folder.

C:\WINDOWS\explorer.exe shell:::{3080F90D-D7AD-11D9-BD98-0000947B0257}

During the boot-up process, there is a few second pause at the Metro screen and then the boot continues right to my desktop.

I don't sit here and wait for a boot up anyway. Typically, I flip the big switch to start that Power ON and boot process and then I step into the kitchen for a cup of coffee. By the time I get back to the PC, it's UP at my desktop screen and ready for..... whatever.

Cheers Mates!
The Doctor

Hi Who

I never thought of just putting it in the start up folder.
Great Idea!

I'll do that, my routine is the same, start my computer wait for the boot menu, tell it Windows 8, go get coffee.

Mike

OK! OK! Curiosity got the better of me. (curiosity killed the cat)

I printed out the instructions and then rebooted from XP into Win-8/CP.
At the bottom of the first page of the instructions, it said, "Go to Control Panel > System and Security....bla bla bla" , but there is no "System and Security" location....at least not on my Win-8/32. So I went directly on to "Administrative Tools" and from there, with only a little trouble, completed the task.

I noticed only a few second difference, between just the script in the Startup folder and the much more complicated task of putting the script into the Task Scheduler.

I can totally automate the task of installing the little script into the Startup folder, , but not so sure about automating the other thing.

Possibly, someone will come up with a Registry Script that could do that. Not me though, I barely get by with simple batch files.

I'll be back!
Doc

OK! I'm back and I've taken the batch file out of the Startup folder and just let the PC boot up from the script in the Task Manager/Scheduler. The second process is faster, but only by a few seconds, hardly worth all the added effort. But it does work, for those capable of following all the pages of instructions to get the job done. And if you have to reload Win-8 (which I have several times already) you'd have to go through all that process again.

I'm going to commit the short process to an installation batch file, in a folder with the Start2Desk.bat program and I'll add that to my "Win8Stuff" folder on my Utilities Disk. Then, adding the Boot to Desktop feature can be added to Win-8 in about two sec's.

One last time!

I've done both the short way, to boot directly to desktop and the long way on both Win-8/32 and Win-8/64.

Timing the best I could without a stop watch, it seemed that the difference between the short way and the long way was only about two seconds.

I have the short method, with an "Install" batch file, in a folder which I can share with anyone wanting or needing it.

Cheers Mates and Happy St Patrick's day!

The Doctor

I put it in the Start Folder and it works fine.

Mike

For those who may not know exactly how to do that, I've put the shortcut and an Install batch file in a folder, zipped that up and put it on my website, for easy download.
http://www.drwho.in/Boot-2-Desk.rar

Download it, unzip it and run it. Job done.
It will reboot your PC for you after the install.

Cheers Mates!
The Doctor

I agree with Mike. I have my Start Page set up so that I can get to 90% of the software I use during the
day from the Start screen

Switching between applications (programs) is so easy and fast I just wish I had a touch screen.
I am running Windows 8 on my laptop that I use for tutoring and demos and the only problem I have is
with my older projector that only has a display resolution of 1024 x 768.

With Win-8 now booting right to the desktop, without any added software, that might mess up Windows, things are definitely looking up. Things that require two to six steps to get to, I'm just putting on the desktop as a shortcut, or putting in the Task Bar (Quick Start Menu) for a one-click startup, like Wordpad and Notepad.

Of course, it's subject to change, but here's my desktop today:



At the top of the screen is a folder called, "Extra Stuff", for things I want quick access to, but don't use every day.
That keeps my desktop from getting too crowded.

Cheers Mates, I hope y'all had a great St Patrick's day,
The Doctor