How to Setup Windows 8/8.1 so you NEVER see the tile desktop
Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2014 2:27 pm
Posting this here for the benefit of some friends and family who need a tutorial.
1) Open Internet Explorer. If you're in the Windows 8 tile desktop, click on the small Internet Explorer icon or, if you don't see it, just type "Internet Explorer" (without quotes) which should bring up a list of shortcuts that match.
2) Download the latest version of the free program Classic Shell and install from: http://www.classicshell.net/downloads/
3) When Classic Shell runs for the first time, place a checkmark next to "Show All Settings" and click on the radio button next to "Windows 7 Style":
4) Click on the "Windows 8 Settings" tab and place a checkmark next to "Skip Metro screen" and click the radio button next to "All" under "Disable Active Corners". Then click OK.
5) Now you need to associate files with the classic windows programs instead of the (default) Tile desktop apps, so when you double click on a file it opens a viewer or player in the classic desktop. To do this, click on the Windows Start button in the lower left corner to open the Start menu:
If you have the older Windows 8 instead of Windows 8.1, the start button will look like this:
6) Click on the search box in the Start Menu:
7) Then type in the search box "set default programs" (without quotes). This will show you a link to "Set Your Default Programs". Click on this link.
8) In the "Set Default Programs" window, click on "Windows Media Player" to highlight it. Then click the button to the right that says "Set this program as default":
9) Do the same for "Window Photo Viewer":
10) Finally, download and install the latest Adobe Reader from here: http://get.adobe.com/reader/
NOTE: Uncheck the "Optional Offer" to install McAfee's worthless Security Scan Plus, or any other "Optional" offers.
When the Adobe Reader installer runs, it will ask if you want to open PDF files with Adobe Reader by default. Answer YES to avoid opening PDFs in the tile desktop PDF reader.
That's it! You should never see the Tile desktop again.
1) Open Internet Explorer. If you're in the Windows 8 tile desktop, click on the small Internet Explorer icon or, if you don't see it, just type "Internet Explorer" (without quotes) which should bring up a list of shortcuts that match.
2) Download the latest version of the free program Classic Shell and install from: http://www.classicshell.net/downloads/
3) When Classic Shell runs for the first time, place a checkmark next to "Show All Settings" and click on the radio button next to "Windows 7 Style":
4) Click on the "Windows 8 Settings" tab and place a checkmark next to "Skip Metro screen" and click the radio button next to "All" under "Disable Active Corners". Then click OK.
5) Now you need to associate files with the classic windows programs instead of the (default) Tile desktop apps, so when you double click on a file it opens a viewer or player in the classic desktop. To do this, click on the Windows Start button in the lower left corner to open the Start menu:
If you have the older Windows 8 instead of Windows 8.1, the start button will look like this:
6) Click on the search box in the Start Menu:
7) Then type in the search box "set default programs" (without quotes). This will show you a link to "Set Your Default Programs". Click on this link.
8) In the "Set Default Programs" window, click on "Windows Media Player" to highlight it. Then click the button to the right that says "Set this program as default":
9) Do the same for "Window Photo Viewer":
10) Finally, download and install the latest Adobe Reader from here: http://get.adobe.com/reader/
NOTE: Uncheck the "Optional Offer" to install McAfee's worthless Security Scan Plus, or any other "Optional" offers.
When the Adobe Reader installer runs, it will ask if you want to open PDF files with Adobe Reader by default. Answer YES to avoid opening PDFs in the tile desktop PDF reader.
That's it! You should never see the Tile desktop again.