Problem WIth 8.1 Upgrade -- Networking

I have no sognificant issues on my laptop that started out as Windows 8.0 and hasn't much in the way of additional software or devices. My desktop is another matter. It started out with Windows 7 installed by Dell and the Windows 8 upgrade went smoothly. After the 8.1 upgrade a lot of stuff stopped working. All of the store apps didn't work and I can't install anything. I get an error code 0x80072ee4. I think it's related to the other major problem. After a ehile (1-6 hours) it loses connectivity to the router but the hardware layer still works as it can see if the cable is plugged. I plugged a USB network adapter in and it works and does not lose the network but after a long download (40-50MB) it hangs. If I use a download helper program, I can stop and restart or if I use my Usenet client which does this automatically, I can do gigantic downloads. Since the amount of time I can maintain a wired connection seems to be related to network load (overnight, it usually stays connected) I think these have a common cause.

The only other bothersome thing is the Intel RST says the service is not running but the Microsoft services control panel says it's running and stopping and restarting doesn't fix it. Also, Iastore is using a lot of cpu (15%) compared to before.

I ran all the Microsoft troubleshooters and reset the network via command line and did a System File Checker with no errors found. Also I checked my AMD (formerly ATI) drivers and AMD's utility says they are the latest (Microsoft says they "might" be out of date.

Any suggestions?

I am wondering if Dell are having problems on old machines with Windows 8.1.

admittedly my XPS M1330 is over 5 years old but when I upgraded to Windows 8, I put it on a SSD and it had a new lease of life. I hope to get another 6 months use out of it as it is only now we are getting a choice of Windows 8 (now 8.1) laptops.

But upgrading to 8.1 has been a disaster. I too have a network problem and have to run the network trouble-shooter to reset the router every time I log using a wireless connection.

3rd party programs seem to work ok but lots of the tiles such as Xbox music, News, Photos, Mail and a few others just give a blank screen when pressed. Store would not open but after doing a WSReset and I also worked through these suggestions:-
Method 1:
I would suggest you to run the Windows 8 Apps Troubleshooter and check the issue status.
http://download.microsoft.com/download/F/2/4/F24D0C03-4181-4E5B-A23B-5C3A6B5974E3/apps.diagcab

Method 2: This method will fix the Windows Store issue.
Re-register the Store App and check.
a. Press “Windows Key + Q” button from the keyboard.
b. Type “Command Prompt” without quotes in the search box.
c. On the left pane, right click on the “Command Prompt” option and select “Run as Administrator”.
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $Env:SystemRoot\WinStore\AppxManifest.xml

Refer to: Fix Store App in Windows 8.1 - NoTime - Site Home - MSDN Blogs

Method 3:
Refer to the following link, this has more information to work on App's performance issue.
What to do if you have problems with an app
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/what-troubleshoot-problems-app

Store is now working inasmuch I can open it and search for apps but when I try to load one I get the error 0x80070002.

After all this I did not know what to try so I contacted Microsoft Support by chat and they remote controlled my laptop and run scans sfc /scannow and worked on it for over 3 hours.

We discovered that I was unable to log out and change user, as even after all of this attention I still did not have the missing apps working or able to reload them. Support wanted to try reloading apps from a local user account, but the option was missing when looking in PC Settings.

The crunch came when they then said they could not do any more and I would have to purchase Premium Support at £65 for 30 days or until solved or £95 for a year. The PC actually does the work I need to do on it and the other apps were just for pleasure, so I am loathe to pay out £65 when I will be looking for a new Laptop within months.

I have read that for Windows 8.1 to run your CPU must also support CMPXCHG16b. (I do not know what this is so will have to research it) Looking at the forums on this it appears perhaps older Dells did not support this, so perhaps this is the problem. If this is the case I fear paying MS £65 will not provide a solution.

So has anyone loaded 8.1 on a Dell and in particular an older model like the XPS M1330 laptop.

"So has anyone loaded 8.1 on a Dell and in particular an older model like the XPS M1330 laptop."

If you're running Windows 8 64 bit, you might try going to Windows 8 32 bit, then to Windows 8.1 32 bit. That works for me on an Intel mobo DG33BUX.