trouble with my Asus laptop restoring windows 8.1

Hi everyone

I'm new here so please bear with me, I will try and explain this as easy as possible, I was using windows 8.1 on my Asus laptop, then by mistake I pressed a pop up from Microsoft that said install windows 10, well that was the start of it, I realized my mistake as soon as the windows 10 was downloaded, I didn't like it I couldn't find anything the layout was horrible, so I researched a way out, and was told got to settings, go to updates, then find the recovery button, then press the button that said go back to windows 8.
This was done and that's when the problem started, I left my laptop on for the best part of 6hrs, whilst the recovery was supposed to be happening, and it was going on and on, so when I went to bed I turned it off. Next day tried again, same thing, then it kept asking me about rebooting????? now its saying preparing automatic repair, what repair??? I am getting stressed will I lose all my stuff saved on my computer????

Any help will be much appreciated, I'm a complete novice when it comes to computers.

** I should have used phrases like "you may" "you might" and so on; take the following in the spirit of possibilities, not any "commands" **
I know next to nothing about Windows 8, however, I do know Windows 7 Pro.
Did you make any full image OS partition backups before all of this happened?
If yes, restore that image.
If no, then, you will have to make a USB or DVD boot from something similar to Macrium Reflect. Booting that backup/restore utility, you can make a folders/files backup onto any known-good external media. In fact, maybe make two such backups onto two external media [external HDs probably would be best].
Afterwards, you will have to bite the bullet and use your Windows install DVD and reinstall Windows 8.
Don't have an install DVD? You will have to have others walk you thru finding and downloading your Windows 8 ISO from somewhere [I know not where].

Merv.....
I see by your flags that you're a long ways from Florida, USA....Right?

Too bad, because if you were local, I'd offer to fix that PC for you.

In contrast to the warnings on every forum, about always making a backup of your hard drive, before ever accepting any Upgrade, you obviously didn't. Eh?
Likewise, if you were getting those invites from MS to upgrade to Windows 10, and you didn't want it, you should have just downloaded the GWX Control panel, where you could disable all the invitations and downloads associated with Windows 10.

So now you're stuck in a bad place. My technical solution to that, would be to remove your Hard Drive and connect it to my Desktop PC as a slave drive, then access it via Windows and copy every data file that I could find. Your old OS and Data may well be in a folder called "Windows.old".
Then having saved all your data, I'd return your drive to your PC and boot up with a Windows 8.1 DVD and reinstall Windows.
Activating the new Windows is food for another time and another discussion.

Again, I'm sorry I can't help you directly, but I hope you can find a local technician that would be willing to do so, for a minimal cost.
Your problem is definitely Fixable, just not real easy.

Good Luck Mate!
TechnoMage