Are your settings not saving in Windows 8 after you shutdown and then turn on the computer?  Try performing a RESTART instead of a shutdown!

One of the biggest changes to Windows 8 is the way that Reboot & Shutdown now function. Most people are still in the habit from Windows XP days of manually going into the Start menu and clicking “Shutdown”. This would save system settings, close all open applications, and then actually turn off the machine. This process has gone through minor changes with Windows Vista,  and Windows 7 but now with Windows 8 we have a major shift in what exactly Shutdown does.

In Windows 8, shutdown is essentially a hibernate feature and as such does not actually save and then reinitialize with any settings changes you may have made. The Restart option in Windows 8 assumes that you have made changes to the OS and want to restart the machine to utilize those new settings.

UPDATE::

To disable the hybrid shutdown feature in Windows 8:

1. Open the Control Panel
2. Select ‘Hardware and Sound‘
3. Select ‘Power Options‘
4. From the left hand menu select ‘Require a password on wakeup‘
5. Select ‘Change settings that are currently unavailable‘
6. Under ‘Shutdown settings’ at the bottom of the page, de-select ‘Turn on fast startup‘

I have to admit that I really love Microsoft and Windows 8. There are certain aspects of the operating system that I just love. There is also a (major) part of the operating system that I strongly dislike, the Start Menu/Screen. Like the “Libraries” feature of Windows, it tries too hard to be the main interface. Wherever I turn it just keeps popping back up again and again. It is because of this that I have decided that I am going to find a way to disable it while still keeping other aspects of the operating system in place.

Lets begin by first of all disclosing a little bit I have learned about this new start menu.

• The name of the new start menu is “Immersive Shell”
• It is not directly a part of Explorer.exe
• If it is not run when the user profile loads, you see a black desktop and empty taskbar (Until someone finds a way around this)
• The file location of the .dll is: C:\\Windows\\System32\\windows.immersiveshell.serviceprovider.dll
• The resource files that Immersive Shell uses are located in: %UserProfile%\\AppData\\Local\\Microsoft\\Windows\\Explorer\\
• Registry location for Immersive Shell settings:  HKCU\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\ImmersiveShell\\
• Location of programs listed within the Start Menu that have been downloaded from the Store:  %UserProfile%\\AppData\\Local\\Microsoft\\Windows\\Application Shortcuts\\

How to terminate the Start Menu

1. Download Process Explorer from Sysinternals
2. Extract it and then run it as an Administrator
3. Locate the “Explorer.exe” that is running as the operating system shell (not a file browser version that is open), and double click on it. This will open the Explorer.exe process properties box.
4. Select the “Threads” tab
5. Sort the listed threads by “Start Address”
6. Select the thread “windows.immersiveshell.serviceprovider.dll!DllCanUnloadNow+0x2570“
7. Select the “Kill” button
8. Click OK and exit out of Process Explorer
9. The Start and Charms buttons no longer function on the keyboard, or when you move the mouse to either of their “hot-zones”

An obvious issue with this method of killing the Immersive Menu is that it is not “automatic”. It must be performed each time the computer or the shell is restarted. There is a method to prevent the start menu from ever starting and that is to rename the file  windows.immersiveshell.serviceprovider.dll to  windows.immersiveshell.serviceprovider.dll.old. The main issue with doing this is that Explorer fails to fully load the desktop. You are left with a black screen and an almost non-functional taskbar.

One of the questions that I have received from people that have not yet used the new Start Menu (and even some that have) is “Why would you want to disable it?”. Honestly it comes down to a couple of small “features” of it. Number one is the “Charms” menu on the right side of the screen. It frequently gets in the way during scrolling with the mouse within various applications. I use the side of the screen as a stop point and seemingly randomly it opens the charms menu. This then requires me to wait for it to close to begin scrolling. It is an annoyance but a major one when it comes to productivity.

I hope that someone finds an effective way of disabling and/or removing the Immersive Start Menu prior to the Windows 8 launch. And even more importantly, I hope that Microsoft listens to the dissatisfaction of users with this menu and gives us the option to disable it.

How-To pin any folder to the taskbar in Windows 7:

1. Right click on the desktop and then select “New” then “Shortcut”
2. In the dialog box that opens, enter the following command “C:\\Windows\\explorer.exe” then enter a space and the location of the folder that you want to open. An example of this would be “C:\\Windows\\explorer.exe D:\\Pictures” which would open the pictures directory on drive D:\\. After clicking Next, enter in the name of the shortcut that you are creating. This can be anything you would like.
3. The newly created shortcut will be on the desktop, right click on it and select “Pin To Taskbar”. The folder will now show up on the Taskbar and you can delete the shortcut that you created on your desktop.

This method can be modified to pin virtually any folder to the taskbar with its own button. If you would like to use different icons you can also change the icon of the shortcut before pinning it.

Within Windows 7 you can pin applications within the Start Menu to the main menu.  To bring this feature outside of the start menu to the folders and files of your Windows 7 machine, all that is needed is a simply registry change.

Open regedit.exe by opening the start menu and type “regedit.exe” (without quotations) then when it is found press enter or manually select it.  Navigate to the following registry key:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\ShellEx\ContextMenuHandlers\

Right click on ContextMenuHandlers and select New -> Key.  Rename this newly created key to be “Pin to Start Menu” (without quotations).

Now to use this new function, navigate to the file you would like to pin, and hold down the SHIFT button while simultaneously Right Clicking on the file.  Select the option “Pin to Start Menu“, then open the start menu and it will be pinned to the top.

Alternatively you can also download this registry patch and it will do it for you.  This makes it much easier for the faint of heart and those short on time.  DOWNLOAD

When it comes to application launchers most people are only familiar with the Windows default, Explorer.  Thankfully this is not the only option out there and many of them work so well with Windows and Explorer that it can be hard to live without them once you have started to use them.

1 – Launchy

I have to admit that I love this program.  It is incredibly easy to use and well thought out.  As most good projects go it was designed for personal usage by some talented programmers.  Thankfully they have made it available to the rest of us so we can enjoy the fruits of their labor.  The reason it is number one on the list is quickly realized once you start using it.  It is substantially more user friendly than others and even the most non-technical of Windows users can intuitively use it. – Website

2 – Find and Run Robot (FARR)

This one comes in second only for one reason, it is not as easy to use to search google.  The program is very intuitive and easy to use with plenty of options.  It is also fully portable and as such is a great addition to your pendrive. – Website

3 – RocketDock

The original OSX dock emulator, RocketDock can be either a launcher in addition to Explorer or a full replacement.  This one has a very large following which includes a multitude of plugins and skins to endlessly customize it.  I have used it for a couple of years now and I have found it to be an excellent shell/launcher for Windows PE. – Website

4 – CodySafe

While not the first application launcher designed exclusively for pendrives it is the one that does it best.  It is like U3 without all of the problems associated with it.  It runs an installation program to install to your pendrive and sets up a Documents folder and autorun settings.  It also has many cool features including Drive Doctor and Find If Lost that put it above the rest.  – Website

5 – ASuite

This launchers claim to fame is that it is the default for PortableApps.com users.  It does not have as many options as others on this list and could have more eye-candy but it works very well.  My favorite part about this application is that it is more of a supplemental Start menu.  It has many of the same features but works great with Windows and other applications. – Website

6 – Appetizer

Incredibly simple and easy to use, this launcher is starting to get a lot more attention.  It has not been around very long but there is support for custom skins and plugins.  It can either be installed or portable and is very small in size. – Website

7 – Executor

Best described as a Windows Run Command on steroids, this one adds some very nice functionality to Windows.  Again this one lacks some of the eye-candy even with the skins that are available.   It tends to be more geared towards geeks and has many advanced options that only they would utilize. – Website

8 – Enso

Beautiful and obviously designed by someone that is very concerned with typography.  This one gets a lot of points for looks but fails when it comes to overall functionality.  To open something you need to be specific and use a command like “Open Windows Explorer”.  It does have some excellent features but misses the boat by taking more keystrokes to use. Enso has a tremendous amount of potential and could easily reach spot #1 on this list if they listened more to consumers. – Website

9 – ObjectDock

Coming from Stardock, there is both a free version and a paid for version.  ObjectDock is a pretty widely known application with a lot of support and features but it fails due to 2 major issues.  First it is not compatible (yet) with Windows 7 and second, it is HUGE!  The free download package comes in at 23 MB and regardless of features is too big for either a launcher or a shell.  The next closest in size to ObjectDock is Enso at 12 MB. – Website

10 – SyMenu

The biggest thing I like about SyMenu is its portable capability.  There are a few advanced options but is more limited than others due to it’s intended audience, pendrives.  One thing I would like to see from SyMenu is more options and better looking graphics.  Just because someone is a Windows user does not mean that they should always have their applications look like Windows 98. – Website

Honorable Mentions:

RK Launcher
SideSlide
Cairo (Not in the public release stage yet)
Keybreeze
Ctrl+Alt+Launch (CAL)