Hide/Disable Start Button in Windows 8.1

Question

I've searched a lot these days to find a way to programmatically hide or disable the start button in Windows 8.1, but could not find any useful information
Is there any way to do this? Either with C# or with some registry-keys...

A short explanation why I need to hide the button:
We have a .NET Desktop Application which runs on WinXP, Vista and 7 in a self-made kiosk mode. Now we have to get it running in Win8 (8.1) but as expected, the new Start-Menu (Metro, Modern UI, whatever you call it) is always there. I already managed to disable the Hot Corners, but the Start Button in the left corner still appears when you move you mouse over it, and it also starts the Metro - what we don't want.

Any help would be appreciated!

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Apr 11 '14 at 09:02

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It seems that there is no such way...

But you could use a third party tool like one of these http://lifehacker.com/how-can-i-hide-the-start-button-in-windows-8-1-1478012124.

answered Apr 11 '14 at 09:02

christof

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thanks for your answer, but I don't know if it is possible to ship a third party tool with our app... – katho2404 Apr 11 '14 at 09:05

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 10 '14 at 14:14

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This question belongs on SuperUser, since it's not code related, but I'll have a go at it.. You should create a system account with an assigned access. Here, read these two articles: first second

According to these articles, it shouldn't take you more than 5 minutes to achieve what you want.

answered Apr 10 '14 at 14:14

programstinator

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How to sign out from an account configured for Assigned Access? If you use a device for multiple purposes (e.g. normal user machine, but used as a Kiosk in trade shows), or need to make changes to your kiosk configuration, you will eventually want to sign out of the Assigned Access account. To do that you will have to have a physical keyboard attached to the device and press the Windows Logo key 5 times in a short period of time either on your physical keyboard (the touch keyboard won’t work) or in the Windows hardware button, if your device has one. – programstinator Apr 10 '14 at 14:16
thanks for your answer, but the Assigned Access Mode only works with Modern UI Apps (Metro Apps) and not with Desktop Apps. However, I will post my question at the superuser SE – katho2404 Apr 10 '14 at 14:22
Ok. Also, these answers might be of use to you, if you're using wpf by chance. http://stackoverflow.com/questions/20108613/windows-8-1-assigned-access-for-desktop-app http://stackoverflow.com/questions/15920067/full-screen-wpf – programstinator Apr 10 '14 at 14:26

score 0 · Answer 3 · edited Jul 14 '14 at 05:33

... find a way to programmatically hide or disable the start button in Windows 8.1...

See Registry Key Controlling Start Button in Windows 8.1? on SuperUser. According to one commentor, there is no simple fix like a registry key. Tools like 7+ Taskbar Tweaker inject a DLL into explorer hook/subclass/redirect some of its methods.

If you are going to write your own DLL and inject it into Explorer, then you might want to take a look at Microsoft's Detours Library. I've used it in the past and its actually easy to use. The description from the website: Detours intercepts Win32 functions by re-writing the in-memory code for target functions. The Detours package also contains utilities to attach arbitrary DLLs and data segments to any Win32 binary.

Hide/Disable Start Button in Windows 8.1

3 Answers3