I have a side business in computer repair and refurbishment. Win 8 was designed for touchscreen computers and, without a touchscreen it is difficult to navigate. For everyone that has Win 8 and misses the Windows 7 interface there is a simple easy way to keep Win 8, yet have your familiar Win 7 start-up menu etc. It is called win 7 classic shell , and it is free and simple to use. Go here: http://www.classicshell.net/. Simply download it and viola, you will have your start button and program menus as in Win 7 classic or even in the XP start mode if you choose.
This download is completely safe and Virus-free, I use it all the time for customers who want the Win 7 user interface on their Win 8 machines.