Are there different versions of Windows 8?

EricBuist

New Member
Messages
9
Hi,

I am having more and more issues with Windows 8.1 on my main computer while my Windows 8.1 ultrabook from Lenovo works correctly. Both machines are running Windows 8.1, but it seems they are running different versions. The Lenovo's Windows 8.1 is stripped down, without the possibility of installing Hyper-V, while the one on my main computer can install it. I don't intend to install Hyper-V; this is just an example showing that the two machines are running two different variants of Windows 8.1.

Are OEMs like Lenovo, Dell, HP, etc., installing a different version of Windows 8.1, maybe with less problems, than the one that we can order from stores like TigerDirect, NewEgg, etc.? If that's the case, does that mean I am stuck and should just throw this PC away and buy a preassembled machine with Windows 8.1 preinstalled? This is quite bad as preassembled desktops I saw are either low end or come with too stylish gamer-oriented cases I don't like at all. And I don't want to pay >500$ because Microsoft decided that now, we cannot install Windows ourselves.

My Windows 8.1 on my main PC is more and more unstable, having issues when shutting down (stuck at the "Shutting down" message), causing the ASUS Anti-Surge to trigger, audio is failing each time I start Ableton's Live and forces me to reinstall the M-Audio driver (rebooting doesn't fix it), all Metro apps are crashing systematically, pressing Windows-X doesn't always work. When falling back to the mouse to select something in the menu, the pointer drifts a bit several times I click so that selects the wrong item (probably GUI elements are too small or mouse is not accurate enough).
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3770K 3.5GHz
    Motherboard
    P8Z77-V LX
    Memory
    16Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Asus GeFroce GTX 650 Ti
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
It might've been that Lenovo have Windows 8.1 (or Windows 8.1 with Bing) while your main PC have Windows 8.1 Pro (with or without Media Center). Just go to system properties to see which edition of Windows those two have and here's a comparison between editions:

Compare Windows 8.1 editions

On the above page, Client Hyper-V is only available on the Pro and Enterprise Editions.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64 with Media Center
    Computer type
    Tablet
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Pro 3
    CPU
    Core i5 4300U @ 1.9 GHz
    Motherboard
    Surface Pro 3
    Memory
    8092 MB DDR3-L 1.35 V SDRAM @ 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD 4400 @ 200 MHz
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Built-in 3:2 display
    Screen Resolution
    2160 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    256 GB SSD + 128 GB micro SD
    PSU
    36 Watt power brick
    Cooling
    Active
    Keyboard
    On Screen Keyboard
    Mouse
    Surface pen
    Internet Speed
    300 / 20 TWC
    Browser
    IE 11 Metro, IE 11 Desktop
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
That might explain why there is no Hyper-V option on the ultrabook. Is it possible that some features from Windows 8.1 Pro are causing problems? That could be quite shocking that now the non-Pro version works better than the Pro, but it seems to be what I am observing. I cannot just downgrade from Pro to non-Pro, because my serial number is for Pro version so I would have to purchase another copy of Windows 8 just to downgrade. Quite bad.
Might be a motherboard issue, though, because I am getting again and again this message about Anti-Surge that triggered. But in that cas, how can I pick a motherboard for a custom build? I am reading issues after issues with boards that I can get from TigerDirect and NewEgg, so it seems to be a trial and error process. Is it because Lenovo uses plain Intel boards rather than the Asus ones with many different non-Intel chips added to the Intel basis? I looked at Intel board for desktop PC but connectivity was quite limited, but maybe I will have to sacrifice connectivity for stability.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3770K 3.5GHz
    Motherboard
    P8Z77-V LX
    Memory
    16Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Asus GeFroce GTX 650 Ti
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Virtuawin seems to be the one blocking the Windows-X key combination from time to time, but I cannot just get rid of it, otherwise I have no efficient way to navigate between more than two windows (alt-tab becomes almost unusable with multiple windows unless I have multiple desktops). My ultrabook doesn't have Virtuawin (yet), because I am using a small number of applications on it and it has a touch screen, so at worst I can tap on the icons in the task bar. But I can't believe Virtuawin is causing audio failures.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3770K 3.5GHz
    Motherboard
    P8Z77-V LX
    Memory
    16Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Asus GeFroce GTX 650 Ti
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
I wouldn't think it's the editions are what's causing problems. Rather, it might've been driver incompatibilities with Windows 8.1. All Windows 8 editions (maybe except RT) have the same driver framework and driver model so even if you change to non-pro, you might still get problems. Anyways, I would try a "trial" double booting on your main PC with a fresh install of 8.1 and see if the new install fixes the issues.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64 with Media Center
    Computer type
    Tablet
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Pro 3
    CPU
    Core i5 4300U @ 1.9 GHz
    Motherboard
    Surface Pro 3
    Memory
    8092 MB DDR3-L 1.35 V SDRAM @ 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD 4400 @ 200 MHz
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Built-in 3:2 display
    Screen Resolution
    2160 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    256 GB SSD + 128 GB micro SD
    PSU
    36 Watt power brick
    Cooling
    Active
    Keyboard
    On Screen Keyboard
    Mouse
    Surface pen
    Internet Speed
    300 / 20 TWC
    Browser
    IE 11 Metro, IE 11 Desktop
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
The problem is that reinstalling Windows breaks the boot loader, preventing Ubuntu to start anymore, and there is no clear simple instructions to restore the bootloader; I have to search for this 15 minutes each time it breaks. Installing Windows 8.1 fresh on another partition will cause even more problems: the boot loader of the old and new windows will be linked and I will not be able to just remove the old Windows partition if reinstall fixes the issues. Moreover, reinstalling takes too much time because of the two many drivers to reinstall, and each driver causing reboot. Again, I might have picked the wrong motherboard; maybe simpler boards would require less driver installs, but I don't know what board to use and don't really want to pull my PC apart and assemble a new machine. The system is working correctly with Ubuntu.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3770K 3.5GHz
    Motherboard
    P8Z77-V LX
    Memory
    16Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Asus GeFroce GTX 650 Ti
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
I would've have to point it to Virtuawin as the problem. It might've been that Virtuawin is trying to load apps on the virtual desktop which some programs and metro Apps aren't coded to run in that manner. Or it might've been that the keyboard and mouse shortcuts that Virtuawin currently uses are causing conflicts with Window's shortcuts, etc.

FYI, Windows 10 will have virtual desktops so you wouldn't need a 3rd party software for that functionality. In the mean time, you can probably get by with 2 monitors and switching between them with taskbar or alt-tab.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64 with Media Center
    Computer type
    Tablet
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Pro 3
    CPU
    Core i5 4300U @ 1.9 GHz
    Motherboard
    Surface Pro 3
    Memory
    8092 MB DDR3-L 1.35 V SDRAM @ 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD 4400 @ 200 MHz
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Built-in 3:2 display
    Screen Resolution
    2160 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    256 GB SSD + 128 GB micro SD
    PSU
    36 Watt power brick
    Cooling
    Active
    Keyboard
    On Screen Keyboard
    Mouse
    Surface pen
    Internet Speed
    300 / 20 TWC
    Browser
    IE 11 Metro, IE 11 Desktop
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
I'd first suspect VirtuaWin as the culprit as well. I've never used it, not sure what it would take to uninstall/reinstall it to see if that improves things.

BTW, you can see exactly what version of Windows your machine has by right-clicking on the Start button and selecting System. At the top of that page is a section labeled "Windows edition" that will tell you what version of Win 8.x is installed.

The different versions of Win 8.x use the same OS kernel, but Pro and Enterprise versions include other features (such as Hyper-V).
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W10 Pro (desktop), W10 (laptop), W10 Pro (tablet)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home built i7-8700K, Hp Envy x360 EVO Laptop, MS Surface Pro 7
    CPU
    3.7Ghz Core i7-8700K, 11th Gen Core i7-1165G7 4.7Ghz, 10th Gen Core™ i5-1035G4 1.1Ghz
    Motherboard
    ASUS TUF Z370-Pro Gaming, HP, MS
    Memory
    16G, 8G, 8G
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon RX580, Intel Iris X Graphics, Intel Iris Plus Graphics G4
    Sound Card
    ATI High Definition Audio (Built-in to mobo)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual Samsung U32J59 32 inch monitors, 13.3" display, 12.3" display
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160 (Desktop), 1920x1080 (laptop), 2736x1824 Pro 7
    Hard Drives
    500GB ssd boot drive with 2 & 10TB Data (Desktop), 512GB ssd (laptop), 128GB SSD (tablet)
    PSU
    Corsair CX 750M
    Case
    Antec 100
    Cooling
    Coolermaster CM 212+
    Keyboard
    IBM Model M - used continuously since 1986
    Mouse
    Microsoft IntelliMouse
    Internet Speed
    665Mbps/15Mbps down/up
    Browser
    FireFox, MS Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender on all
    Other Info
    Retired in 2015 after working in the tech industry for 41 years. First 10 years as a Technician, the rest as a programmer/software engineer. After 1 year of retirement, I was bored so went back to work as a Robotic Process Automation Consultant. Retired for 3rd (and final) time in 2019.
Just to show you that you are not alone -- I've had Windows 8.1 32-bit failing on me repeatedly during the past couple of weeks. This is after virtually no problems since I installed Win8 and upgraded to 8.1.

My guess is that these problems have been related to the "bad" Windows updates that have happened recently.

I got so tired of doing almost daily image restores, that I have clean-installed Win8.1 64-bit and am using that now. I had to do an initial set of 54 updates -- but all of them went without a hitch, and the resulting system appears to be stable.

So, you might look into doing an in-place reinstall.
 

My Computer

It is not the version of Windows. Your Ultrabook most likely doesn't have the necessary CPU requirements to enable Hyper-V, most likely it's missing SLAT. I also believe that Hyper V requires 8.x Professional, so if you don't have 8.1 Pro on your Ultrabook, that could also prevent you from enabling the feature.


Does your Windows 8.1 computer support Hyper-V? - Tech Page One
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built in July 2009
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Acer x233H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX modular
    Case
    Antec P182
    Cooling
    stock
    Keyboard
    ABS M1 Mechanical
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
    Internet Speed
    15/2 cable modem
    Other Info
    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
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