How to Shut down and Restart Windows 8 easily

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 zero, 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

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.