Disable Metro

networkn

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Hi There!

Is it possible to disable Metro or at least get back the Windows 7 Start Menu (with Search)?

I am happy for third party applications paid and free to be recommended?

Cheers
 

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No, it's not.
And, first of all, there is search in Start Screen - from desktop, you just click on Windows button and start typing - You will get what You search instantly!

Capture 1.JPG

But, if You don't like it, and want old style menu, You have several start menus in Windows 7 style - try Classic Shell.

screenshot.png
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 8 Pro WMC, OS X Mavericks
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    ASUS P7P55D-E
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    Logitech LX5
With Classic shell, you can bypass the Metro and finish off on the legacy desktop. .- Not a great deal of difference, but with the enhanced performance of Windows 8. Classic is very customisable, but this is mine.:

Classic.png
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Other Info
    Use several different computers during a day, so specs are irrelevant.
Ugly?! Have you even looked at the gallery?!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 8 Pro WMC, OS X Mavericks
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    i7 860
    Motherboard
    ASUS P7P55D-E
    Memory
    Corsair CMX8G3M2A1600C9D ,DDR3 ,8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5770 ,1 GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U2311H
    Hard Drives
    WD Caviar Black SATA 6.0 1TB x1 ,
    WD Caviar Blue 1TB x1
    WD Caviar Red 4TB
    PSU
    Corsair CMPSU-750TX
    Keyboard
    Logitech S510
    Mouse
    Logitech LX5
There is a beta project going on called patchex7, which aims to bring the start menu back and disable Metro. It looks really promising.

Link
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 Home Premuim x64 & Windows 8 Enterprise RTM x64
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion dv6
    CPU
    Intel Core i3
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Other Info
    My laptop is my only computer. It is about 2 years old.
No ,thank You:

Start Menu Issues
- Start menu pin list and MFU list doesn't work. Instead, Start menu always shows "All programs" list.
- Trying to pin app to start menu by drag&drop will pin it to taskbar instead.
- Choosing "Pin to Start" menu item will add item to Start menu All programs list.

No Metro:
- Win+P doesn't show.
- Metro programs won't run.
- Autoplay popups won't show.
- "You have new program to handle this stuff" popups won't show. You need to use Default programs to change associations.
- Network icon popups don't show since Metro UI isn't started.
- You can't manage Wi-Fi networks. Use third-party program for that.
- You can't manage VPN/dialup connections. Run rasphone for that.
- You can't add new user. Run control userpasswords2 for that.
- "Choose default program to open this file type" is still Metro UI and works.


To much stuff is not working. :shock:
I can live with the Start Screen, I'm used to it now.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 8 Pro WMC, OS X Mavericks
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    i7 860
    Motherboard
    ASUS P7P55D-E
    Memory
    Corsair CMX8G3M2A1600C9D ,DDR3 ,8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5770 ,1 GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U2311H
    Hard Drives
    WD Caviar Black SATA 6.0 1TB x1 ,
    WD Caviar Blue 1TB x1
    WD Caviar Red 4TB
    PSU
    Corsair CMPSU-750TX
    Keyboard
    Logitech S510
    Mouse
    Logitech LX5
Good, that was my goal. :thumbsup:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 Home Premuim x64 & Windows 8 Enterprise RTM x64
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion dv6
    CPU
    Intel Core i3
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Other Info
    My laptop is my only computer. It is about 2 years old.
I think it's poor MS have blocked attempts for users to work the way they want. What's it to them if they have another shell starting! One of the major reasons I don't like Crapple is because I can't choose how I want to work!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W7 x64
The thing you have to realize is that for all intents and purposes, Microsoft considers the desktop to be "legacy". All development moving forward will be focused on Metro, since that is what allows cross-device compatibility (ARM, phones, etc..).

They knew they couldn't just kill the legacy apps, but the whole point of Windows 8 is Metro, and even though 8 brings lots of other nice reasons to upgrade from Windows 7, Metro is what they consider the wave of the future. x86/64 based versions of windows will support legacy apps for a long time to come, but Metro is now considered the primary API.

So in Microsoft's eyes, disabling Metro is effectively Disabling Windows 8. If you don't want Metro, then you should stay on Windows 7.

Windows as we knew it is dead. Long live Windows. (more like in the Monty Python, Bring out your dead sort of way though)
 

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  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
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    Intel i7 3770K
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    Gigabyte Z77X-UD4 TH
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    16GB DDR3 1600
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    nVidia GTX 650
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    Onboard Audio
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    Auria 27" IPS + 2x Samsung 23"
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    Corsair m4 256GB, 2 WD 2TB drives
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    Antec SOLO II
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000
    Mouse
    Logitech MX
The thing you have to realize is that for all intents and purposes, Microsoft considers the desktop to be "legacy". All development moving forward will be focused on Metro, since that is what allows cross-device compatibility (ARM, phones, etc..).

They knew they couldn't just kill the legacy apps, but the whole point of Windows 8 is Metro, and even though 8 brings lots of other nice reasons to upgrade from Windows 7, Metro is what they consider the wave of the future. x86/64 based versions of windows will support legacy apps for a long time to come, but Metro is now considered the primary API.

So in Microsoft's eyes, disabling Metro is effectively Disabling Windows 8. If you don't want Metro, then you should stay on Windows 7.

Windows as we knew it is dead. Long live Windows. (more like in the Monty Python, Bring out your dead sort of way though)

MS can only live to regret that descision... The entire professional industry will move to the Mac if that's the case.

I Hope they can make a living selling a toy version of Windows for phones and tabs because if they kill the desktop, it's over for them...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7/8
MS can only live to regret that descision... The entire professional industry will move to the Mac if that's the case.

I don't think you have thought that through.

First, Apple is doing the exact same thing. They are merging their desktop and iOS systems. They introduced the Mac store just recently.

Second, Mac's cost 50% more in most cases than the equivalent PC, and businesses aren't going to do that.

Third, Apple refuses to license their OS to third parties, and apple has nowhere near the capacity to supply systems to the majority of business out there.

Fourth, MacOS and iOS don't have the kind of corporate management systems that windows has, such as Group Policy.

Fifth, apple has a long history of obsoleting equipment and applications very quickly. They don't much care about backwards compatibility for more than one or two releases. Now, granted that Microsoft is moving people towards metro, but they're keeping the legacy system for a long time to come, and Metro will probably be around for decades.
 

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  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    CPU
    Intel i7 3770K
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    Gigabyte Z77X-UD4 TH
    Memory
    16GB DDR3 1600
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    nVidia GTX 650
    Sound Card
    Onboard Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Auria 27" IPS + 2x Samsung 23"
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    2560x1440 + 2x 2048x1152
    Hard Drives
    Corsair m4 256GB, 2 WD 2TB drives
    Case
    Antec SOLO II
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000
    Mouse
    Logitech MX
Oh I know all about apple....

But if there is no longer a usable windows architecture, what else is there?

Though Apple is sort of heading this way, they have not (yet) actually made the iOS UI the OS of their desktop machines... I doubt they would go that far. And for the same (sane) reasons, if they want to continue to sell desktops, they NEED the professional market. Otherwise there is no point in selling them at all.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7/8
Oh I know all about apple....

But if there is no longer a usable windows architecture, what else is there?

Though Apple is sort of heading this way, they have not (yet) actually made the iOS UI the OS of their desktop machines... I doubt they would go that far. And for the same (sane) reasons, if they want to continue to sell desktops, they NEED the professional market. Otherwise there is no point in selling them at all.

O, I am sure, the classic Windows will stay with us for a long time.

And for Apple, try Mountain Lion - there are a lot's of elements from iOS.
It's only a matter of time when they will unite OS X and iOS.
;)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 8 Pro WMC, OS X Mavericks
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    i7 860
    Motherboard
    ASUS P7P55D-E
    Memory
    Corsair CMX8G3M2A1600C9D ,DDR3 ,8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5770 ,1 GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U2311H
    Hard Drives
    WD Caviar Black SATA 6.0 1TB x1 ,
    WD Caviar Blue 1TB x1
    WD Caviar Red 4TB
    PSU
    Corsair CMPSU-750TX
    Keyboard
    Logitech S510
    Mouse
    Logitech LX5
Indeed. For example, it's going to be hard to do software development under Metro.. at least for a long time to come. I also suspect apps like Photoshop will take a decade or more to move to Metro, though my guess is that Adobe will start experimenting with it, much like they have with iOS.

However, it may be surprising how many apps can be moved to Metro with very little effort.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    CPU
    Intel i7 3770K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z77X-UD4 TH
    Memory
    16GB DDR3 1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GTX 650
    Sound Card
    Onboard Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Auria 27" IPS + 2x Samsung 23"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440 + 2x 2048x1152
    Hard Drives
    Corsair m4 256GB, 2 WD 2TB drives
    Case
    Antec SOLO II
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000
    Mouse
    Logitech MX
Apps may be moved to metro easy enough, but using them will be the problem. Without the ability to have more than one app visible at the same time, productivity is /severely/ curtailed. It's not a good environment to be working in at all. especially since Metro (as it is currently) Cannot even make use of multiple monitors :(
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7/8
I imagine that will be improved upon over time. You can have more than one app visible at the same time, but one app must be able to be snapped.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    CPU
    Intel i7 3770K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z77X-UD4 TH
    Memory
    16GB DDR3 1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GTX 650
    Sound Card
    Onboard Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Auria 27" IPS + 2x Samsung 23"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440 + 2x 2048x1152
    Hard Drives
    Corsair m4 256GB, 2 WD 2TB drives
    Case
    Antec SOLO II
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000
    Mouse
    Logitech MX
Heh it would have to be improved to the level of being a desktop again, I need like 8 programs snapped at least before I'll consider it a productive environment :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7/8
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