Windows 8.1 Desktop Fix
Friday January 10th 2014, 8:13 pm
Filed under: Windows

The new tile interface in Windows 8 has its fans, but if you don’t like it then it’s possible to completely get rid of it as of Windows 8.1.

Part I: Upgrading Windows 8.0 to 8.1

Step 1. Go to the Windows Store in the tile menu; a Windows 8.1 upgrade tile should appear.

Step 2. If the tile doesn’t appear, install this update.

Step 3. Return to the Store in the tile menu and install the Win 8.1 upgrade.


Part II: Once you’re running Windows 8.1

Step 1. Right-click on the taskbar and choose Properties > Navigation.

Step 2. To enable booting to desktop, uncheck everything in the top pane and check everything in the bottom pane:

Step 3. Next, to restore the traditional Start Menu, install the Classic Shell utility.

Step 4. Right-click the Start Button and choose Settings. In the Start Menu Settings tab, click Aero and Windows 7 style to get the familiar Win7 layout. Or customize to taste.

Step 5. If the Start Button shows the Classic Shell logo, uncheck Replace Start Button to return to the regular Windows logo.

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