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I have bought a new computer from gumtree and it has worked fine for around a month however recently it has been experiencing issues. It seemed to start happening when I began to play Dota 2 but its all I have been using the computer for since I began playing since I have loved it. Every so often I will be happily playing when the screen will go black and my monitor will notify me that their is not signal before restarting and working fine once again. When I bought the computer I became aware that it was running a pirated version of windows 8.1 and I am planning to buy the proper operating system within the next week. I am wondering whether this is the reason it shuts down as I remember reading somewhere that microsoft will make your computer restart every HOUR if you are running a pirated copy of windows. However it does not seem to happen every hour as sometimes it will run for extended periods. The crash often occurs within 20 minutes of the computer starting if it will occur. I was experiencing an issue with drivers that caused a BSOD but I seem to have resolved that issue through reinstalling windows. All FANS in the computer are working fine so I do not THINK it is overheating however correct me if I am wrong about that. My PC Specs are:
AMD Fx(tm)-8320 Eight-Core Processor
6 Gb of ram (3.98 usable)
AMD Radion R7 200 series graphics card
Asrock 980DE3/U3S3 R2.0 Motherboard
Any help is appreciated, Thanks!Your post is confusing since at the END you say you seem to have resolved it by reinstalling Windows. While I can assure you that the issue has nothing to do with Microsoft, I'm going to have to lock this thread. We cannot assist anyone who is running pirated software / operating systems.

I REMOVED signage player by GOING to programs and features under CONTROL panel and uninstall signage player months ago. However, it keeps on appearing in my computer whenever I open it with the message "signage media files cannot found." Likewise, the icon is still in my windows application but when I clicked uninstall. Programs and Features under control panel open but I don't SEE signage player application there. How can I completely REMOVE it in my computer?

Hi techies.
Could use some help here.
My PC reboots every 2-3 hours or so when I'm gaming (relatively low-end games like Fallout 3 and farming sim) and sometimes even when I'm watching simple YouTube vids. Temperatures were completely normal even when running high-end games like Far Cry 4 MAXED out, some 2 months back when this problem apparently didn't exist (neither GPU, CPU or motherboard ever crossed 70C on Speccy). I also ran Windows Mem DIAGNOSTIC since I recently removed a Kingston 2 GB RAM stick to fit into another PC but it found no errors. Also updated all my drivers except BIOS, with no results. My PC still 'cold reboots' every few hours. Only thing I haven't checked is the PSU because apparently it's a bit complicated. Scoured the whole internet for answers, but couldn't find any.

My specs:
OS: Windows 8.1 Ultimate

Power: Corsair VS650 - 650W PSU

CPU: Intel i5 - 3570 3.4 Ghz

GPU: 3072MB PowerColor ATI AMD R9 200 series (Radeon R9 280X OC)

M'board: Intel - DZ75ML-45K

Storage: 117GB SanDisk SDSSDP128G (SSD) (Primary boot drive)
931 GB Western Digital WDC SATA HDD and
931 GB Seagate Expansion External SATA HDD

Memory: 2 sticks (4+2GB) 6 GB Single CHANNEL DDR3 666 MHz (9-9-9-24)

Display: Samsung 1920 X 1080 supported HDTV.

P.S. The problem only started a month ago, before which the PC ran just fine. It's a new build and hasn't been OC'ed. Plus I'm a TECH noob.Download BlueScreenView:
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/blue_screen_view.html
unzip downloaded file and double click on BlueScreenView.exe to run the program.
when scanning is done, go to EDIT - Select All
Go to FILE - SAVE Selected Items, and save the report as BSOD.txt
Open BSOD.txt in Notepad, copy all of the content, and paste it into your next replyWhat about your temperatures ? ?

Hi i was wondering if anyone could HELP or advise me? In the last week my laptop has turned its self of then cant load windows, this has happened TWICE! Ive done 2 fresh reinstalls of windows and all seems fine until it happens again! What could be the cause of this?How are your Temps ? ?Don't know exactly but it's pretty *censored* hot!!Then you have found your issue....take it to a shop for a proper cleaning or ISSUES will continue and you risk burning it up....Thanks for the advice much appreciated
Anytime...Welcome Aboard...If you get the problem resolved, you could install a temperature monitoring utility/app such as CoreTemp.  If your laptop has a multi-core processor, CoreTemp shows the temperature of each core.  Having a tool that gives you some actual temperature info is helpful is diagnosing problems that affect temps.  Not sure whether your issue has been resolved or not but I'd ask did you install any new hardware or software? If booting it with safe mode does not work than some servicing may need to be done, INCLUDING re-seating the fan connection, replacing said fan, cleaning all the cooling fins, inside and out, and if you really want to, you can take the cooling SYSTEM out, clean all the old thermal paste off and plop some fresh new thermal compound in there.

Put it back together and you should be okay!

Hi,
So I'm stuck with this problem and I don't know a way out...
When I recovered a Toshiba satalite laptop FORM windows 10 to 8.1 it crashed. So that probably means that all the files are gone... But that's not even the biggest problem. The screen of the laptop was broken and I used an secondary screen. With the update everything was okay, but when this happened my secondary screen also didn't work anymore! Probably because there ain't no driver installed right now, or is it something else?

So my question is: How can I make the secondary screen work, to install windows again, or do a factoryreset at the beginning? Or is this unhelpable?

THANK you!
LukaHow EXACTLY did you run this Recovery ? ?In the settings of windows.Thats less info than i asked for...there's a few recovery options in Windows....which one exactly did you run ? ?I went left down at the windows button and went to settings, I opened "Update & Security", went to "recovery" and hitted "Go back to a pervious version of Windows.

It worked but halfway it crashed. Now my second screen doesn't work anymore so I can't SEE whats going on

Thanks already for helping!
Luka

I have an Acer Aspire ES1-512 x64-based PC (laptop) with Windows 8.1 6.3.9600 N/A BUILD 9600.  When it is using the battery (not plugged in) it is fine, but recently it began to behave very, very slowly whenever I plugged it in (while charging or NOT charging the battery).  Is there a setting I inadvertently set to make this happen?  Please HELP!  It's running about 10 times more slowly when it's plugged in.  THANK you.
Wild GUESS, but based on a real happenstance.
Your  power mains have a high level of NOISE interference with your laptop.
Or, the charger is going bad and feeds trashy power to the system.
Last thing you might find is  -------  The battery!

Does it run without the battery?

Actually, after I posted I went home and looked at all my settings, and indeed, I finally came across one setting which opted for maximum speed/spare the disk (which minimizes speed).   When using the battery, it opted for maximum speed, but when it was plugged in, it opted for minimum speed.  I reset it and it immediately began to behave properly again.  I have no idea how that happened, I certainly did not do it knowingly.  Someone may have hacked into my system.

Hi,

I'm attempting to create a VIRTUALBOX machine of my physical laptop which is running Windows 8.1. I've created a separate PARTITION where I installed Windows 10 so I can dual boot.

I've been following these instructions:
http://joaodrp.com/blog/2016/03/19/migrating-a-uefi-gpt-windows-8-10-machine-to-a-virtualbox-vm/

In VirtualBox, I have sucessfully gotten the VHD file attached to the virtual system and I used an DVD ISO Installation of 8.1 and booted into the advanced RECOVERY area where I can use the command prompt to make changes to the vhd. The command prompt should allow me to rebuild the mbr record which is outlined in the instructions. One of the issues is that this Laptop's physical drive's recovery partition was deleted. I've thought about creating a new one but I'm not sure if I need to or not.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!



COMPUTER SPECS:

Operating System
   Windows 10 Home Single Language 64-bit

CPU
   Intel Core i5 3230M 2.60GHz
   Ivy Bridge 22nm Technology

RAM
   8.00GB Single-Channel DDR3 798MHz (11-11-11-28)

Motherboard
   Hewlett-Packard 181C (U3E1)

Graphics
   Generic PnP Monitor ([email protected])
   Intel HD Graphics 4000 (HP)

Storage
   698GB TOSHIBA MQ01ABD075 (SATA)   45 °C
   931GB PHD 3.0 Silicon-Power USB Device (USB (SATA))   45 °C
   931GB SEAGATE USB 3.0 Cable USB Device (USB (SATA))   45 °C
   698GB MICROSOFT Virtual Disk (File-backed Virtual)

Optical Drives
   hp DVD A DS8A8SH

Audio
   High Definition Audio Device

I recently reset my windows 8 laptop back to its factory settings, the problem that I've
Had so far is that the disk usage will be either close to or exactly 100%..

I have run chkdsk on C: (NOTHING came up), cleared off some of the bloat ware that was preinstalled.. I have
Yet to install updates but I am hoping that might fix my problem..

Is there anything else that could be causing my high disk usage issue?

You start task manager, SELECT the PERFORMANCE TAB, open resource monitor, select disk tab then open a cmd.exe as a admin (windows key+x+a)
now you stop various suspected services and watch how the system responds in resouce monitor.
for example:
net.exe stop superfetch (hit enter and see if your disk usage goes down after a min or two)
net.exe stop "Windows search".

Hello Members!

Please refer to the attached Pictorial description, & help me clear the frivolous entries getting listed out there.

Help will be sincerely appreciated.
Thank you.

[attachment deleted by admin to conserve space]Other than this oddity of seeing this listed as 2 for D:, does your system OTHERWISE run without any problems?

Were you playing around with disk management to create the issue somehow when playing with partitions or volumes?Saurabhdua,
you list yourself as a beginner. 
Changing disk partition sis  not for you. 
Leave it alone.   
Otherwise,you may have to pay somebody to fix what you break.   



Too late...Hello Folks!

Apropos of the Inputs I would like to request once again that please do help me SPOT the frivolous entries & get rid of unnecessary ones.

I did try to install Ubuntu alongside Windows in the recent past which turned out to be an Unsuccessful attempt...& probably that would have left some footprints out there!

Therefore, please suggest on the needful 'Corrective' attempts  asap.

Help will be sincerely appreciated.

To DaveLembke:::

My Computer directly boots into Windows & thus FAR there is no trouble! However, I would certainly like to clean up this MESS! Help me with that.

I am unable to install Windows 8. I have tried installing from a USB 2.0 flash drive, and a USB DVD drive (the all-in-one desktop doesn't not boot from DVD's when I put the DVD when I put the dvd inside of the computer .)whenever I get to the section of the installation where I choose which HARD drive I woild like to install Windows 8 onto, i get the following MESSAGE:

"We couldn’t create a new partition or locate an existing one. For more information, see the Setup log files."

I have tired the followong commands in the command line with no luck.

Start DISKPART

Type LIST DISK and identify your HDD disk number (from 0 to n disks).

Type SELECT DISK where is your HDD disk number.

Type LIST PARTITION

Type SELECT PARTITION where is your partition number of the last drive (Drive 0 Unallocated Space 20 Gb)

Type CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY

Type ACTIVE

Type FORMAT FS=NTFS QUICK

Type ASSIGN

Type EXIT twice (one to get out of DiskPart, the other to exit the command line tool)

I have also tried disabling the audio and LAN controllers in the BIOS, with no luck. There are no other devices connected to the computer. No SD cards, or other USB drives. I am not sure what to do. Can anyone please help me?You can look out for the following issues, as there may any factor from them that's causing the issue:

1. Check if your USB drive is bootable. Before you enter into the BIOS to alter boot order settings, make sure that your newly prepared bootable USB drive is really bootable.

2. Check if your PC supports booting from USB. As you likely know, one can’t boot from a USB drive on a machine that doesn’t support booting from USB. In order to check if your PC’s motherboard support USB booting, you can either check your PC’s manual or enter the BIOS to see if USB boot option is present.

3. Configure your PC to boot from USB. If your USB drive is bootable and your PC supports booting from USB, then you need to walk into the BIOS and configure it to boot from USB. In order to enter the BIOS, you need to reboot your PC and press a specific key as soon as you see your PC reboots. Most OEMs USE either Delete, F2 or F12 key to enter into BIOS but we advise you check your PC’s manual or PC manufacturer website for the right key to enter the BIOS and to know how to configure your PC to boot from USB.

4. Check the file system of your USB drive

If your PC supports UEFI and you’re trying to install Windows in UEFI mode, you should make sure that the bootable USB drive is formatted in FAT32 file system.

Hope it helps.

Hi all, this is my first time posting on one of these forums so I apologize if I leave out any necessary information:

OS: Windows 8.1
Computer make/model: HP Envy dv7
Wi-Fi adapter: Qualcomm Atheros AR9485
Router type: Arris DG1670A
AV software: Avast Free

In the middle of the day yesterday my laptop lost the ability to connect to the Internet via the Wifi in my apartment building. It connects to other Wifi networks no problem, including an iPhone hotspot and public coffee shop Wifi; also, my other devices, including iPhone and Roku, have no trouble connecting to the Wifi in my building. So the problem is only between my laptop and this particular wifi router.

DHCP on this router does assign my laptop an IP address (192.168.0.11); the default gateway (192.168.0.1) and subnet mask (255.255.255.0) that my laptop receives are the same ones that my iPhone and other devices that connected successfully receive. But pinging the default gateway returns either (most commonly) a "Request timed out" or (occassionally) "Destination host unreachable."

I checked my ARP table using arp -a and it turns out that the default gateway is not being added to the ARP table; there is no entry for 192.168.0.1 in the table. I tried making a manual entry using:

netsh interface ip add neighbors "Wi-Fi" 192.168.0.1 [The router's MAC address]

and the entry was successfully added (confirmed by arp -a), but nothing ELSE changed; pinging the default gateway still returned the same non-result.

I've tried disabling my firewall and AV shields; I've tried deleting the ARP cache with netsh interface ip delete arpcache.

The one thing I can't do is MANUALLY reset the router, because it's controlled by my landlord and I don't physically have access to the router box (I got the router's MAC address by looking at the ARP table for the iPhone that connected successfully). But since other devices can connect to the router with no problems, I'm not sure that would help anyway.

Thank you very much in advance for your help. I appreciate any advice given!What is the signal strength between router and the devices? Some devices are more sensitive to a weak or INCONSISTENT signal strength.

Is this connection one where the landlord offered you free wifi or they just happen to have it unsecured and open for anyone to connect to?

If the landlord offers free internet in the apartment, what would be the odds of having them give you a Cat 5 or Cat6 cable run to your apartment from one of their routers available ports... Thought here is that if they allowed this, then you can add your own wireless router to that connection and provide your own stronger strength wifi and do away with this issue possibly. Your router would DAISY CHAIN off of theirs. It would also add a firewall between you and others on the network if there are other tenants.

Why do I have a problem sharing a folder if I set permissions as full control EVERYONE to "new folder" but I forgot to set the ADVANCED "share this folder" checkbox???

What the *censored*?

Why is it that I NEEED to check this off after I already added "everyone" and told windows to share the folder with the original share this folder button?

Thanks so much and yes im venting... not your fault... windows is soooo stupid! AM Im using windows 8.1 enterprise or something??? no im a basic home user I dont need crazy networking security.For the same reason that you have a problem sending a letter through the post when you write the destination address, return address, and affix a stamp, but do not put it in the postbox.

Setting permissions on a folder is quite different from actually making it available in much the same way.Hey this is old but I wanted to reopen because I just READ your reply. Don't you agree that putting the letter in the box is way different then getting it ready? How is telling windows twice the same exact thing a different thing like actually sending a letter VERSUS saying where its going.. If I said share it with everyone that should be the only step involved on a home computer is what im saying.Setting folder permissions is a completely different operation from sharing a folder. Folder and file permissions are used to control what users can do with it. Sharing the folder controls WHETHER remote systems can access it. They are separate operations.

Some flash drives also have a small micro switch on them to write protect...what Brand is it ?

https://techwalla.com/content/disable-write-protection-flash-drive

I go to the above but I do not have a registry item it mentions.    I have a 16 GB  flash drive and cannot copy to it.  Any suggestions?    Thank you.  Anna Ruth

I've never heard of such a thing. Can you look at the contents of the flash drive? What method are you using to copy the files to your flash drive?

have scanned with Ad Aware free antivirus and no threats were FOUND

guys please help me.when i run slui.exe it show windows is activated but there is no info under pc info-activation..it shows PRODUCT ID-NOT AVAILABLE
whenever i try to run any slmgr script command like slmgr /ipk (PK) slmgr /rearm slmgr /rilc  .everytime below error pops up..
       WINDOWS SCRIPT HOST-
error 0x80041002 OCCURED in connecting to the local WMI provider.
on a computer running microsoft non-core edition,run -slui.exe 0x2a0x80041002, to display the error text.
i tried all registry fixing programms, sfc /scannow(found currepted FILES) but nothing worked .
my pc is running on windows 8 pro 32bit.
Do you have a genuine legal license?
Quote from: Salmon Trout on July 31, 2016, 02:40:16 AM

Do you have a genuine legal license?

I am on a TOSHIBA laptop, Windows 8.1        Any time I right click it takes 30 seconds, sometimes more to give me choices.    Is there an EASY fix for this?      Thank you.    Anna Ruth    I have another email address email address deleted by allan   My other email would not accept my password after a long time of having the address.   Thanks again.Taking a long time to show the right-click context menu on the desktop or in Windows Explorer is usually due to having a lot of extension PROGRAMS that add options to that menu. It can also be the result of a malware infection.

Side note: it is a very bad idea to make your E-mail public anywhere ONLINE forums or elsewhere, as your E-mail address will be scraped by spambots.Anna Ruth - I deleted the email address from your post - as BCP says, you should never post an email address on a public forum unless you want more spam.

BCP - thanks for the heads-up.

So this just happened recently about 8 days ago. My computer was working perfectly normal the night before but when I woke up it started to perform really poorly. It took about 5 minutes before it actually gets to the lock screen. All is says is arrows, X's, underlines, circles, dashes ETC.

I really don't have the money and skill to buy/create a new pc so please don't suggest this kind of stuff.I would post a picture but it says it was to large, also I am doing this from a mobile deviceNeed info on the MAKE/model of this computer. Also if its a laptop do you have a USB desktop keyboard to plug into it and see if that helps. I am guessing your trying to type in password and that is where your seeing symbol characters?I'm sorry but I do not know it was a hand me down from my family, and yes it says gbberish on the password and start up screen.

I am seeing characters like < [] the restore button dots half circles etc. Not enough info to help, other than if the computer came with system RECOVERY media it would be best to wipe it clean and install fresh Windows install.

Im sorry that the answer I posted here is very vague, but with no information about the computer, I can only state a general response to your situation.

On the computer there should be a make such as HP, Dell, Toshiba, Samsung, etc

Then there should be a label on it with model #

This info would be helpful to see what you have. Additionally I have seen systems with bad motherboards show these characters on a black screen before windows boots with a corrupt BIOS etc.

Right now I could only guess what the PROBLEM is because not enough info.  Graphics Card or Integrated Graphics failure is another cause.I am really dumb with my words. But the computer is a inspiron 20 model 3048. I may have said that I got this through family/Hand me down, but I am in a family of 6 being the youngest. Link to the images of the problem
Sorry that the image is blurry I had to TAKE it on my mobile device

https://m.imgur.com/account/PewPewBew/imagesLink doesn't work
Quote from: SomeGuyInThePark on April 15, 2016, 06:24:30 PM

inspiron 20 model 3048. I may have said that I got this through family/Hand me down, but I am in a family of 6 being the youngest.

G'Day..I recently purchased a laptop and I was told I need to do a BackUp of the system.How do I go about doing this? I purchased a Flash Drive.
 Could you PLEASE help me  Thank you..The best backup method is disc imaging. Here is something I put together a few years ago:

Disk Imaging software takes a "snapshot" of your drive as it exists at the time you create the image. You can then restore the entire image or any file(s) or folder(s) you choose. It is a virtually foolproof way of backing up your system and PROVIDING a safe haven in the event of a catastrophe that requires you to blow away your system PARTITION and restore it to a previous state. It also allows you to "test" various software and be confident that you have a the ability to return to the prior state any time you choose.

 
I USE Acronis True Image. It is the best of breed, but it isn't free. The best free ALTERNATIVE is Macrium Reflect.


1) I create an image of my system partition once a week to a second hard drive and keep the 2 or 3 most recent images. I also image my other partitions about once a month. I always enable "verify image" in the options. It takes a little longer, but insures a valid image.

2) I also create an image before performing any drive level function (ie, changing the size of a partition) or making any significant change to the OS (installing a service pack, upgrading IE, etc). Also sometimes before installing new software.

3) Images may be created on any medium (cd, dvd, external drive, etc). For obvious reasons they should not be stored on the same drive you are imaging. The best option is a second internal hd if you have one and, if you're really ambitious, to an external drive as well (one week to the internal, one week to the external). That's actually the procedure I follow.

4) Images may be created "in the background" within the OS. If you need to restore the system partition, that will need to be done before the OS loads. You can start the process within the application in the OS and it will then tell you it needs to reboot to finish the process. Alternatively, you can boot to a "recovery disk" which you can create when you first install the software (or to the application disk itself if you have one). Other partitions can be restored without a reboot.
Thank you so much Allen. This is a whole new ballgame for me, and
I appreciate the help.You're welcome - that's what we're here for

Can ANYONE please recommend an ONLINE WRITTEN not merely VIDEO tutorial on the SUBJECT of how to use Facebook for an oldage pensioner beginner who is slow on the uptake?

MANY thanks.

JBHere is a tutorial which is not a video.

I have a bunch of  DVD-R and CD-RW but the only drives I have are local disk C, DVD-RW and removable disk E and they will not work in the DVD-RW.   Is there something I can install where what  I have will work?   I must have gotten these DVD-R and CD-RW when I had another computer.      Thank you.   Anna RuthSo do I. The CD and DD discs were not as good as one would expect.

Possibly getting a brand new DRIVE might help. You can ask a friend if the discs can be read on another PC. Also, you might consider cleaning the discs with a  special thing made for that  purpose. Used carefully, you might be able to restore a disc if the surfaces has been soiled or marked.

One kind of cleaner is fro the DVD drive, but there is another kind the will clean and polish the surface of the DVD or CD disc surface with a mild cleanser. You can find such in a local store or buy on line. I think you would try FIRST a local store to make sure lit is what your want.

That is the BEST I can offer. 

You need to establish: is it the drive or the disks? 1. Are any (or all) of the disks readable in another computer? 2. Can you read or write any optical disk in the drive in question?
I agree with Salmon...

There's also the possibly the optical drive has failed...a DVD-RW drive should be able to read CDr/CD-RW's with no problem.
The average lifespan of optical drives has gone down DRAMATICALLY ...If the drive is any good it should read a new or RECENTLY bought music CD or movie DVD in good clean condition. I mean a retail pressed disc, not a burned one.
You should check your Device Manager to see if there any any yellow warning icons.Probably lookin at blank CD/DVD;s...

On my TOSHIBA laptop when I go to refresh your PC without affecting your files,  it does not do it; instead I get the MESSAGE:   Insert media.  Some files are MISSING.    Your Windows installation or recovery media will provide these files.  What do I need to do to get it to refresh?  Thanks.  Anna RUTH Insert the media that came with the machine, or if no disks were included, create the restore media and use that. Quote from: foxygrandma on January 06, 2016, 07:42:24 PM

On my Toshiba laptop when I go to refresh your PC without affecting your files,  it does not do it; instead I get the message:   Insert media.  Some files are missing.    Your Windows installation or recovery media will provide these files.  What do I need to do to get it to refresh?  Thanks.  Anna Ruth

Can anyone kindly recommend a site for watching free films online?  I'd like to know of a safe site, as I have been warned that
there might be free film sites which attract viruses.

I use Windows 8.1, Firefox, and G-mail.

I am still a newbie at my age (77 years old).

Many THANKS in advance for anyone who can help me.  A solution to my problem would make my day.

Guzeppi

Being free also generally means illegal and possibly riddled with viruses.  Netflix costs $7.99/mo, less than a DVD, to me it's a no brainer!https://www.google.com/search?q=+free+films+online&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8genvideos.com USED to work well for me.   another is fmovief.net .  I did not mispell that.   I like genvideos...lots of recent movies with viewer ratings.  you can adjust its streaming speed on many of them once they begin to stream to you.  Some are 1080p (high def).
worldfree4u.com
Here you can download movies and watch.
  Some sites will let you watch, but not download.
Commercial movies are made for the PURPOSE of making money.
Are there any bakeries in your town the get free donuts and coffee?


Topic is over a month old and he hasen't been back...
Just sayin... Quote from: PATIO on November 27, 2015, 04:56:12 PM

Topic is over a month old and he hasen't been back...
Just sayin...

I own a GATEWAY SX2185. Ever since SUPER Bowl Sunday, I have been interrupted with a blue screen and this message:
 
  "Activate Windows"

   Then a box appears - "Go To PC Settings".
 
   They need a 25-letter and number key to activate it, but when I typed it, all I got was "This key didn't work...", etc. 
 
   I keep GETTING this Error Code: "Error Code: 0X8004FC12". What does this mean?

   This has been driving me up the wall for a month now. What should I do?

   Brian
   Call Microsoft....they USUALLY resolve registration issues very quickly...

What are the DIFFERENCE between windows 8 and windows 8.1?Some information here,

http://www.differencebtw.com/difference-between-windows-8-and-8-1/Thank you SIR C:

everytime i open my Netbook .. its always in a black SCREEN and only a mouse .. and i always open the Task manager and ADD task and i always type "explorer.exe"

when i turn off and open again .. its always in black screen .. and i do the same thing ..

how can i fixed it please help me ...Was this system hit by malware or a virus? Do you have the system recovery media for this system to install the OS clean to it? Do you have a REPAIR disc for this OS to perform a repair installation?yes sir ihave one .. so what should i do now to fix it ?? Quote

yes sir ihave one .. so what should i do now to fix it ??

Hi
I have a netbook with win 8.1 and although it TELLS me bluetooth is on (bluetooth settings) and searching for and can be discovered by other devices it will not RECOGNISE any phone nor can they see it.
any SUGGESTIONS ?

I bought a Gateway laptop with W8 with 4g  of ram and a 500 g hard drive. It has an I3 processor. I was looking at the PROCESSES that were running. There is a column that has disk usage. It showed I had 100% usage. How can the computer be using 100% of a 500 g hard drive?The 100% is a measure of your RAM being used.The "Disk" column is a measure of how much disk activity is being caused by each process, not space usage.  Every storage device can only transfer data so fast, if your usage column is showing 100% then the drive is transferring data as fast as it can, so it'll most likely perform pretty slowly until that's finished.
Can you see what process is causing this utilisation?Avast antivirus was CONSUMING the most usage. The computer was pretty slow. I bought this computer recently from a pawn shop for a friend of mine. After looking at it Avast was a trial version. When I switched to the free version the disk usage went down considerably. I would imagine that Avast would've been SCANNING files, but continuous 100% disk usage isn't normal unless it's running a scheduled scan.  If it's dropped down now, I'd just keep an eye on it.  I'm not sure how Avast compares to other ANTIVIRUSES these days, I use Microsoft Security Essentials (or Windows Defender as it's now included in Windows 10) and haven't had any reason to try another in the last few years.

When I download a program I save it so I can scan with an antivirus before I install it.    I then get the options of Open folder, Run, and View Downloads.   When I choose Open folder, I get this MESSAGE:     this  file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action.    Please install a program, or if one is already installed, create an ASSOCIATION in the DEFAULT Programs control panel.

If I choose Run or  View Downloads, it opens okay.  Any ideas as to what causes this?  Thanks.  Anna RuthIt might be the program was installed in you computer. Try to find it in your program files.You can safely ignore the above post QUOTE from: bailey on February 24, 2016, 02:09:05 AM

It might be the program was installed in you computer. Try to find it in your program files.

I'm a real novice with a computer. I must have touched the wrong key but don't know which one. When I want the sign I now have to press shift2. Anyone help? Quote from: Ellen on NOVEMBER 01, 2015, 08:56:58 AM

I'm a real novice with a computer. I must have touched the wrong key but don't know which one. When I want the sign I now have to press shift2. Anyone help?

i need a website that allows you view the HTTP Options that are allowed on a particular website...

for example when you see a question like :

* what http options are allowed for microsoft.com ?

I understand that there are programs that could be used to get that information which i'm not willing to download.. but i actually need a website like netcraft.com that allows you view information about another website... What do you mean by HTTP options?  What sort of information are you looking for?this link might help you get the idea...  http://www.tutorialspoint.com/http/http_requests.htm


This second link is an example of the kind of website i'm looking for but this one doesn't provide results

https://www.hurl.it/I don't understand...who are you hiding from > ? ?its just that i'm taking this security class, and was asked to find out how to do that.... i was also confused about the question

oh well, turned out be a program called "BACKTRACK" that could be used to perform that operation....ill post an attachment alongside this reply...

[attachment deleted by admin to conserve space]Use of this beyond the sandbox of the MIT's port 80 in the assignment is probing live web presences which is hacking looking for weaknesses. Very Very Grey Area!!!!

Where in this assignment do they tell you to go out and find other websites for info that might be used to show security weaknesses or flaws?   Have you contacted your instructor to get clarification on what you should and shouldn't be doing on this?like he said, scanning a network is completely legal.....as long as the information is out there....its all about ethical hacking, not trying to break into a network...all for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES.  Quote from: raffy347 on November 16, 2015, 12:10:54 PM

scanning a network is completely legal

Hey guys! So here is the deal,

I have 4 Machines that are running windows 8. Not 8.1. Since i havnt been home in a while, i figured id do some tech work for my family and get these machines running windows 10. But since microsofts update to windows 10 requires 7 or 8.1 then i need these machines running 8.1 however since my internet is very slow i was wondering if there was anywhere i could download ONE 8.1 executable update, that way i dont have to eat up my internet downloading the same update for 4 different machines. All but one are running 64bit windows 8 Pro. Thanks

When you identify yourself as an IT administrator, MS will provide one download for all computers in your group, provided they all use the same Windows 8.1 OS and need the same updates

However, it is very hard to find it now.  It seems that all attention is now on Windows 10.
Well the only IT Admin i am is of my home haha. I have found some links online, but i do not want to VENTURE and risk a virus of cracked software. All my windows copies must be legit to minimize issues. What Geek-9pm means is that the "offline installers" for most larger Microsoft updates are normally named " for Network Administrators".  This would typically be the full downloaded version as opposed to some patches where the "standard" version is a tiny executable which just downloads the actual patch from Microsoft when you run it.

The question you pose is interesting as Microsoft hasn't, as far as I know, provided an offline installer as such for UPDATING Windows 8 to 8.1.  The best I could find are these two links here:
http://mcakins.com/2013/10/19/download-windows-8-1-iso-using-you-windows-8-0-key/
https://superuser.com/questions/661402/is-there-a-way-i-can-share-the-3-42-gb-download-of-windows-8-1-from-windows-stor

I don't have a Windows 8 key to test this with to make sure it works, but I would say it's worth a try.

I assume once you have the machines on 8.1 you'll be doing an upgrade install to Windows 10 from within Windows 8.1 - guessing you've already created install media for Windows 10 to do this?  If not, you'll want this link to the media creation tool - https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10 - that'll save you downloading Windows 10 four times, too.  On a positive note, it'll also be the latest, or near-latest, version so you'll have very few updates to download and install afterwards.

Hope this helps Thanks Calum,

I might give that a shot. I know these executables EXIST as when i worked at a tech store (wont name it due to privacy) we had installers as such (offline updater is the correct term thanks for reminding me) and i would simply plug the flash drive in, drag either the 32 or 64 (99% of the time the 64) onto the desktop and DOUBLE click it. The rest would be done for me VIA the installer and within maybe an hour depending on how beefy the machine is id be running 8.1. From what I've read, the offline installers for the 8->8.1 update are only available for volume licenses and MSDN subscribers, and these installers will not update a retail or OEM version of Windows 8.  I can't confirm this as I haven't tested it myself though.Well at work we used them to upgrade customer machines as our internet was quite slow so we had these installers. Quite helpful and fast, while using less time to download each update. See Here... Quote from: patio on December 14, 2015, 06:13:10 PM

See Here...

Hello guys, we just got a Lenovo computer at my office with windows 8 on it, so we tried installing windows 7 on it which was the users request, as soon as the installation disk says loading files....it then shows the logo and gets stuck....so we tried imaging, deploying windows 7 os from the network which seemed to WORK but still wont get past the logo....but you can hear the sound that the computer is logged in but stuck on the logo...Tried loading with safe mode, still the same result...

so right now we have windows 7 pro installed but stuck on the logo.Details please.
Which Lenovo computer?
Which version of Windows 8?
Where did you get the Windows 7 install disc?
Did you check the Lenovo web site for information abut downgrading?
That have posted information ALREADY about this. Did  you FOLLOW the guidelines given?
How to downgrade from Windows 8 to Windows 7
It is not always easy.  Thank you Geek-9pm

1) Lenovo- c3 series
2)The disk belongs to the IT department, i know for sure its certified
3)OS- windows 8.1
4)RAM- 4GB
5)HDD- 500
6)CPU- AMD E1-6010

No guidelines were followed. Perhaps the best thing to do is to acquire a new disk drive or a drive that has been completely wiped free of any information. Then attempt the Windows 7 installation again using the clean drive.
Many times I have done installations of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, but I have not done installations on newer computers that have a tighter relationship between the firmware and the OS. So you have to go into the firmware, the BIOSS ,and set it for the legacy mode so it will allow the Windows 7 DVD to boot and install.
That is as much help as I am able to give you. Perhaps others here have some more specific information about the that particular computer.
Hope this helps. Quote from: raffy347 on November 11, 2015, 01:40:08 PM

1) Lenovo- c3 series

I have Problem while installing a 2nd OS (W7) on a laptop with W8.1
 
I am trying to have 2 OSs on the same HDD. My laptop is an Acer V3-572-5217.

I partitioned the 1 TB drive into 2 partitions, on the first is pre-installed W8.1 and in the othert I want to install W7.

I set an USB drive with RUFUS program. Inside that program I configured the format style as GPD because the HDD has GPD format style.

Now, when booting from the USB (With W7 Ultimate 64bit) (UEFI is enabled), the files charged and the screen of "Starting Windows" appeared, but then a line on the top of the screen appeared like the screen was cracked, the line disappeared and then the laptop froze.

I dont want to COMPLETELY clean the HDD because I would lose the original Windows 8.1

Please help me.
I have done this more that once. Here are method(s) I use.
A). Use two drives with a boot manager that let rs you select either drive.
OR
B). Obtain a Windows 8.1 install DVD
OR
C) Do not use UEFI.

IMO, your job is easier if you have three hard drives to work with.
The drive in the computer, an external backup, and a spare drive used for temporary configurations.

Your suggestion is a popular topic. The answer is not what you want to hear.
See here:
How to install Win7 on my Win8 laptop?
Quote

Once you install windows 8 on a system it will not allow you to install a prior OS like windows 7, this is because of the way the file system is layed down on the HD.
Windows 7 uses a NTFS file structure where as Windows 8 Uses a GPT file structure.
The data is layed down and located on different parts of the drive. That is why windows 7 cannot install due to the Gpt format of the drive. As it is an older operating system and does not understand GPT format.

If Windows 8 was preinstalled on your laptop you will need to get into bios on your laptop and turn off UEFI Secure Boot and enable "Legacy" boot.
Installing a new OS can sometimes be a complicated process especially if windows doesn't have network or wireless drivers for your particular network card baked into the OS. What I would do is not TOUCH your current HDD and just give it a go with the new SSD and post back here with any problems you might have.

...
get an external hard drive, install windows 7 in it, then next time you boot up and want to boot into windows 7, with the hard drive plugged in, start up your computer and it boots into windows 7 or if you having troubles with that, just select  the hard drive from your bios to boot up windows 7

Have you done that? Ever? How?

Can anyone kindly let me have step-by-step directions how to VIEW DVDs on my laptop in Windows 8.1?

If you allow me to be a little more "daring", may I ask you to send me a list of step-by-step directions, not a video, as I am hard of hearing and my memory is a little faulty, unless I view written text which I can easily copy and print for reference.

The method I was using until a few months ago won't work now, I have no idea why !

Am outlining the method HEREUNDER for your guidance:-

1. Right-click on the COMPUTER icon.
2. Right-click on the DVD icon.
3. Click OPEN
4. Click on VIEW > TILES
5. Open the first file in the list that now pops up with WINDOWS PHOTO VIEWER.

MANY thanks in advance.

GUZEPPI (aged 77)I'd suggest using the free VLC Player. Just be sure not to agree to bundleware check boxes when installing. I use this as my movie player for DVD Movies on Disc as well as digital media files. http://www.videolan.org/vlc/index.htmlHave you tried just double-clicking the DVD ? ?

I have an Operating System of Windows 8.1 Single Language. For what all other types Windows 10 editions am I eligible? or can i download any windows 10 edition (such as home-n,pro,pro-n etc).You will get Windows 10 Home.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-10-upgrade
Thanks for the reply.
Another Question is When I KEEP it for upgrade, it takes LONG time to download 1% as I have Internet speed of approximately 3000 KiloBytes per Second. Is it NORMAL?No, the download should go at about the top speed of your connection, unless there is some kine of network issue.

Also, there are some ISSUES with downloading  an ISO of Windows 10 in some parts of the world. Some features are not allowed in some places.

Here's my problem:  http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows8_1-windows_install/dreaded-automatic-repair-loop-into-error-code/50a637fa-f898-45e5-87e8-340f8075db8e?tm=1446058411394 , I was wondering if anyone can OFFER any ASSISTANCE?  Thanks in advance.

My PC: iBUYPOWER Desktop PC SOURCE SERIES NE713i Intel Core i7 4770 (3.40 GHz) 8 GB DDR3 1 TB HDD Windows 8.1 64-Bit  Link:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227505See Here...

when i was USING the window 10 preview version then some window update came and when  i started my laptop. it did not start. and i formatted my laptop and try window 7 , 8 and 8.1 initially it take to MUCH time to start. now i am using window 8.1 initially in booting (blue screen) circle rotates very very slowly but when we press F2+F10 (go bios and SAVE) or alt+ctrl+det (restart) then circles ROTATE normally. this problem is too much annoying me please help me.

I REVERT my HP laptop to windows 8.1 from windows 10 since my start menu had critical error. Now, whenever I have windows update I have to unchecked upgrade to windows 10 before updating to 8.1. Is it POSSIBLE to remove windows 10 icon in my TASKBAR? This might help... you have to undo a update that advertises 10.

http://www.howtogeek.com/218856/how-do-you-disable-the-get-windows-10-icon-shown-in-the-notification-tray/I'm GOING to do  that instruction. Thanks!

HP 15 Notebook Win 8.1

Sure would appreciate some help with this. Almost REQUIRE a magnifying glass to read the tool BARS. I've only had this PC a while and I don't remember it being like that previously. Not sure if it's something that I did?. overthehill

PS Just noticed that if I right click anywhere in this message the options are ALSO extremely hard to read.Back to normal. Not really sure how I corrected the problem because all fonts were so small that I couldn't really see what I was doing. I played with the resolution and EVERYTHING else that I couldn't read, restarted the PC and all is fine now. A person has to be lucky once in a while I suppose. overthehill.
For your eyes 1024 X 768 is probably best resolution...and it does require re-boot on many PC's...THKS. patio

Suddenly some of my desktop icons have turned a blank white, without an image, nothing, except a white rectangle.

How can I, an INEXPERIENCED COMPUTER user, SOLVE this problem PLEASE?

Thank you very much.

GuzeppiSee Here...

I've got this weird problem almost from a month back.
I have an acer ultrabook, which I bought about a year ago.
I was using win 8 when I first encountered this problem.
When I revoke my PC from sleep mode, everything seems fine (keyboard backlight lights up, mouse icon appears and can be moved around, win 8 sign-in page shows) until my screen displays the sign-in page for a second, the screen starts to have no response. The mouse icon can still be moved, but whatever I TYPE in from my keyboard, the screen background seemed to be freezed. It seems to be disconnected somehow.

I can force to shutdown (by pressing power button long enough) then reboot my PC. However, it takes more than 5 mins to boot, and before it GOES into the OS, it shows a bluescreen, and tells me "The computer runs into a problem, and needs to be automatically restarted". Then it goes to restart again, and the second TIME takes less than 5 min, it will eventually enter into the OS. This case applies to whenever I restart a PC or I boot up the PC from shutdown. It happens EVERY single time. I need to wait it to boot twice before using it.

After the computer is booted, it can perform all the tasks normally. So I don't think it is a very serious issue. But it is just annoying. Before it had this problem, it could be booted in 1 min, now I have to wait for 10 min. And I can't close the lid, because it will go into the sleep mode.

I thought it could be an OS issue. Since it just started happening around the time when my SYSTEM tells me that I can upgrade to win 10. So I did the upgrade, it still has the same problem. This time it doesn't show me the blue screen, but it still uses the same period of time to boot.

Has anyone come across similar problem or has seen it?

Many thanks

My new laptop does not have zoom level at the task bar, I need one as the page level is about 175 or 200.

Is there one somewhere in the laptop.CTRL + should increase it or CTRL - will decrease it. I assume you're talking about while you're browsing.harry 48,
are you referring to the magnifier options in Windows 7?
Int is found in the Ease of Access area.
Make your computer easier to use
Quote

The Ease of Access Center is a central location where you can modify the accessibility settings and programs available in Windows. You can adjust settings that make it easier to see your computer, use the mouse and keyboard, and use other input devices. You can also answer a few questions about your daily computer use that will help Windows recommend accessibility settings and programs for you.

Turn on Magnifier.
 This option sets Magnifier to run when you log on to your computer. Magnifier enlarges the part of the screen where the mouse is pointing and can be especially useful for viewing objects that are difficult to see. For more information about using Magnifier, see Make items on the screen appear bigger (Magnifier).

Your question is not very clear. Anyway, if you are referring to the display icon or text in your laptop. You can go to control panel and select display setting. However, if you are referring to ms office. Left click view menu.

Your question was NOT clear and don't be rude to people trying to help you. How could any of us know what is in YOUR taskbar. We don't know if you want to "zoom" a web page, use the Windows magnifier applet, or something in another entirely different in another app. It's clear in Dave & Geek's replies that they aren't certain what you're asking either - they are just taking a "best guess" - as is bailey!

That's in the status bar of your browser, not your taskbar. You can add it by using the customize feature in Firefox (which is what I believe you are using).

Harry, doesn't CTRL + work for you?

In IE go to TOOLS - TOOLBARS - and enable the status bar

I am trying to connect my new Lumia 435 Windows phone to my Windows 8.1 Tablet PC VIA the cable supplied with the phone. It is clearly connecting as the phone is charged from the USB port. The phone is supposed to APPEAR as a USB external device, like a USB Flash Drive.  However, I cannot get the PC to detect the phone so I cannot transfer data between the two devices.

When connected with the USB cable the phone does not appear anywhere: in Devices, Portable Devices, Windows Explorer. The 'transfer my data' app says it cannot transfer.

I have read the Microsoft articles on connecting and syncing with USB / Bluetooth. I cannot find any solution to my problem. Can someone help with this?

Clayto2Have you tried this way start up blue tooth on the computer, then activate it on the phone and let them run on your computer/phone it should say pairing then a pin number should come up on both once that number comes up just press on both as save. you should find then that they are paired on mine it does not show up in devices.
let me know PLEASE if that worksThanks for the Bluetooth advice. However, I decided to try a new USB cable even though I was advised to use the one provided with the phone. The new cable worked fine and now the phone and tablet are communicating perfectly. Even the Windows Desktop Phone App sprang into life. So Microsoft / Lumia had supplied me with a dud cable.

I will FOLLOW the advice on Bluetooth in due course (if necessary) as I want that to WORK too, but am shortly to upgrade to Windows 10. I have noticed a 'drive error' (not driver) flash up when trying to pair Bluetooth.

I work from HOME and my question is, If you have Windows 8 and your client require Windows 7, can I use Windows 8 since it's a latest VERSION or will have to down grade to 7?  In the vast majority of cases, software built for Windows 7 will work fine on Windows 8.  If it doesn't work you can ALWAYS try this: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows-8/older-programs-compatible-version-windowsThank you, I just don't want to buy a a separate computer W7 for my 2nd client. I was always under the impression that windows 8 is just and update from windows 7 and shut work the same

My Windows 8.1 will not allow me the option to print a jpeg as anything but photo settings on my printer. I.E. it will not allow me to select plain paper or economy ink settings & will not even display those options. Any ideas as to a work around? Did you install the drivers for Win 8 ? ?Yes, all OEM drivers installed, and EPSON printer driver updated.How old is this printer ? ?...and what Model is it ?Epson Workforce 645Perhaps I should elaborate more. When I first installed the printer, I could click on properties and get the Epson menu which allowed me to CHOOSE any paper TYPE or print quality setting I wanted.  But even if I set this menu to plain paper and economy printing, whenever I tried to print a jpeg, Windows shows it's own menu with limited options. This is no good for the work I do. Now that windows has updated the driver with it's own windows version (which I did not authorize), I can no LONGER even pull up the Epson menu by clicking on properties in devices & printers. It seems Windows knows BETTER than I what I wish to do with my printer.I uninstalled the printer & reinstalled it, hoping to get the Epson driver installed again. Now, the printer menu gives me the plain paper option, but no control over quality of the printing & still no access to saturation and manual color control. I don't understand why the developers of this software think that they can control our devices better than we can. Now my computer has evidently updated again, totally removed the driver for my printer & installed a copy of the driver for the fax. I'm going to downgrade to Windows 7. Unbelievable.

My computer tells me to restart in ORDER to update,so I restart and it APPEARS to be updating-it says "configuring windows updates  (ascending number)% complete do not turn off your computer",and then when it finishes another message comes up " failure configuring windows updates,reverting changes do not turn off your computer".So I seem unable to get these updates. Does anyone know what's going wrong here? Many thanks in advance.LesGIn the Windows Update Manager it should show which update(s) exactly failed to install. Can you check there and share with us the KB numbers that are listed as failed. Also just a quick check, your system has plenty of free hard drive space and this Operating System is a licensed legal copy of it that your running and not a cracked OS?Thanks Dave, I have checked my update history and find that I've failed to install on these 15 KB numbers  :- 2855336 2928678 3003663 2955163 2756872 2889784 2883201 28622768 2920189 2975331 2770917 2962407 2903938 2876415 3087985. I've cleared some file space,and tried again,but they still wouldn't update.Hi are you sure that these updates are for windows 8 or are they for 7 only the only number I can find in my update history that matches yours is 3087985 and that is important and it is for internet explorer 11.
For 8 and 8.1 they should be starting with 307
that is probably why they did not go in if you have upgraded or reinstalled so they could be for windows 7
I did re-install a few weeks ago after a problem getting into my email account,so the updates might be the wrong ones for my system. How can I tell which system I'm on, Windows 7 or 8 ?I found I'm on windows 8,and went into the windows store to upgrade to windows 8.1. The upgrade failed,with the error code  Ox 80240031This is what I found on the above code and what you have to do

How to Fix Windows 8.1 Error code: 0x80240031 while Updating Before you try to update to Windows 8.1 be sure that you have a stable and fast internet connection. The size of the update is 3.62GB! That’s almost downloading the full version of Windows 8.1. It is also suggested that you download or try to update during off peak hours on your area or country.

Method 1: Using the SFC /SCANNOW

PRESS the Windows button + X on your keyboard, a mini dialogue box will appear
2. Choose Command Prompt (Admin). You must run the command prompt in Administrator level
3. On the command prompt type sfc /scannow and hit enter
4. If everything went okay and no errors where found, restart your computer and try updating again
5. If errors where found, try to fix it using DISM.
6. On the same command prompt window type Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
7. After the repair is complete, restart your computer and try updating now.

Note: I have done this process but another error came out while I was executing DISM.

Method 2: Try Automatic Repair
1. Go to search or hit Windows button + Q
2. From the search click “Settings” found on the right side and type Advanced Startup Options and hit enter
3. This will open the PC Settings in General category. Scroll down and LOOK for “Advanced Startup” and click Restart Now
4. Click Troubleshoot and then click Advanced options, then finally hit Automatic Repair

Method 3: Do A Refresh
1. The steps here are similar to the method 2 since they are found on the same menu/settings.
Go to search or hit Windows button + Q
 2. From the search click “Settings” found on the right side and type Advanced Startup Options and hit enter
3. This will open the PC Settings in General category. Scroll down and look for “Refresh your PC without Affecting your Files” and click Get Started when you are ready. From there just follow the instructions. Be sure to back up your files. You might lose data on the process.

Note: I personally have not tried methods 2 and 3 because I haven’t made a backup of my system yet. But I’m going for method 4, and probably method 5 in the future.

Method 4: All Else Fails, Try and Try Again Okay, you have tried everything and still you can’t update to Windows 8.1 because of the Error code: 0x80240031. I also found out that other users were able to update to Windows 8.1 with patience and perseverance to hit the Try Again button or trying again on a later time. Some users claim that they were finally able to update to Windows 8.1 just by simple trying again and again and again.
Method 5: Don’t Update Now and Just Get the Full Version Here If you are not in a hurry to update, or you are in a hurry and you don’t want to waste time, and you have some extra $100-$189, I suggest you just get the full version of the Windows 8.1 and do a fresh and clean install later.
 
Both the Windows 8.1 and Windows 8.1 Pro are available now. Why am I suggesting that you get a full version instead? Well imagine this, what if you need to do a fresh installation of windows in the near future? After you have successfully installed Windows 8, you again need to update and download the whole Windows 8.1 again.
Chances are you might encounter the same problem again. So to save you of the trouble and your time being wasted, just get the full version instead.

Hi,
We have a wired NETWORK with 4 XP computers and 1 Vista computer. The Vista computer has always been a bit hard to LOG onto, but now none of the XP computers can find it. The vista computer can find all the OTHERS. Any help GREATLY appreciated.
GeofflDo the network install again on that Vista computer.
reset all computers. Wit three minuets.
Thank you. Will try tomorrowHi,
I went into network and sharing center on the vista computer and can see where to set up a new network. How do I get rid of the existing one?
GeofflHave you tried highlighting it with right click delete or uninstall

Pleas don't answer unless you've tried both. Used both and I PREFER 10 better. Might be because 8 was too much change all at once and soured my choice in its use, and Windows 10 is similar to 8, but better layout.

I had a laptop with 8, hated it. Tried 8.1 still hated it because games such as World of Warcraft had an issue with flight controls that wasn't resolved until I downgraded to Windows 7. I then recently pushed 8 back to this laptop and used the FREE upgrade to 10 and Windows 8 still had flight control issues in World of Warcraft, but Windows 10 is like Windows 7 and flight controls are correct and I have to get use to 10 to be able to support it. I've experienced 8 and 8.1 to support it when I need to, but I avoid it still. I do like Windows 10, but not as bad as Windows 7. I also like XP, ALTHOUGH its days are numbered.I prefer 8.1. 10 removes too much customization. Though one can't say we weren't warned since Windows 8/8.1 removed quite a few themselves. main thing is that I would prefer not to have white titlebars but MS decided we don't get a choice.

I was able to hack the theme but that introduces a few annoying glitches. I've put Windows 10 on my two other, non-main computers but kept it off my main systems.

Arguably complaining about the theme and customization is a small nitpick, but when a new OS version gives you nothing that you want, there isn't much reason to upgrade- it being free doesn't cut it for me. I'm not trading an afternoon and who knows how much time sorting out upgrade issues with software afterwards when I'm not actually getting anything I want.

typo correction to my post above which stated:

Quote

I've experienced 8 and 8.1 to support it when I need to, but I avoid it still. I do like Windows 10, but not as bad as Windows 7. I also like XP, although its days are numbered.

I've experienced 8 and 8.1 to support it when I need to, but I avoid it still. I do like Windows 10, but not as much as Windows 7. I also like XP, although its days are numbered.

Absolutely no reason for a Poll...

Was a poll removed?  I don't see one.  If one was originally part of the OP's post, I imagine he/she identified two versions of Windows.  So, for that reason, the poll would lend some clarity to the OP.  As it stands now, the OP simply says "Pleas don't answer unless you've tried both."  So, what is "both"?

I'm on WINDOWS 8 and my DATE and TIME is wrong. I have parental controls on my computer, and can't CHANGE the time. What do I do  Curious as to why you cant have parent unlock to fix this....

You NEED to unlock the parental controls to resolve this. Then adjust date/time.He should start a Poll...