Forced Upgrade to Windows 8.1?

KathytheArtist

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Hello. This is my first time posting here, so please forgive me if this isn't the right place.

I have an HP Pavillion TouchSmart All-In-One PC with Windows 8.

Like everyone else in the world, I keep getting notifications that Windows 8.1 is free! in! the! store!

But I don't want to upgrade to 8.1, so I just dismiss the messages and carry on with life.

A moment ago, I was at the computer working and a bar popped up across the screen, but this time it said that Windows 8.1 was ready to install and the computer was going to restart in 2 hours to complete the installation. It stated that the computer would restart 3 or 4 times and I wouldn't be able to use it for 30 -45 minutes.

I wasn't planning to upgrade, so I haven't run any of the recommended compatibility tools or anything to prepare for it.

I went into the store and there it was, stating that it was downloaded and ready to install. It gave me the option to cancel the install, which I did.

My question is: Why did this happen without any authorization from me? And how do I stop it from happening again?

I'm quite concerned that, had this happened in the middle of the night when I wasn't here to prevent it, I could've woken up to 8.1 and potentially incompatible software and drivers and such.

Thanks,

Kathy
 
The last computer I had was Windows XP...and I had it for 8 years. So I guess you could say I'm a bit resistant to change. I just got this computer earlier this year and have it set up just the way I want it and just didn't want the hassle of having to reconfigure anything.
 
Microsoft has said that if you don't upgrade to 8.1 then you won't be able to get updates at some future point (not sure if that point has been passed or not).

8.1 has some nice features such as the ability to boot direct to the desktop as well as a more direct way of accessing shutdown & restart.. I think most that have upgraded consider the upgrade worthwhile although I'm sure there are those that will say otherwise.

When you install the 8.1 upgrade, you'll also get the 8.1 update 1 which added some more features such as a title bar for Metro apps and the ability to add Metro apps to the desktop taskbar.
 
We had some issues in our Australia office with drivers, but it was with xps13 machines specifically. In our US office, the upgrade was smooth. At home, my wife's Samsung was smooth, Asus had a utility to find, download and install all driver updates. It worked just fine.
 
As others have stated, you should plan to upgrade as updates aren't going to be make available just for 8.0 in the future. You will need to be up to date to keep up to date with your updates.
 
I wasn't planning to upgrade, so I haven't run any of the recommended compatibility tools or anything to prepare for it.

I went into the store and there it was, stating that it was downloaded and ready to install. It gave me the option to cancel the install, which I did.

My question is: Why did this happen without any authorization from me? And how do I stop it from happening again?

it is due to a "new" windows update KB2973544 Inside of Windows update it claims to "resolve a issue in windows..." but when you read the KB Article and it says "If you have Automatic Updates enabled on a computer that is running Windows RT or Windows 8 and that has update 2871389 installed, this update can automatically start the update process to Windows RT 8.1 or Windows 8.1"

Iif you uninstall this "new" update then hide this update in windows updates it will not auto upgrade.
 
Just had two clients who have been forced to accept the 8.1 upgrade this morning (turned on their pc and there it was, already done). I now have to go and sort out their machines so they can use them again. Biggest problem - will not now connect to internet so they cannot conduct business as they are running 'blind'.
Totally screws up my day also.

Some say good old microsoft, the others tell the truth.
 
I think the upgrade for most is pretty smooth. Most software will work just fine. Might end up with a driver or two which you have to upgrade.
 
I was forced to update today after declining numerous times. I took a lunch break and came back to my computer to find that the update was installed and the computer was restarting. Currently, I'm out $250 and I still don't have a working desktop. I installed a new video card after purchasing my HP Envy to support 3 monitors. Turns out that the video card is not recognized. I'm looking at black screens. I tried HP support...no help, "pay us". Tried windows support, no help, "we would never force the update." and then took my desktop to best buy for geek squad help. They state that I need to re-install the original video card (which I no longer have) in order to make any needed changes to get my video card to work....what a PITA!

I'd like to thank Microsoft for this extremely inconvenient interruption to my business and the costs I've incurred from tying to fix this mess.
 
New update kb3008273 is a new forced update to 8.1 block it if you do not want to update

to fix this:
1. Set widows update not to auto install updates

2. Remove update KB2871389 which was published 9/10/2013

3. Then reboot

4. Do a windows update check and hide update KB2871389
 
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Can anyone tell me how big the forced Windows 8.1 download is? I was using my phone as a tether yesterday and when I came back from lunch, I'd gone from a few MB to over 1GB in terms of data allowance, pushing me over my limit for the month - on 4th November! If that was due to the Windows 8.1 download being pushed onto my laptop... Grrrr.

Edit: The no-option "Windows 8.1 is ready to install" message first appeared this morning. I've had the "Do you want to?" banner pop up regularly before now, but I'd heard too many scare stories about 8.1 - now not only am I being forced into installing it, but have they used up my mobile tethering data allowance to boot? :mad:
 
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A person in our office came back from getting coffee to find that the update was in progress with no warning. It took two hours and when it rebooted the docking station with two monitors were not recognized. This was a support person with work to do! No access to email or the help system the whole time. It disrupted business while we dealt with getting new drivers, etc. This laptop does not have an ethernet connection so all downloads had to be done through a slow wireless network. Not a fun day at all. Looks like we are back to normal (haven't tried all of our in-house applications.) If we wanted to upgrade, we would have done it outside of business hours! Shame on Microsoft for forcing this. Two other staff were offsite at a conference last week when they had forced updates. The downloads chewed up a lot of the data plan through the hotspot that we were not planning on.
 
That's a bummer that your data allotment for the month was exceeded from that single download. In Win 8 you can tell it that you are on a mobile connection and it will curtail what it downloads. I think that would not have helped in this case since MS has decided this is a mandatory update but it would help by preventing download of non-essential updates as well as data for the Live Tiles.

MouseMan's story is disheartening but I think that particular user's issue with the Win 8.1 update was an exception due to the docking station. I personally have updated a dozen or more systems from 8 to 8.1 and have not encountered a single issue (in fact, all of them have also been updated to 8.1 update 1 with no problems).
 
All of our laptops have docking stations (Targus and Keningston) because they do not have ethernet ports and we drive dual (or triple) monitors and we use laptops because we often go out of the office - on-site and need the portability. Not all of the upgrades to 8.1 made the docking stations fail - it was hit and miss. After I posted this morning, my computer got hit by the mandatory upgrade. I didn't know at first why my computer was acting strange (several crashes) and then I decided to look at the Windows Store and saw that the update had downloaded and failed. I hit "retry" and let it work through it. It took a couple of hours, but I am now back up and running. But for those 2+ hours I could not do my normal job. You can't just take a computer away from someone who uses it every minute of the work day!!!! I only had to upgrade Citrix so far - all other apps seem to be working although I did have to re-register Office 365 (Lync and Outlook) but that was easy.
 
I am having the same problem here Kathy. I however have tried the 8.1 update and found that it DID affect drivers and or ports. I could no longer use VIA HD audio deck and my sound drivers were all kinds of messed up. For the life of me I could not find a driver update for my audio that was compatible with 8.1. My audio port became useless. Simply would not work for headphones or mics. The small amount of "new" features (i quote because they are pretty much all features we have seen before) is not worth the headache I received with the 8.1 update. I still dont know how to stop it from trying to force itself into my laptop and it seems most persons are all for it... wish i had an answer for you. But you are not alone.
 
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