Is there a way to boot Windows 8 (RTM) to the desktop?

By Elliot B.
in Microsoft (Windows)

 Share

Recommended Posts

Experienced

CG-88

Posted
Posted

MSFT included no option to boot directly to desktop from what im aware of, goes straight to modern-ui.

I know they didnt in the RP and from what I have read it is not in the RTM.

And yeah people have used the hacks and they have worked perfectly in the RP but in RTM I dont think they work based on some comments on winunleaked

Grand Master

+Frank B. Subscriber²

Posted
  • Subscriber²
Posted

It's one click to go to the desktop. Once its loaded don't reboot the PC anymore unless it's for updates; put it to sleep instead.

Problem solved.

Grand Master

Elliot B.

Posted
  • Author
Posted

It's one click to go to the desktop. Once its loaded don't reboot the PC anymore unless it's for updates; put it to sleep instead.

Problem solved.

I see no option anywhere to put the PC to sleep. Searching the full screen Start menu for "Sleep" produces no results.

Also, it's not one click. First you have to "sign in" and then you click to go to the Desktop. Sure, you can use netplwiz to disable requiring a password, but I would still rather skip the full screen Start menu.

Veteran

ZakO

Posted
Posted

I haven't used it but I believe Stardock has a free utility that allows you to boot straight to the desktop?

A password was mandatory during installation!

What version of Windows 8 did you install? None of the versions I've installed (CP-RP-RTM) have had a mandatory password during installation.

Grand Master

Elliot B.

Posted
  • Author
Posted

"Start8" from Stardock still works. Using it on Win8 RTM as we speak.

I just wish there was a way to get the "old" start menu back.

Ooh, I'll give that a whirl :) Thanks.

I haven't used it but I believe Stardock has an app that allows you to boot straight to the desktop?

What version of Windows 8 did you install? None of the versions I've installed (CP-RP-RTM) have had a mandatory password during installation.

When you install the RTM, it asks you to sign in to your MIcrosoft Account.

It then uses that as a PC login.

Grand Master

Lexcyn

Posted
Posted

When you install the RTM, it asks you to sign in to your MIcrosoft Account.

It then uses that as a PC login.

To be fair you can set a "PIN" instead of using your password... that's what I do since my Live password is a randomly generated strong password that I would never remember lol

Grand Master

Brandon H Supervisor

Posted
  • Supervisor
Posted

When you install the RTM, it asks you to sign in to your MIcrosoft Account.

It then uses that as a PC login.

yes it asks if you want to use that but there's still an option down in the corner (forget what the option is exactly, it's like customize or something) that gives you the choice of using a local account
Apprentice

AnDom

Posted
Posted

Classic Shell 3.51 also has the option to bypass the "Start" screen and go directly to the desktop... along with giving you a fairly functional start menu to boot.

I have not played around with it too much though, loaded it while I was playing with Windows 8 in a Virtual Machine yesterday.

Neowinian

jimlaman8

Posted
Posted

There are a few ways to do this.. some of which are posted here. One involves creating a task that will launch automatically after login (which you can also set to do automatically, the login).. Another being the move the desktop tile to the top trick.

Grand Master

Jose_49

Posted
Posted

Ooh, I'll give that a whirl :) Thanks.

When you install the RTM, it asks you to sign in to your MIcrosoft Account.

It then uses that as a PC login.

It is not mandatory. If you look carefully enough, it will ask you at the left corner if you want to use a local account.

Anyways, if you want auto-login do this:

Open Run (Winkey + r)

Type "control userpasswords2" without commas and with the space.

Uncheck "Users must enter a name and password to use this computer."

Press "OK"

Put your password.

Voil?

Experienced

Routerbad

Posted
Posted

A password was mandatory during installation!

There are local policy settings available to allow blank passwords. I see your point, though. You can't count that against the time it takes to get to the desktop because it's mandatory by default.

Experienced

Routerbad

Posted
Posted

Ooh, I'll give that a whirl :) Thanks.

When you install the RTM, it asks you to sign in to your MIcrosoft Account.

It then uses that as a PC login.

If you are not connected to a network during setup it will create a local account instead, I'm not sure if it requires a password TBH because I restarted after I realized that so I could use the MS account.

Experienced

Kelxin

Posted
Posted

OFMG, the title of the thread is

Is there a way to boot Windows 8 (RTM) to the desktop?

not, ask me why I want to go to the desktop, or bitch about me wanting the desktop, or tell me how simple it is to click on the button to go to the desktop. or complain that the person doesn't like the craptastic metro junk.

To actually ANSWER your question, I've found that replacing

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon]

"Shell"=explorer.exe

with

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon]

"Shell"="explorer.exe /select,explorer.exe

Still works in the RTM x64 Pro version of Windows 8 to force the start screen to close and your desktop to open on bootup.

Grand Master

Raa

Posted
Posted

Still works in the RTM x64 Pro version of Windows 8 to force the start screen to close and your desktop to open on bootup.

Just tried this, and it flashed in the classic shell, then went to modern, then back to classic opening my libraries window.

Any chance that it can just show the classic shell, but not the libraries window?

Great tip though, thanks. (Y)

Grand Master

Noir Angel

Posted
Posted

I'd recommend Tihiy's mod that allows you to use the 7 explorer in Windows 8, whilst retaining the explorer ribbon but putting the start button back and bypassing the start screen completely. Since version 0.3 the grey taskbar bug is fixed it's well worth using.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Posts

    • Poll: Grand Theft Auto VI price predictions, cast your vote

      By Asgardi · Posted

      Exactly. They won't go 100 because current gen consoles are simply too old for any groundbreaking graphics or gaming experience otherwise. They will go with standard (console) price 70 or go with 80 if they really want to go premium. Of course they will have more expensive options too with some useless cosmetics as always.
    • The Light of Life? We actually do glow till our Death, study finds

      By Co-ords · Posted

      Doesn’t surprise me at all. God is light & He gave us life so it sounds almost logical that we would therefore emit a certain amount of light.
    • Hey Google, these are the Gemini features I want in 2026

      By Xenon · Posted

      This is what I want. Hey Gemini, how do I remove you from all my google products permanently?
    • Microsoft confirms Windows 11 26H2 to finally get one of the most requested features

      By WindowsPhone · Posted

      I would never install install this build before rtm process. only 3 months to go. never install on your daily devices. just wait 3 months.
    • Motrix Next 3.9.6

      By Copernic · Posted

      Motrix Next 3.9.6 by Razvan Serea Motrix Next is a modern, open-source cross-platform download manager built as the official next-generation successor to the original Motrix project. It has been completely rewritten using Tauri 2, Vue 3, TypeScript, and Rust, while still relying on the powerful Aria2 download engine for high-speed multi-protocol transfers. The app supports HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, BitTorrent, ED2K and magnet links, offering advanced features like multi-connection acceleration, task scheduling, bandwidth control, and batch download management. With a significantly reduced install size (around 20MB), it focuses on being lightweight, fast, and resource-efficient compared to traditional Electron-based download tools. Designed for Windows, macOS, and Linux, Motrix Next delivers a clean, modern UI inspired by Material Design 3 principles, with smooth animations and a minimal workflow. It improves usability through better download organization, system tray integration, and enhanced torrent handling including selective file downloads and tracker management. Motrix Next features: Multi-protocol downloads — HTTP, FTP, BitTorrent, Magnet, .torrent, ED2K, and Metalink tasks BitTorrent — Selective file download, DHT, peer exchange, encryption controls, metadata caching, GeoIP peer flags, and tracker probing Browser extension integration — Embedded Extension API with independent authentication, download confirmation, smart auto-submit, filename hints, referer/cookie forwarding, and real-time controls (Chrome Web Store · Edge Add-ons) Safe filename handling — Content-Disposition, RFC 2047, non-UTF-8, percent-encoded, and extensionless URL resolution with path traversal sanitization Download organization — Favorite and recent folders, optional file-type categorization, stale-record cleanup, and completed history backed by SQLite Concurrent downloads — Independent controls for active tasks, HTTP connections per server, segments per file, and BT peer limits Speed control — Global and per-task upload/download limits with day-of-week and time-of-day scheduling System integration — Tray operation, optional tray speed display, macOS Dock badge/progress, protocol handlers for magnet://, thunder://, and motrixnext:// Lightweight mode — Destroys the WebView on minimize-to-tray while Rust keeps the engine, task monitor, notifications, history, and extension routing alive Notifications and power options — Native task start/complete/failure notifications, keep-awake during downloads, and optional shutdown after completion Network controls — Scoped proxy support for downloads, app updates, and tracker updates, plus system proxy detection Auto-update channels — Stable, Beta, and Latest Across Channels policies with separate download and install phases Diagnostics — Structured logs, exportable diagnostic ZIPs, database integrity checks, automatic DB rebuild, and Linux GPU rendering fallback Personalization — Light/dark/system theme, 10 color schemes, 26 languages, and first-launch system language detection Motrix Next 3.9.6 changelog: New Features Clipboard management — App-owned copy actions no longer trigger the Add Task auto-detect popup. aria2 input compatibility — Multi-line aria2-style task input is supported for URLs with per-task options such as out=. BitTorrent IPv6 DHT — Added IPv6 DHT support and related configuration. File category URL patterns — File category rules can match URL patterns with validation and localized hints. Task status tags — Added clearer waiting and sharing states for task cards. Download event bridge — Added an aria2 WebSocket event bridge for faster download notifications. Improvements Improved task list transitions and preserved task state during tab switches. Kept RPC origin access enabled for local integrations. Restored AppImage stripping in release builds after beta validation. Added localized preference guidance across supported languages. Download: Motrix Next 64-bit | ARM64 | macOS ~20.0 MB (Open Source) Links: Website | macOS / Linux | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware

  • Recent Achievements

    • Conversation Starter
      sumytbe earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • One Year In
      B4dM1k3 earned a badge
      One Year In
    • One Year In
      DarkWun earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Dedicated
      Almohandis earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • Dedicated
      JuvenileDelinquent earned a badge
      Dedicated

  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      511
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      181
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      86
    4. 4
      Michael Scrip
      78
    5. 5
      Steven P.
      75
    Show More

  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!