Once, you have installed Classic Shell, you can choose a Start Menu style.
The program can also skip the Metro screen and bring you automatically to the traditional desktop.
After you applied these settings, your desktop will look like this:
You can access the Metro interface at any time by Shift-clicking on the Start button or by using the Windows key. These options can be configured in the Classic Shell settings.
Note: There are other programs that offer similar functionality. We used Classic Shell in this example because it is free, has a longstanding reputation and worked well for us.
Step 2: Change default programs for images, videos and music
By default, Windows 8 opens media files with Metro apps (Video, Music, Pictures) instead of using Windows Media Player or Photo Viewer. I found this very annoying since it switches me to a full screen metro app and forces me to fiddle with the upper left screen corner in order to get back to my desktop.
In addition, the app remains open in the background unless I go back to the screen corner, find the app and right-click on the thumbnail to actually close it.
What used to be simple click-to-open/click-to-close operation has now become a pain in the butt that interrupts your normal workflow.
Fortunately, this can be easily fixed!Simply right-click on any image, video or music file and select "Open with..." and then "Choose default program..." option from the right-click menu.
You should see an option to use Windows Photo Viewer - simply select it and you`re done.
The next time you open a file of this type, it will open in Windows Photo Viewer on your desktop.
You will need to repeat this for any image format you want to open in Windows Photo Viewer instead of the Photos app. For most people this includes JPG, PNG, GIF etc.
Use Windows Media Player for all video and music files (AVI, MP4, MPG etc).
Your Windows 8 installation should now feel more familiar. You have your Start button back, the Metro screen is an option instead of a mandate, and basic tasks like opening pictures, music or video files work like they used to.