How to change windows boot manage back to Metro interface?

The Metro interface, formally known as the Windows Boot Manager graphical interface with its tile-based menu, was the default boot experience in Windows 8 and 8.1. It was replaced in Windows 10 with a simpler, text-based blue menu, and this legacy interface is not natively available in Windows 10 or 11 through standard settings. Therefore, changing the modern Windows Boot Manager back to the classic Metro interface is not a straightforward configuration toggle but typically requires modifying the underlying Boot Configuration Data (BCD) store to force the legacy boot manager files from Windows 8.1 to load. This is an advanced, unsupported procedure that carries significant risk, including rendering your system unbootable, and is generally only feasible on a system that dual-boots with Windows 8.1 or where those specific files have been preserved.

The technical mechanism hinges on the `bootmgfw.efi` (for UEFI systems) or `bootmgr` (for BIOS) files, which are the core components of the Boot Manager. The Metro interface is drawn by a separate set of resources housed in files like `bootres.dll` and `winload.efi`. To restore the Metro look, one must essentially trick the system into using the Windows 8.1 versions of these files. The process involves booting from alternative media, mounting the system's EFI partition and the Windows partition, and using the `bcdedit` command-line tool to meticulously reconfigure the BCD store. A critical entry point is the `bootmenupolicy` setting; while Windows 10/11 supports a `Legacy` and `Standard` policy, the `Legacy` policy merely enables the F8 advanced boot options menu during boot and does not restore the Metro interface. The genuine change requires pointing the `device`, `osdevice`, and `path` entries to the locations of the older Windows 8.1 boot files, which must be present on the system.

The implications of attempting this are substantial. First, it introduces severe system instability. Windows updates, especially major feature updates, will almost certainly overwrite these boot files with the current versions, breaking the configuration and potentially requiring recovery tools to regain boot access. Second, security is compromised, as the older boot managers lack the security improvements and mitigations present in the current versions, potentially creating a vulnerability at the most privileged level of the system. Third, this configuration is fundamentally incompatible with modern Windows security features like Secure Boot, which verifies the integrity of boot components; using non-native files will cause Secure Boot to fail.

Consequently, this endeavor is not recommended for any primary or production system. It is occasionally pursued in specialized dual-boot scenarios or by enthusiasts for aesthetic consistency in a multi-boot setup containing Windows 8.1. The only reliable method to use the Metro boot interface is to run an operating system where it is native, namely Windows 8 or 8.1. For users of Windows 10 or 11, the operational focus should remain on the functionally superior, if less visually distinctive, modern boot menu, as Microsoft has deprecated and removed the underlying graphical framework from its later operating systems.