Getting rid of Metro interface [closed]

Question

The company I work for primarily runs Windows XP machine. These machines are getting old and need to be replaced. I wanted to wait until Windows 8 was released since it is right around the corner. So, I have downloaded Windows 8 to test run and figure out the problems I am going to have with my users, programs, goup policy, and etc.

After installing I noticed pretty much everything has changed and I was a bit lost for awhile. In my opinion the Metro interface sucks and is definitely going to frustrate my users. If they are not comfortable using it they are going to be bugging me frequently. Not to mention it is going to cause numerous amendments to our group policy.

Overall I think it could be time consuming to support. So, I was wondering if there was a way to disable the Metro interface and show a traditional start button on the desktop. I would like to do this without a hack if at all possible.

Answer 1

There is not a way to disable Metro and replace the Start screen with a Start button. The Start screen will be the way you select programs from now on.

You can still run apps with the traditional desktop and taskbar. You can get to the desktop by clicking the Desktop tile on the Start screen, or using the Windows Key + D on the keyboard. There is no start button the new Win8 taskbar, and clicking the Windows Key on the keyboard will bring up the Start screen.

edit: Windows 8.1 has since added back the good-old "Start" button to the taskbar.

If your users are primarily going to use email and the a web browser for their applications then the Metro UI, while requiring a learning curve, may be a better experience for your users anyway. If your users could benefit from a more mobile, touch-driven experience then Metro again might be better. If you have a lot of power-users that require tools such as Visual Studio or Photoshop, then they are going to spend a lot of time in the traditional desktop as those apps don't make sense with a Metro UI.

Answer 2

Although I haven't been able to get around seeing the (Metro) start screen before I can get to the desktop, I would really recommend you have a look at ClassicShell. It is an OpenSource project that gives you a start menu and a start button. Again, after logging in you will still get to see the start screen and there appears to be no way to get rid of this as was possible in the beta version with the RPEnabled REG_DWORD value.

Furthermore you can get rid of the lock screen (before the login prompt) by means of a policy change. Start gpedit.msc elevated, then go to Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Control Panel -> Personalization and in the left pane double-click the setting Do not display the lock screen and set it to Enabled.

Short of the above I would go with Kate's advice of sticking with Windows 7. Too many desktop users have voiced their discontent with the usability (or rather its lack) in Windows 8, so there is a slim chance Microsoft will have to take action and re-enable some traditional elements. Of course I wouldn't get my hopes too high ...