Laptop has become unresponsive problems started when Windows 8.1 Build 9600 watermark appeared

[vickyscot]

MY Toshiba laptop starts up OK, then I am unable to do anything - can't load control panel, can't shut down, can't restart. In the end I just have to power off by holding down the power button. Can't access settings so that it starts in safe mode. Since I started having problems yesterday, there is a watermark on bottom RHS of desktop saying Windows 8.1 Build 9600. Can anyone help or advise?

 

[mrjimphelps]

I'm not sure about the watermark. But here's something that might be helpful. There may be a rogue program which is loading at startup, which is slowing everything down. There is a way to see if this is the case, then to figure out exactly which program is causing the problem.

Run MSCONFIG. Go to the Services tab. Check the box which says "Hide all Microsoft services". Click Apply.

You will now see only the non-Microsoft services. Select them all and click Disable. Click Apply. Reboot the computer.

Did this solve the problem? If not, then you should go back into MSCONFIG and re-enable the non-Microsoft services, then click Apply, then reboot.

If it did solve the problem, then you'll need to figure out which service caused the problem. Go back into MSCONFIG and re-enable the services, on at a time, clicking Apply then rebooting after each re-enable. At some point, the problem will come back. You will then know which service was causing the problem; go back into MSCONFIG and disable that one (and make a note of it). Continue this process, one service at a time, in case there are any other misbehaving services.

Hopefully this will fix the problem.

 

[vickyscot]

Thanks for your advice, I'll give it a go!

 

[mywin]

MY Toshiba laptop starts up OK, then I am unable to do anything - can't load control panel, can't shut down, can't restart. In the end I just have to power off by holding down the power button. Can't access settings so that it starts in safe mode. Since I started having problems yesterday, there is a watermark on bottom RHS of desktop saying Windows 8.1 Build 9600. Can anyone help or advise?

Has this ever happen before? Sounds to me that your license maybe expired or invalid. Check your activation status >rightclick "This PC" >"Properties". At the bottom it should say "Windows activated" or "Windows not activated". If your copy is genuine and shows "not activated" try "Change Product Key" and insert the key which came with your laptop/Windows when you bought it.

 

[vickyscot]

I'm not sure about the watermark. But here's something that might be helpful. There may be a rogue program which is loading at startup, which is slowing everything down. There is a way to see if this is the case, then to figure out exactly which program is causing the problem.

Run MSCONFIG. Go to the Services tab. Check the box which says "Hide all Microsoft services". Click Apply.

You will now see only the non-Microsoft services. Select them all and click Disable. Click Apply. Reboot the computer.

Did this solve the problem? If not, then you should go back into MSCONFIG and re-enable the non-Microsoft services, then click Apply, then reboot.

If it did solve the problem, then you'll need to figure out which service caused the problem. Go back into MSCONFIG and re-enable the services, on at a time, clicking Apply then rebooting after each re-enable. At some point, the problem will come back. You will then know which service was causing the problem; go back into MSCONFIG and disable that one (and make a note of it). Continue this process, one service at a time, in case there are any other misbehaving services.

Hopefully this will fix the problem.

Hi there,

I have just tried to run MSCONFIG but nothing happens (computer is totally unresponsive!). I think it may be something to do with my Windows license but can't seem to access anything and no longer have original Windows disc with product key on......

 

[TrustMe]

You can download a copy of Windows 8.1 from here.

Download Windows 8.1 Disc Image (ISO File)

You don’t need a product key. Windows will read the key stored in the BIOS and install the correct version (Home or Pro) for you. It will automatically activate once you go on the internet. If Windows asks for a key during the install, you downloaded the wrong version of Windows 8.1

Thing thing is, you have to download the same version of Windows that matches you key. If you computer came with Windows 8.1 Home, and you download Windows 8.1 Home N or Windows 8.1 Single Language, it will not activate.

If your computer came with Windows 8, the new Windows 8.1 iso will accept Windows 8 Keys.

Try to download all the drivers for your computer before you reinstall Windows. They can be found on Toshiba’s website. Just search for your model number. At the very least download the Ethernet and wireless drivers so you can go on the internet and get the rest.

Did your computer come with recovery partition? If so, maybe you can restore it to factory condition.

 

[mrjimphelps]

I have just tried to run MSCONFIG but nothing happens (computer is totally unresponsive!). I think it may be something to do with my Windows license but can't seem to access anything and no longer have original Windows disc with product key on......

Reboot into Safe Mode. Run MSCONFIG from there. Once you have disabled all of the non-Microsoft services, you can reboot into normal mode. I suspect that you will now have regained control of your computer. If so, then you know that one (or more) of the non-Microsoft services is the culprit.

My sister-in-law had exactly the same situation as you; the only difference was that she had Windows 10, and you have Windows 8.1. But her computer was slower than molasses, so slow as to be unusable. I restarted the computer in Safe Mode and I was able to go into MSCONFIG and disable all of her non-Microsoft services. This eliminated the problem of extreme slowness. I then re-enabled one service at a time, so that I could see which one was the culprit. I kept that one disabled, and re-enabled all others. Her computer operated normally after that.

Here is a tutorial explaining how to start Windows 8.1 in Safe Mode:
Safe Mode - Start Windows 8 in

 

[vickyscot]

Reboot into Safe Mode. Run MSCONFIG from there. Once you have disabled all of the non-Microsoft services, you can reboot into normal mode. I suspect that you will now have regained control of your computer. If so, then you know that one (or more) of the non-Microsoft services is the culprit.

My sister-in-law had exactly the same situation as you; the only difference was that she had Windows 10, and you have Windows 8.1. But her computer was slower than molasses, so slow as to be unusable. I restarted the computer in Safe Mode and I was able to go into MSCONFIG and disable all of her non-Microsoft services. This eliminated the problem of extreme slowness. I then re-enabled one service at a time, so that I could see which one was the culprit. I kept that one disabled, and re-enabled all others. Her computer operated normally after that.

Here is a tutorial explaining how to start Windows 8.1 in Safe Mode:
Safe Mode - Start Windows 8 in

Thanks for this, I am still tearing my hair out working out how to fix this. So far I've been unsuccessful in rebooting in safe mode (trying with F8 key, seems to be impossible). But I will check your tutorial above and try this.

 

[vickyscot]

Reboot into Safe Mode. Run MSCONFIG from there. Once you have disabled all of the non-Microsoft services, you can reboot into normal mode. I suspect that you will now have regained control of your computer. If so, then you know that one (or more) of the non-Microsoft services is the culprit.

My sister-in-law had exactly the same situation as you; the only difference was that she had Windows 10, and you have Windows 8.1. But her computer was slower than molasses, so slow as to be unusable. I restarted the computer in Safe Mode and I was able to go into MSCONFIG and disable all of her non-Microsoft services. This eliminated the problem of extreme slowness. I then re-enabled one service at a time, so that I could see which one was the culprit. I kept that one disabled, and re-enabled all others. Her computer operated normally after that.

Here is a tutorial explaining how to start Windows 8.1 in Safe Mode:
Safe Mode - Start Windows 8 in

Hi again, I'm unable to log in as an administrator, which you need to do in all the steps of the above tutorial - cant access anything to change my account to administrator status - any ideas?

 

[mrjimphelps]

You'll need to be an administrator in order to get into Safe Mode. There is the official Administrator account. Normally it is disabled; but when you log into Windows via Safe Mode, the official administrator account may be available as an account that you can log in on -- that's the way it works in Windows 7.

I recently did a clean install of Windows 7 on a computer - the Administrator account allowed me to log into Safe Mode, and it didn't have a password assigned to it, which meant that I was able to easily log into Safe mode.

Windows 8 and 8.1 boot so fast that it may be impossible to get into Safe Mode by hitting F8. Try shift-F8 instead of F8. Or, if you can eventually get into a usable state in Windows, you can go into MSCONFIG and set it to boot into Safe Mode. Go to the Boot tab; put a check in the Safe Boot box; choose Network. Now go to the right and check Make all boot settings permanent. (This will make it keep going into Safe Mode till you tell it to stop.)

Here is another way to get into Safe Mode: Hold down the Shift key when you restart Windows. When Windows asks you to "Choose an Option", pick Troubleshoot, then Advanced Options, then Startup Settings. You will then be able to select Safe Mode or Safe Mode with Networking. (Safe Mode with Networking will allow you to surf the web while in Safe Mode.)

If rebooting into Safe Mode puts the computer in a usable state, then it is likely that one of the non-Microsoft drivers is the culprit. Follow the above procedure for finding and disabling the culprit.