How to shut down Windows 8 easily, and how to boot to the Desktop

By now, you’ve either upgraded toWindows 8 — or you’ve decided to skip the operating system entirely (at least until Microsoft does something about that pesky Metro Start screen). If you haven’t upgraded, you can probably stop reading now.

If you have upgraded, however, you have probably discovered quite a few irksome “features” that have inexplicably changed since Windows 7 — such as the removal of the Start menu, Smart Screen interfering with your downloaded apps, or how surprisingly difficult shutting down your computer is. This is a series of stories that explains the rationale behind these changes — and then provides you with tips and tricks to restore the missing functionality, or to make Windows 8 a little less clunky.

How to shut down and restart Windows 8 easily

For years, shutting down Windows has been a matter of clicking Start and then Shut Down (or Restart). With Windows 8, Microsoft essentially doesn’t want you to shut down your PC. This kind of makes sense on a tablet computer, where standby/hibernation makes more sense, but restarting a desktop PC is still something that you’ll want to do on a fairly regular basis.

The proper way of shutting down Windows 8 is through the Charms menu, which can be opened by moving your mouse to the top right corner and then sliding down (a horrible gesture), or hitting Windows Key-I (much better). Then just click the Power button and select Sleep, Shut Down, or Restart.

The other option, which I prefer, is simply going to the Desktop and hitting Alt-F4. This pops up the old-school (Windows XP/2000) Windows Shut Down dialog. This method is particularly useful on dual-screen setups, where you will often have the Desktop visible on one of your monitors.

The fastest option is to create a Shut Down shortcut and place it on your Desktop taskbar and Metro Start screen. Right click your Desktop, click New > Shortcut, and then type in:shutdown /s /t 0. (Don’t include the period. That’s a ero, not the letter O.) You can then right click the new shortcut and Pin to Start — and then you can drag it onto your taskbar. Clicking the shortcut will shut down your PC immediately.

An easy way to bypass the Windows 8 Start screen after log-in

For some unknown reason, Microsoft does not provide a configuration setting for bypassing the new Windows 8 Start screen. You would think that, at least on non-touch-enabled devices, Windows 8 would default to the Desktop — but alas, Microsoft in its infinite wisdom thinks that Metro with a mouse and keyboard is a joy to use (it isn’t).

Fortunately, with a little bit of hacking, there’s a very easy way to bypass the Start screen after logging in. Hit Start, type schedule, click Settings, and open “Schedule tasks.” Click Task Scheduler Library from the left pane, Create Task on the right pane, and give it a name like Boot to Desktop.

Then head into the Triggers tab, click New, and then select “At log on” from the drop-down. Click OK. Head to the Actions tab, click New, and then simply type explorer into the Program/script text box. Click OK, OK again, and you’re done. Restart (or sign out) to test it.

How to shut down Windows 8 easily, and how to boot to the Desktop