How to Backup And Restore Windows 8 Start Screen Layout

Windows 8 is the new and most popular operating system using in almost majority of the computers. This version of Microsoft's operating system is quite different in handling compared to its older versions like Windows XP, Windows Vista.
                  

See: How to change the Start Screen Background of a Windows 8 OS

In the case of Windows 8 , while starting your computer it bring you to a Start screen not to direct desktop as other versions do. Actually the start screen is the gateway to your PC come into play once you log in. 

Update to Windows 8.1 also introduced many more customization option for it. Whether you use the Start screen only on occasion or rely on it heavily, you've probably spent some time setting it up just the way you like it.

Re installing the Windows or accidental rearrangement will completely loose your effort. Let me explain how to backup the layout and restore later.

Step 1: Open the Run dialog box by hitting Windows key + R.

See: How to Create Colored  Folders In Your Computer ( Windows 8, 7, XP, Vista)

Step 2: Type, "%LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows" and hit Enter to open Windows Explorer to the location of the Start screen layout files.

Step 3:  Copy the files, "appsFolder.itemdata-ms" and "appsfolder.itemdata-ms.bak" to your backup folder

If something went wrong and you need to restore your start screen, just copy the backup files back to original location and overwrite the file already in the folder . 

See: How to Paswword Protect Computer Folder Without Any Software For Windows

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