How to skip the start screen and boot to the desktop in windows 8.1

One of the much complained feature of Windows 8 was that it used to open up the new Tiled Start Screen instead of the traditional Desktop which has been the tradition since the advent of Windows.

Microsoft has always listened to the consumer feedback and improved their products to suit the liking of the users. This time again, Microsoft has implemented a new feature in the updated Windows 8.1, which will allow you to skip the Start screen and boot directly to the Desktop mode when you turn on your PC/Laptop.

How to always open Desktop when turning on the PC

Booting to desktop mode can easily be done through the navigation properties, but because many are unaware of that, follow the detailed steps below.

1. Turn on your PC and enter desktop mode. You can do that by either clicking on the Desktop tile or by pressing Windows Logo Key + D
2. In the desktop, Right Click on the blank area of taskbar (the bottom layer on your screen which includes the icons and currently running programs) and select properties.
   
   
3. After clicking on properties, a new popup titled Taskbar and Navigation Properties will appear. Click on the Navigation tab at the top.
   
4. In the navigation tab, check the option that says Go to Desktop instead of Start when I sign in.
5. That’s it. Click on OK to exit the properties dialog.

You will now be taken to the Desktop instead of Start every time you turn on your PC/Laptop. In case you wish you disable this later on, just uncheck the Go to Desktop instead of Start when I sign in option in the Navigation properties.

Note: This setting is built in to both versions of Windows 8 and Windows RT.

Boot Straight to Desktop Windows 8.1

T0 find the setting, simply right-click and empty area on the Taskbar and select Properties.

When the Taskbar and Navigation Properties window that comes up, select the Navigation tab. Then, check the box next to “Go to the Desktop Instead of Start when I Sign In” under the Start screen section and click OK.

You’re done! The next time you log off or restart your computer and then log in, it will go directly to your desktop. No more annoying Start screen and tiles to deal with!

If you’re on a traditional computer (non touch screen) with a mouse and keyboard — this is the first setting you’ll want to enable before doing anything else. As I’ve said before to many people — The modern UI and metro-style apps are an afterthought on a desktop PC. Of course that’s a completely different story on a Surface or other touch enabled device.

People who have been on the fence about upgrading to the new OS, will appreciate that Microsoft has added this feature. There’s several subtle setting changes you can make that will keep the modern UI out of your desktop experience in Windows 8.1.

We have written about different hacks and third-party utilities that allow you to do this in Win 8 — like Classic Shell or Start8 from Stardock. In fact, you might want to keep those utilities around because they give you the option to get the Start Menu if you want it.

What’s your take on this new feature? Is this something that you enable right away? Leave a comment and share your thoughts!

Microsoft brought Windows 8.1 to the masses just recently, after putting it through a decently long beta period, and it seems that all the feedback that Windows 8 generated (negative one in particular) got the Redmond giant listening. Windows 8.1 boasts a slew of improvements over its predecessor that are quite minor when looked at from afar, but offer solutions for the most annoying quirks that Windows 8 had on offer. The altogether lack of a Start button (only the button, and not menu, of course), improved Modern UI apps, better customization and configuration control are just the tips of the iceberg, which indicate that things might be headed in the right direction.

One of these major complaints with Microsoft’s venture into touch-optimized system was the rather-annoying Start Screen. Granted, it was the placeholder for all your apps, including all the Modern ones with the Live Tiles, but for someone employing Windows 8 on a desktop or notebook that didn’t really come with a touch-screen (or touch based input of any sorts), that was not only screen and feature wasted, but also seemed rather imposed, since there was no way around it. In fact, a lot of third party solutions popped up to address this very concern; booting directly into Desktop mode instead of Start Screen in Windows 8. With the 8.1 iteration, Microsoft has natively addressed that by allowing users to control whether they want to see the Start Screen when the log in, or go directly to the Desktop. We’ll show you how.

Step 1: In Desktop mode, right-click the taskbar and hit Properties.

Step 2: Go to the Navigation tab from top.

Step 3: Under Start screen (bottom pane), check the first option that says “When I sign in or close all apps on a screen, go to the desktop instead of Start”.

Step 4: Hit OK or Apply, and you’re good to go.

Doing so will bypass the Start Screen the next time you log on to Windows, putting you directly face to face with the familiar old Desktop. It will also default the app closing behavior to Desktop instead of Start Screen when all active applications are closed, something that would otherwise land you into the tile-ridden area. So, if you’re not using a system with Windows 8.1 that has a touch input method, you don’t really need to see what you don’t want to.

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Chris Hoffman
Chris Hoffman
Editor-in-Chief

Chris Hoffman is Editor-in-Chief of How-To Geek. He’s written about technology for over a decade and was a PCWorld columnist for two years. Chris has written for The New York Times, been interviewed as a technology expert on TV stations like Miami’s NBC 6, and had his work covered by news outlets like the BBC. Since 2011, Chris has written over 2,000 articles that have been read nearly one billion times—and that’s just here at How-To Geek. Read more.

Windows 8 always shows the Metro-style Start screen when you log in. You don’t have to click the Desktop tile every time you log in, you can boot straight to the desktop with this quick trick.

This is especially useful if you’re using a third-party Start menu like ViStart or Start8, but it’s also useful if you just use the desktop most of the time. You can also quickly get to the desktop from Metro with the Windows Key + D keyboard shortcut.

Creating the Shortcut

First, fire up Notepad — you can do that by pressing the Windows key from the desktop to access Metro, typing Notepad at the Start screen and pressing Enter. Once you have, paste the following text into a new file:

[Shell]
Command=2
IconFile=Explorer.exe,3

[Taskbar]
Command=ToggleDesktop

Save the file with the .scf file extension — name it something like ShowDesktop.scf.

You may remember the “Show Desktop” button found in the Quick Launch area on Windows XP — this is the exact same shortcut.

Using the Task Scheduler

You can set the shortcut to automatically run when you log in with the Task Scheduler. Launch the Task Scheduler by pressing the Windows key again, typing Schedule, clicking the Settings category and selecting the “Schedule tasks” application. You can also find it under Administrative Tools in the Control Panel.

Click the “Task Scheduler Library” folder at the left side of the Task Scheduler window once it appears.

Right-click in the main pane and select “Create New Task.”

On the General tab, name the task something like “Show Desktop.”

Click over to the Triggers tab and use the New button to set a new trigger. In the New Trigger window, set the task to begin “At log on” and click OK.

Click over to the Actions tab and create a new action. Set the action to “Start a program,” use the Browse button to select the shortcut you created, and click OK.

Click over to the Conditions tab and uncheck the “Start the task only if the computer is on AC power” check box under Power. If you don’t do this, your laptop won’t boot to the desktop if it’s running on battery power.

Click OK and you’re done. You’ll start at the desktop every time you log in, but the Start screen will still be a click away.

This method isn’t perfect — you will see Metro for a moment when you log in. It also causes a Windows Explorer window to appear on your desktop at every login.

Leave a comment and let us know if you find a better method!

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Chris Hoffman
Chris Hoffman is Editor-in-Chief of How-To Geek. He’s written about technology for over a decade and was a PCWorld columnist for two years. Chris has written for The New York Times, been interviewed as a technology expert on TV stations like Miami’s NBC 6, and had his work covered by news outlets like the BBC. Since 2011, Chris has written over 2,000 articles that have been read nearly one billion times—and that’s just here at How-To Geek.
Read Full Bio »

Third-party apps can help you, but you can do the same thing without any software

The Start Screen is often considered a confusing feature and it probably is a little bit since so many users are complaining about it.

But the truth is that Windows 8’s Start Screen is actually a fairly helpful feature, as it provides one-click access to most of the apps installed on your operating system.

As you probably know by now if you’ve already taken Windows 8 for a spin, whenever you power on your Windows 8 computer, you have no other option than to load the Start Screen and only then reach the desktop.

In plain English, you start your computer, the operating system gets fully loaded, but you’re stuck to the Start Screen. You can click on the “Desktop” tile if you wish, but there doesn’t seem to be a dedicated option to skip the Start Screen and boot directly to desktop.

There is one actually, but that usually involves a third-party application that does the whole job for you. But what if you want to do the whole configuration thing without any app? Here’s what you need to do.

First of all, use the same Start Screen to launch the “Task Scheduler.” Simply type “Schedule task,” click on the “Settings” category and launch the app.

Once you’re here, you may be a bit confused by the cluttered interface. There are options everywhere, but here’s the good news: we only need a single option. It’s called “Create Basic Task” and it is nothing more than a wizard that guides you throughout the entire configuration process.

Creating a new basic task is as easy as it could be.

First, you are required to input a name and a description for the task. They could be anything you like, but for this tutorial we called the task “Skip the Start Screen.”

Next, you’re prompted to choose how often you want to start the task. There are multiple options, but you need to choose the one saying “When I log on.”

Hit “Next” and you’re again asked to pick from three different options that let you configure the action you want to perform as part of the task. We don’t need to send an e-mail or display a message, we just want to “Start a program.”

Microsoft is planning to change the way its Start Screen operates with the release of Windows 8.1. Sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans have revealed to The Verge that the company is currently testing builds of Windows 8.1, known as codename Windows Blue, that include an option to boot directly to the traditional desktop. We’re told that the option is disabled by default, allowing users to simply turn on the functionality should they want to avoid the “Metro” Start Screen at initial boot or login.

We understand that the hot corner functionality, for access to the Charms and Start Screen, will remain intact if the boot to desktop option is enabled. References to a “CanSuppressStartScreen” option in early builds of the Windows 8.1 registry were recently discovered by members of the My Digital Life forum, but a UI to enable the feature doesn’t appear to be present.

Microsoft’s change of heart follows criticisms of its approach to Windows 8 for traditional desktop PCs with keyboard and mouse usage. Accessory makers have attempted to ease the situation, but Microsoft has faced pressure from businesses and desktop users for options to suppress the Start Screen or bring back the traditional Start Menu and Start button UI. Third-party tools to revive the Start button have proved popular, but it’s highly unlikely that Microsoft will opt to bring the Start Menu back to life itself. We’re told that the boot to desktop option is simply designed to appease desktop users who wish to avoid the Start Screen environment.

Microsoft’s decision to remove the Start menu and replace the same with Start screen in Windows 8 didn’t go well with end users as most XP, Vista, and Windows 7 users who upgraded to Windows 8 either installed third-party Start menu programs, disabled the Start screen or used programs to skip the Start screen to boot directly to desktop.

To help desktop users see the desktop environment without having to click the desktop tile on the Start screen upon signing-in, Microsoft has introduced an option to boot directly to desktop in Windows 8.1. The option is useful for millions of desktop and laptop users who use desktop programs to get things done and spend most of their time in desktop environment. So more often than not, they would like to see the desktop as soon as they sign-in to their PCs.

It’s not that third-party software developed for Windows 8 weren’t good enough to skip the Start screen but it’s always good have a native option than using a third-party program.

How to enable boot to desktop in Windows 8.1:

Step 1: Right-click on the empty space of Taskbar and then click Properties to open Taskbar and Navigation Properties.

Step 2: Switch to the Navigation tab.

Step 3: Here, check the option titled Go to the desktop instead of Start when I sign in. Click Apply button. That’s it!

From next time onwards, whenever you sign-in, you’ll see the desktop instead of Start screen. Meanwhile, if you have installed a Start menu in Windows 8.1 and prefer not to have the Start screen, follow our how to disable the Start screen in Windows 8 guide to completely disable Start screen.

Microsoft has released Windows 8.1 with a variety of new features. Some have been added and some have been removed from the previous version of Windows in Windows 8.1. Windows 8.1 is the latest version of Windows that will replace Windows 8.

Existence Windows 8.1 may be due to various reasons. From lacking features, until there are annoying new features in Windows 8. This causes Microsoft to create and continue to develop Windows 8.1 to become a better version of Windows.

Windows 8.1 it is indeed a better version of Windows. From its features alone, Windows 8.1 can definitely win the competition from other operating systems. Such as the Start screen display, more support for desktop mode, and many others from Windows 8.1.

Windows 8.1 more support for desktop mode than Windows 8 which only supports the Start screen. This causes Windows 8 to not be able to boot directly to desktop. So you have to install third party software to boot directly into desktop mode.

But for Windows 8.1 users, take it easy. Because Windows 8.1 has a setting that can make Windows 8.1 boot directly to the desktop. This is a new feature in Windows 8.1. And you can set Windows 8.1 to boot straight to the desktop easily without installing any third-party software.

And here it is how to boot directly into desktop mode in Windows 8.1 easily and quickly just a few clicks.

How to Boot Directly to the Desktop in Windows 8.1

These are tips how to boot directly to desktop in Windows 8.1 — Follow these steps so that you can set Windows 8.1 to boot directly to desktop.

First enter desktop mode by click on “Desktop” tiles on the Start screen.

Clicking the “Desktop” tile on the Start screen

Right click Taskbar and select Properties.

Right-click the Taskbar and Select Properties

Well, a dialog box appears Taskbar and Navigation properties. This is a dialog box that can control the appearance of the Taskbar and navigate how Windows 8.1 works. In this case, you will set the navigation Windows 8.1 to boot directly to the desktop. Click tab Navigation and check/check this option:

• When I sign in or close all apps on a screen, go to the desktop instead of Start. This option can control how Windows 8.1 boots directly to the desktop or boot to the Start screen.

If you have finished doing the steps above, then click OK. After that try to turn off and restart your computer with the Windows 8.1 operating system. Or you can also sign out and log this back into Windows 8.1.

Want to reset the appearance of Windows 8.1 to its original state? Read tutorials how to reset windows 8.1 start screen display

By following the steps above, you can set Windows 8.1 to boot directly to the desktop easily. Sorry if there is an error in the article How to Boot Directly to the Desktop in Windows 8.1 this and Thank you for reading this article.

One of my chief complaints with Windows 8 is that Microsoft forced you to boot to the new Start screen rather than giving you the option of booting to the desktop–which is where I prefer to hang my computing hat.

You could work around this using any number of utilities (most of which were designed primarily to restore the missing Start button, essential if you are working in Desktop), but with the release of Windows 8.1, Microsoft has added the capability.

In other words, now you can boot directly to the desktop. It’s not immediately obvious how–Microsoft still doesn’t outfit Windows with any “guides to new features” or the like, a silly oversight–but at least it’s easy once you know the steps.

1. After booting Windows 8.1 (here’s how to get the preview if you don’t already have it), click the Desktop tile to enter Desktop mode.

2. Right-click any open area in the taskbar, then click Properties.

3. Click the Navigation tab, then check the box next to Go to the desktop instead of Start when I sign in.

4. Click OK, then reboot. Windows should plunk you right into Desktop.

And that’s all there is to it. If you want to go back to Start-screen booting, just repeat the process and uncheck the box in step 3. (Also, if you don’t have a Navigation tab, leave a comment letting me know. This appears to be an issue for some users. I’m investigating why.)

What are your thoughts on this? Where do you prefer to land when you boot Windows 8?