Solved Windows 8.1 Problem. What should I do?

Hi,

I noticed the Windows 8.1 free update offer in the Windows Store yesterday, and I decided to install it. It was a BIG MISTAKE! Windows 8.1 is not yet ready for production. My laptop now can't connect to the internet, both via ethernet and wifi. In the device manager, there is a Code 12 (not enough resources) for both my wifi (Intel Wireless Wifi Link 4965AGN) and my ethernet drivers (Broadcom). In addition, there is a frequent Console/Terminal window that keeps popping up every now and then. I can't read what it is doing because it goes on and off very quickly. In the system event log, there is a problem with certain component not being able to register itself to the DCOM server. It's freaking annoying.

Help! What can I do to fix this? Is there a downgrade option to the old Windows 8? I don't want to reinstall everything, because I have loads of files and stuffs in there.

Thanks.

Henry

Try resetting your BIOS, pull the battery let it set for a minute then install battery and boot up.

Removing the main battery will not reset the BIOS on a laptop. There is another button cell connected to the motherboard that preserves the CMOS settings. That battery may be very hard to find and disconnect. You can reset the BIOS to defaults from the BIOS menu itself though. I had a very similar issue when I upgraded to the Preview though the store. Try updating or reinstalling the drivers for your WIFI and LAN adapter. You may have to download them on another PC and use sneaker net to transfer them via a thumb drive. I had other issues on top of that problem and ended up reinstalling 8.0. After doing a clean install of 8.1 RTM I didn't have any problems. I don't know if my issues were because it was the Preview release or from doing the upgrade.

Thanks for the reply, but nothing works so far. The pulling out battery and resetting BIOS to default values did not work. I tried uninstalling the drivers and reinstalling them back, but it does not work. I think the drivers themselves are probably incompatible with Windows 8.1. I'm looking at a possible downgrade to Windows 8. Hopefully, there is a less painful way of doing it.

Doing a Windows Reset should restore Windows 8. http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2302-reset-windows-8-a.html?ltr=R Backup your files to external media first as this will likely erase them. Doing a factory reset with the utility built in by the manufacturer should do the same thing.

Thanks again for the help. I managed to fix the console/terminal window popping on and off issue. Apparently, it was due to one of the Blackberry Link services. I disabled it and the console window problem went away. It is much more bearable now.

The network problem still persists. I tried refreshing but there is a another problem. It asks for my installation media CD. I purchased my Windows 8 online, and burnt it into into a DVD. I inserted that Windows 8 DVD, but it said that it was not the correct CD. I think it may be asking for the 8.1 installation media, and not the Windows 8 media. There is no way I would have the Windows 8.1 installation CD because I upgraded it online via the Windows Store.

Then, after spending a day or two with 8.1, there seems to be another issue. Let's say when I search for "Administrative Tools" or "View local services", and it shows the search result. However, when I tries to click on one of the result, it doesn't open up. Apparently this happens only with tools that require admin privileges. Normal applications open up just fine.

Also after a shutdown, when I turn on the PC, it went into the blue screen of death with message related to "Attempted switch from DPC" or something like that. I don't understand what seems to be the problem here.

Try booting from the Windows 8 DVD and doing the reset. If that doesn't work I'd say your looking at doing a clean install. Doing a reset it pretty well the same thing anyway.

hankas said:

The network problem still persists. I tried refreshing but there is a another problem. It asks for my installation media CD. I purchased my Windows 8 online, and burnt it into into a DVD. I inserted that Windows 8 DVD, but it said that it was not the correct CD. I think it may be asking for the 8.1 installation media, and not the Windows 8 media. There is no way I would have the Windows 8.1 installation CD because I upgraded it online via the Windows Store.

Click to expand...

Download Windows 8.1 ISO Using your Windows 8.0 Key

Download Windows 8.1 ISO Using your Windows 8.0 Key | McAkins Online

Good info! Thanks!

You are welcome.

Thanks for the reply. The link to the Windows 8.1 ISO is very useful.

However, I don't think that I am gonna download another gigabytes of Windows installation media. I think in my case some of the drivers are probably incompatible with Windows 8.1 and the associated manufacturers haven't released the updated drivers yet. So, I am gonna wait several months before upgrading to 8.1. The 8.1 experience so far has been painful enough to me, and I have been unable to do my work for days because of this. In addition, I notice the slower performance of 8.1 compared to 8.

I am thinking of re-installing Windows 8. My concern at the moment is with the Windows Media Center. When I bought Windows 8, I got the free upgrade offer for the Windows Media Center. My understanding is that the activation key for Windows Media Center was valid only up to certain date, which is already expired by now. If I were to reinstall Windows 8 (clean install), will I be able to re-install the Windows Media Center as well?

Thanks.

I managed to solve it! Woohoo ... Thank you for those who helped.

I didn't reinstall. It turns out there is a whole lot of new problems that comes with downgrading to Windows 8. I purchased my Windows 8 as an upgrade from Vista. I purchased it online and burnt the installation media into a DVD. It turns out that if I want to reinstall Windows 8, I would need to reinstall Vista first and then re-upgrade it using the Windows 8 DVD. The Windows 8 DVD cannot be used to clean install on to a blank hard disk, unless if you use the full-version and not the upgrade version. This creates a problem for me as I don't have the Vista installation media. Windows Vista came with my Acer laptop as an OEM OS and Acer didn't supply the Vista CD. So reinstalling Windows 8 will not work for me. So those who are thinking to downgrade from 8.1 to 8 should first check their Windows 8 license. Lucky, I did not rush to wipe out my hard disk.

So, I was forced to confront my 8.1 demons. Earlier I mentioned that Blackberry's RIM MDNS service caused the console windows kept popping on and off. Disabling that service solved the pop-up problem. Next, there was the driver problem. The problem was finding out which driver was the culprit. Using the free software, BlueScreenView, I read the Windows Dump files, and discovered the offending drivers. They are the ENE PCMCIA driver, ENE memory stick drivers, and other ENE drivers. Once those are disabled, my Wifi and Ethernet work just fine.

I hope this helps others who experience similar problem. I recommend using the free software BlueScreenView to help pinpoint the offending drivers.

This may have worked for you, http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/13375-clean-install-windows-8-upgrade.html?filter

May be some useful info in this thread.


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