Boot directly into Windows 8.1 Desktop using Explorer script

You can avoid Metro Lock Screen at start-up by forcing the desktop mode application to load as soon as you log-in. Here, basically, you overlay the Metro screen with Desktop mode, by creating an Explorer Script file that launches the desktop.

Boot directly into Windows 8.1 Desktop

I recently came across a post on LaptopMag, which showed a way to boot directly onto the Windows 8 desktop using a script. Well – while I may not personally prefer to use this method – it indeed is very useful for someone who just does not want to see the start screen first as soon as Windows 8 starts.

To do this:

Open Notepad and enter the following text,

[Shell]

Command =2

IconFile=Explorer.exe,3

[Taskbar]

Command=ToggleDesktop

Save the file as showmydesktop.scf to a suitable location
Then, access the Windows 8 charm bar and select the ‘Search’ option.
Now, locate ‘Task Scheduler’ using the ‘Search’ option. Alternatively, you can find the ‘Task Sceduler’ by accessing ‘Control Panel’ and then navigating to ‘Administrative Tools’.
Next, choose ‘Task Scheduler Library’ option present under ‘Task Scheduler (Local)’.

Right-click in the right window pane and select ‘Create New Task’ option.

Enter a name(example – ShowDesktop)under the ‘General’ tab.

Now, make the task trigger at start-up by clicking ‘New’ in the trigger tab and selecting ‘At log on’ under ‘Begin the task list’.

Turn the script into an action by clicking ‘New’ on the ‘Actions’ tab, selecting ‘Start a program’ from the Action menu, and entering the full path of showmydesktop.scf (eg: C:\myscripts\showmydesktop.scf) in the Program/script field.