3 Way To Boot Straight to Desktop in Windows 8

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The rumor of Microsoft to block ability to boot straight to desktop in Windows 8 apparently is not so true. The old tricks still managed to be working just fine. Here is a wrap up of 3 neat ways of them.

Windows 8 desktop thumb - 3 Way To Boot Straight to Desktop in Windows 8

1. A good use of old school Show Desktop icon

The old school Show Desktop icon on XP desktop is actually a text-based icon file named Show Desktop.scf that you can re-create yourself if you’ve ever missed it. This Microsoft KB shows you the details of how you can re-create it. And some smart minds have figured out a way to make a good use of this icon file that fools Windows 8 to switch to Desktop. Simply put the icon file into Start Up menu or schedule it to be run at log on, and Windows 8 will be fooled to automatically switch you back to Desktop.

Here is the details we’ve covered before. And it still works on Windows 8 RTM. To make it easy for you, you can download the ShowDesktop.scf from here. Make sure to right click on it and choose Save the link as.

2. A better executable to the Desktop

While the old school of Show Desktop works, guys from 7Tutorials think it has the side effects and have compiled a better executable that would send you straight to desktop without any side effects.

You will still need to create a task schedule to run the executable at log on. From my test, it does run a lot smoother than the Show Desktop trick.

You can download the executable file (direct download link) and follow up their very detailed instruction to set it up. Here are the settings you will need to pay more attention to when setting up the task in the scheduler.

  • Run only when user is logged on
  • Begin the task at log on
  • Any user can run it
  • Uncheck the option “Start the task only if the computer is on AC power”.

These settings also applies when scheduling the Show Desktop icon.

3. The cool Start8 from StartDock

Start8 is pretty cool. It not only allows you to boot straight to Desktop but also brings the Windows Start Menu back with a Modern-Style that shows all your Windows 8 Apps on the Start menu.

Start8 Screenshot thumb - 3 Way To Boot Straight to Desktop in Windows 8

Conclusion

Start8 is an all-in-one package if you want both Start Menu and Desktop back while the first 2 methods only bring you the latter. Personally, I may not be using any of them, since I have been very good at pressing Win+D since XP. Besides, I want to use the vanilla system at the stage to get more familiar with all the new things in Windows 8. I would suggest that in case you are already planning to use Windows 8 as your main production computer you may want to leave out all these tweaking tools at least for now to give yourself opportunity experiencing the new thing.

18 COMMENTS

  1. “Start8 is pretty cool. It does not only does it allow you to boot straight to Desktop…” It does not what? What does it do?!?

  2. [HELP]
    hey guyzzz… desktop icon is gone from start menu… and even when i open any app from start menu and move my cursor to left top, no option for desktop… is there any way to get back my desktop option in start menu ???

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