Earlier this week, Microsoft officially released Windows 8.1 Update to public. In addition to performance enhancements, this update makes Windows Store apps much easier to use for mouse and keyboard users. Other than that, shut down and search button now appear on the Start screen.
Those of you have installed Windows 8.1 Update probably have noticed power and search buttons that appear at the upper right of the Start screen, next to the user account picture. While clicking on Search button shows Search charm, clicking on Power button reveals all power options, including Shut down, Hibernate, Restart, and Sleep.
Users who have used Windows 8.1 for a reasonable amount of time before installing this major Update likely know that it’s possible to search from the Start screen by just typing when you’re in the Start screen.
Similarly, one can always access shut down, restart, hibernate and sleep options by pressing Windows + X keys. It’s also possible to shut down, restart, sleep, and hibernate Windows 8.1 PC by using hotkeys. Please visit our keyboard shortcuts to shut down, hibernate and restart Windows 8.1 PC guide to see all keyboard shortcuts.
Users who have upgraded to Windows 8.1 Update after using Windows 8.1 for significant amount of time might have used to shutting down or restarting PC using above mentioned hotkeys or using Win+X Quick Link menu. Those users might not find the newly added power button or shut down button on the Start screen not so useful and might want to hide or remove it.
The good thing is that the newly added power button on the Start screen can be removed by editing a new DWORD entry to the Registry. If you think that the shut down button on the Start screen is not useful, simply follow the given below instructions to remove or hide it.
Two methods to hide the shut down (power) button
NOTE: We recommend you create a manual system restore point so that you can easily restore the shut down button in future.
Method 1: Remove shut down button using Registry
Step 1: Open Run dialog box. To do that, simultaneously press Windows logo and R keys.
Step 2: In the Run box, enter Regedit.exe and press Enter key. Click Yes button when you see the UAC prompt.
Step 3: In the Registry Editor, head over to the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ImmersiveShell
Step 4: Here, under ImmersiveShell, create a new Key named Launcher. If the key already exists, simply skip this step.
Step 5: On the right-side, create a new DWORD (32-bit) value named Launcher_ShowPowerButtonOnStartScreen and set its value to 0.
Step 6: That’s it! Reboot your PC to see Start screen without the shut down button. Good luck!
Method 2: Hiding shut down button using third-party tool
If for some reason, the above mentioned isn’t working for you, simply download ModernUI Tuner software from here, run the same and uncheck the option titled Show search button on the Start screen option to remove the same.
