It makes the whole PC work the same way.” So Microsoft is simply bringing back a Start button that will be enabled by default in Windows 8.1 and works across the desktop mode and Start Screen.

Microsoft may be moving toward bringing back the Start Button and allowing users to boot straight to the desktop with its coming Windows 8.1 release later this year.

According to her sources, the update may restore the Start button to the Windows desktop, as well as give users the ability to bypass the Start screen entirely at boot.

A pair of reports have Microsoft considering a boot-to-desktop option in Windows Blue, an update to Windows 8 that's expected to arrive this summer.

Ahead of Windows 8.1's public preview on June 26, Microsoft reveals some new changes coming to the OS, which includes a new Start button, IE11, and search.

Microsoft launched today its first ever public release of Windows 8.1, confirming what we already thought we knew: the return of the Start button (although the Start menu remains absent), the ...

Windows 8.1, which will be available for download in a preview version on June 26, will feature the good old Start button in desktop mode. Users who dislike the new Modern UI/Metro interface will ...

Left clicking the Windows 8.1 Start button still takes you to the Metro interface, though; if you want an actual Start menu, you'll need to install a third-party app.

We understand that the hot corner functionality, for access to the Charms and Start Screen, will remain intact if the boot to desktop option is enabled.

The icon pops up when the cursor is in that position. In the Desktop mode of Windows 8.1, this Start icon appears on the taskbar, just like a pinned application. Boot to Desktop.