Even before the official release of Windows 8, a number of tools had cropped up on the internet for skipping the Start Screen. We at Winaero ourselves offer you our Skip Mero Suite. But today, we are going to share a simple tweak that can natively boot Windows 8 to the desktop. Let's start.
In short: We will install a system licensing policy which allow the OS to go to the Desktop directly after startup. After installing Windows 8, it is necessary to apply this policy. It is preferable that you apply this tweak before you activate Windows 8. If you have already activated, applying this tweak will require re-activation of the OS. Sounds a bit complex, doesn't it? Don't worry, I have prepared ready-to-use files that do all the dirty work for you. All you need is just a product key for your Windows 8, which you probably already have.
Here's how to do it step-by-step:
1. Download this ZIP file from here.
2. Unpack all files into some folder, for example, into C:\NoMetro.
3. Right click on the '__wrapper.cmd' file and choose "Edit". Notepad will open that file.
4. Navigate to the fourth line and replace the "YOUR-WINDOWS8-SERIAL-NUMBER-HERE" part with your genuine product key for Windows 8.
5. Save the file and run Install.cmd
That's it. Windows 8 will reboot automatically and will boot directly into Desktop mode from now on, at every boot. Enjoy!
In case you miss the Start Screen at logon, the "Undo-boot-to-desktop.reg" file is included. Just merge it by double clicking it, no other actions are required.
Bonus tip: You can disable the charms bar and switcher to make your Windows 8 less annoying in Desktop mode. Also check our AutoPin Controller - it will help you to keep your Start Screen clean.
Download native skip metro package
Many thanks to our friends from MyDigitalLife forums for sharing this tip: @KNARZ, @moderate, @frwil and @ace2.
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Works like a charm! Can you explain in more details of how this works? What does ele.exe do exactly?
ELE – re-open your current command prompt windows with Administrator’s rights
ele /?It modifies system policy and allows to Explorer read the registry key which controls Metro behavior
This is obviously a hack to steal your product key before you activate!
Your are obviously wrong, because you are didn’t look at PLAIN TEXT FILES which are provided :P You can avoid ELE (which is only one binary file) and run script from elevated command line to get it working with plain text :P
Hi Sergey,
what the heck – the files BootToDesktop.reg and Undo-boot-to-desktop.reg are identical !?
Another question: can you please explain your own different aproach with Skip Mero Suite.
Have a nice day,
Chris