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I was skeptical about the modern-UI interface in Windows 8 (and 8.1), having been a Windows 7 user for a while, but slowly got used to it.

My laptop got the upgrade to Windows 10 yesterday that I had reserved a while back; the upgrade process was fast and overall Windows 10 runs far better than Windows 8 did on my laptop.

The only thing wrong with it (in my opinion) is that the start menu has changed again:

enter image description here

It's nice to use on a desktop, but as my laptop is touch-screen, I find it somewhat annoying to use. I know that the start menu in Windows 10 is still touch-oriented, but it's still annoying as I had got used to the start screen in Windows 8.

Is it possible to change back to the start-screen that was in Windows 8?

AStopher
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1 Answers1

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It is possible to change back to the Windows 8 start-screen in two ways:

  1. Tablet Mode - Activates the start-screen, but makes other changes to the windows. Better oriented for tablets (Only available to those with touch-screens):

    Settings > System > Tablet Mode > Enable

enter image description here

  1. Use Start Full Screen - The 'better' way, doesn't touch the way windows are displayed, like the first option does:

    Settings > Personalization > Start > Use Start Full Screen

enter image description here

Alternatively if you just want to make the start menu larger, just drag it (source):

enter image description here

AStopher
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    You can quickly enable/disable Tablet Mode via the Action Center as well. Click on the "speech bubble" icon in the bottom-right -> Tablet mode. Here's a screenshot: https://www.thurrott.com/windows/windows-10/3116/windows-10-technical-preview-2-configure-tablet-mode – Sly_cardinal Jul 30 '15 at 23:15
  • I am on a non-touch-screen device and tablet mode is disabled for me. – Chris Hayes Jul 31 '15 at 07:22
  • I think you can even just resize the start menu to fill the whole screen and it will automatocally toggle into start fullscreen mode. – ljrk Jul 31 '15 at 08:42
  • @larkey Not on mine, it doesn't. I have Windows 10 Pro. – AStopher Jul 31 '15 at 08:45
  • @cybermokey well, then I have remembered incorrectly from the insider previee (but I'm so sure!) or it's another bug MS has managed to create ^^ – ljrk Jul 31 '15 at 08:46
  • @larkey Might've been a feature of the Preview that was removed in the RTM version :-). – AStopher Jul 31 '15 at 08:47
  • @cybermonkey no, it's available in RTM. I can resize mine – phuclv Jul 31 '15 at 11:17
  • No, that would be the Windows 10 Start Screen, not the comparatively superior - in almost every conceivable way - Windows 8/8.1 Start Screen. – Digital_Utopia Oct 26 '15 at 06:36
  • @Digital_Utopia Please read the question content. – AStopher Oct 26 '15 at 07:41
  • @bob I did, as well as your answer, hence my comment. "It is possible to change back to the Windows 8 start-screen in two ways:" That is incorrect. It is not possible,via any options to change back to the Windows 8 Start Screen. The wording should be changed, for accuracy, to: "It is possible to change back to a Windows 8 *style* start-screen in two ways." – Digital_Utopia Oct 27 '15 at 09:50
  • @Digital_Utopia Feel free to edit the answer. – AStopher Oct 27 '15 at 11:38
  • Does anyone know how to bring back the functionality of 8.1 where installed apps auto appear as tiles? This new scrolling start-menu is terrible and a step back. – Daniel Sokolowski Sep 11 '16 at 01:59