Skype/8.1 problem.

[Scooby73466]

New member here and so I hope someone will be able to help me please. I am running Windows 8.1 64 bit on a HP desktop pc and use Skype. But something has happened which is preventing me from starting the program. I have the same icon on my desktop which I placed there when I initially installed Skype probably 5 years ago. It has been behaving strangely for some time insofar as soon as I double click the icon I have been getting a message asking me if I want to install the program on my pc. I have been clicking yes to this and after no more than 10 seconds I have been getting access to the program. But since yesterday, when I double click the icon, nothing happens.

I have looked into C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Skype for Desktop and there are two folders in there : locales and swiftshader, and 85 individual files, the largest of which is labelled Skype, with a date of 21/02/2023 (which may have been the last date that I used Skype), file type is Application, and it is 117 mb in size. Even if I double click on this file the program doesn’t start.

I am aware that all support for 8.1 has finished but I thought that I might delete the complete program and re-install it again but I would like some advice before doing that if it is possible please. Any help or advice would be very much appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Teeotsa]

Hey, and welcome!

Skype for Windows Desktop ( 8.94.0.428 ) runs fine on my Windows 8.1 VM. Probably reinstall, reinstallation keeps your settings/account.

Screenshot

 

[Scooby73466]

https://www.eightforums.com/members/teeotsa.100730/Hey, and welcome!

Skype for Windows Desktop ( 8.94.0.428 ) runs fine on my Windows 8.1 VM. Probably reinstall, reinstallation keeps your settings/account.

Thank you very much for your help. I have had another thought. I take backups frequently of programs as well as data and I wondered if it might be easier for me to just copy the complete C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Skype for Desktop folder back onto my pc ? Or would it be better (and safer) to uninstall the existing program and download the program again, presumably done from the Microsoft site ? Is it possible to just download Skype on it's own ?

EDIT. All sorted now. Just downloaded the program from the Microsoft site which was just a 85.3mb .exe file showing the version number of Skype-8.94.0.428, double clicked it and it set up the program on the pc, complete with a new icon on my desktop, and it all worked as it always did. Thanks again for your help @Teeotsa

 

[Teeotsa]

EDIT. All sorted now. Just downloaded the program from the Microsoft site which was just a 85.3mb .exe file showing the version number of Skype-8.94.0.428, double clicked it and it set up the program on the pc, complete with a new icon on my desktop, and it all worked as it always did. Thanks again for your help @Teeotsa

You're welcome