I've been driven to post by an issue with the Refresh Windows option since the update to 8.1 I cannot find a viable solution.
It appears to me that the Refresh Windows function is broken for those of us who upgraded from 8 to 8.1 for free via the start screen Windows Store.
When I tried to run Refresh on two of my 8.1 machines it failed, responding with the error message "files are missing, insert your recovery drive or installation media" or similar.
However, if you have upgraded via the Store, neither your original Windows 8 installation disk NOR a newly created recovery drive will work. If you try to use either, windows will tell you the media is invalid.
Research and fault finding indicates that the refresh function won't work because of a product key conflict.
From what I can tell this is because:
When you upgrade from 8 to 8.1 through the store you don't create an ISO or receive an updated product key.
If you have upgraded via the store, Refresh will tell you files are missing, as above. If you use your original 8 installation media as windows directs you to, it will fail because the product key is no longer valid.
If you create a new recovery drive on your updated 8.1 machine, again this will not work - Refresh will say the disk is invalid. Again I suspect this is a product key issue.
Trying to find and use a Windows product key on my machines since the upgrade is also a dead end. Control Panel/System and Security/System no longer displays a product key. Using a third party product key finder app may find another product key, however again this will be invalid.
I called microsoft activation center and the only suggestion they have is clean install of windows 8 and redo the upgrade because the media center activation key was expired (after the promotion period). It wasted me an hour to make the call and talk with the manger (employee id 2814). They sound like it is none of their business.
Once you have upgraded Win XP, Vista or 7 to Win 8, you need to be able to start, recover or re-install Win 8 with a recovery disk or original installation disk, preferably a disk that will boot the computer despite the fact that the Windows operating system has been knocked out. (I'm thinking of a situation where even Windows Safe Mode won't provide relief.) If you made a Win 8 Upgrade disk from the ISO provided on purchasing Win 8 online, you will have only that. Can the Win 8 Upgrade disk recover/re-install Windows 8 when it breaks down? If so, how can the Win 8 Upgrade disk be modified to boot the computer in order to start recovery or re-installation of Windows?
i noticed this bug long time ago, but now i decided to try to solve it, because i will be using this os for long time now. When i try to delete files or something, and when i get a windows to confirm my actions, there is a big icon on the left side, and that icon has a black line on it, how to remove it ? It doesnt matter which icon will be there, it will have this black like on its left side.
Intel haswell graphics, core i7 cpu, everything works good, no files corruption or anything else. For many reasons i have installed windows 8/8.1 over 10 times, and all the time i get this broken icon bug...
Windows 8. I just performed a refresh of my MSDN RTM copy of Windows 8 and my search screen (from the start screen) is dumbed-down now - i.e.: when I go to the search screen it only searches on apps and does not provide the filter UI that should be on the right-hand side.
Is there a setting somewhere or did my refresh actually break Windows?
Recently, my metro search hasn't been working. I usually go to the metro GUI and search for defrag, and click the "Defragment and optimise your drives". But, for some reason, when I click it, nothing happens, this also happens with many other system related programs like device manager, sound etc. I always have to use control panel now to use these programs. Other programs seem to work fine.
Lots of my apps deleted themselves without me doing anything, and some other (the Microsoft ones: weather, bing news etc, plus Flipboard) are just broken. When I try to open them, there's a page of the color of the app (red for news, light blue for weather......) without the app's logo and then it comes back to start screen.
I also tried to download them again from the store, and this is what happen. Under the "instal" button there's a message: "You already have this app. You can download to this computer", which it's ok, but if I click on Install, notification appears on the top right; tapping on it doesn't do anything, and the app isn't in the app folder. When I uninstalled and re-installed Weather (which wasn't disappeared, but broken) the app worked again.
The only "weird" thing that I remember I have done is to empty the bin, as I had memory full and wanted to gain some space.
Do you think this can be a malware? I already tried to open a new account, and it works just fine.
I've recently replaced my secondary HDD in HP Pavillion dv7 (primary is SSD@W8.1) and as soon as I booted up computer, I got error "no bootable devices found". The first thing that I tried out was bootable USB with Windows 8.1 whereas I ran "automatic repair" several times, without any luck.
Then I opened up command prompt under advanced menu and ran:
None worked, probably because of "element not found" error. I also tried with diskpart where I manually selected (see screenshot) SSD system partition for active one, but still without any luck.
I also created bootable Minitool Parition Magic USB and ran Rebuild BCD from there and it still didn't work.
I have a Samsung DP700A3D All-In-One. It came preinstalled with Windows 8. I remember it being version 6.2 (?). I always seem to try things above and beyond my skill set (Current Computer Science student). I installed Ubuntu 13.04 64 bit alongside Windows 8 with no problems. I aloud the Ubuntu to do the partioning. It used Grub2 for bootloader. I wasn't happy with that wanting to use Windows Boot Manager. After changing this and reloading that, somehow the windows 8 partition did a recovery. I can now not boot anything. I'm currently on Ubuntu live CD. I can see the drives from here. There are partitions labeled SAMSUNG_REC, SAMSUNG_REC2, 487 GB Volume(Windows files inside), Windows RE tools, and 481 GB Volume(Ubuntu files inside). When I boot the machine, I get the Install Boot Media ?? comment at attempted start-up. When I was setting up the Ubuntu alongside Windows I could access BIOS(?) with an F2 press at initial flash screen. Now I cannot. I can do nothing but run the Ubuntu Live CD. I don't want to try Fresh install of Ubuntu because there are files on Ubuntu partition because there are files that are too large for me to back-up else where that are very important. I KNOW .... BACK-UP BACK-UP BACK-UP!! It however is too late for that..
I've had a problem with the app switcher since upgrading to 8.1 ...
When I hover the cursor in the top left corner when two or more apps are happen, I get small white outlines instead of the small preview images that I used to get on Windows 8 (screenshot attached to this thread, with settings), making it impossible to see what application I'm switching to!
PC: Dell Latitude E6220 Windows 8.1 Pro i7-2640M @ 2.8GHz 4GB RAM
After too many hours of reading and trying various things. It appears that Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) from USB 3G Modems has been broken in Windows 8.1.
On my Desktop PC, which uses Windows 2000 Server, I am able to share a Huawei E156B USB 3G Modem to 1 of the Ethernet ports to which is connected a Netgear Router with 4 LAN ports and a Wireless Antenna which broadcasts a signal that can be used by my smartphone.
On my recently acquired Lenovo B590 Laptop, I use the same SIM chip in a Huawei E3131 USB 3G Modem but have not been able to share the connection with the Ethernet port. I get the dreaded Unidentified Network and Limited connection statuses.
I tried the older modem but it doesn't appear to be compatible and I couldn't find any drivers for it for Windows 8.1.
I also tried sharing to an Ad Hoc Connection as the Laptop also has a Wireless NIC (Network Interface Card). The phone can see the signal broadcast by the Wireless NIC but is not able to communicate with the Internet.
I have tested the E3131 USB modem with the Netgear router with a friend's Dell Inspiron 1545 that has Windows Vista installed and I was able to establish the sharing of the Internet Connection to the Router and hence could also access the Internet with the smartphone.
As soon as I am able I will perform the same test on the Laptop, of another friend, which has Windows 7 installed.
Given that adding an Ad Hoc connection was removed from the GUI interface of Windows 8.1, I am wondering if Microsoft have made a huge "faux pas" in overlooking the need for, or eliminating without consultation, this functionality which has worked fine in previous versions of the Operating System. The following web page may also be related to this topic.
About the Wireless Ad Hoc API (Windows)
However, maybe there is a possibility that this problem is being caused by the modems needing updated firmware or "Connection Management Software", provided by the Internet Service Provider, to be fully compatible with API changes in Windows 8.1.
It appears that Connectify allows the sharing of an Internet service between a USB 3G Modem and an Ethernet port. If so, what API would they be using to achieve this and could the same thing be achieved through the Command Prompt (with Administrator Privileges) using "netsh" (Network Shell) commands?
Does Virtual Router Manager is compatible with Windows 8.1 and is a viable solution to this problem?
Instead of an Ad Hoc connection being created, using the wireless NIC, can a secure Access Point be created to which the Modems connection could be shared? Can "netsh" commands be used to achieve this?
I have also seen articles about creating an Access Point but they are using the same "netsh" commands that I have seen mentioned for the creation of an Ad Hoc Network connection.
Therefore, any reliable and accurate resource for the creation of an Access Point using "netsh" commands?
If there is no reliable/convenient software solution to this problem, are there hardware related solutions?
Are there Routers with Wireless Output Antennas that can receive an inbound connection from a USB 3G Modem and then pass that connection to the PC/Laptop via the Ethernet port of the PC/Laptop as well as re-broadcast the signal via the output antenna?
If so, how do you manage activating the connection to the service provider of the USB Modem?
Can the connection software, that was installed when the USB Modem was connected to a USB port of the PC/Laptop, recognise that it is connected to the external router?
Even if it could, maybe the sharing of a connection would again be thwarted due to changes in the APIs of Windows 8.1.
I migrated from from hdd to ssd on my Samsung series 7 laptop today and everything has gone very well with the exception of windows updates which are now non functioning. I have tried both the DISM and sfc/scannow procedures as well as numerous other possible solutions I have come across during the day.
I've been having an issue trying to delete a broken icon from an uninstalled game of mines in the Games folder. Whenever I open up the folder it gives me an option to uninstall it and takes me to the Uninstaller in the Control Panel but I've already uninstalled the game so that's no dice.
Other than that option there is nothing else I can do to the broken icon. Clicking on it does nothing.
I have an asus laptop with windows 8.1 and am trying to reverse the function key but when I get into the BIOS area I can find no way to change it there. Is there another method with asus or windows 8.1?
Basically my screens kinda broken. 2 flies kept passing around me and I tried swatting it away with my hand, and when I did that my earphonescaught me hand and one of the buds hit my screen and this happened.. I took a picture of it to see what it looks like..
I have a friend with his broken HDD, ran chkdsk on it , after 120 hours it had gone up to 45% only and I got a bluescreen while playing dota 2 so chkdsk was interupted, when the pc jumped back I could access the HDD but it was super slow and after a restart I couldnt access it anymore, I unplugged the HDD thought it was gone forever and today I got another BSOD while I was on youtube. I got really scared cause I have had tons of trouble with this PC but after I switched out a damaged motherboard it all dissapeared and the PC was finally working 100%.
I deleted the old dumpfiles cause they were from when my motherboard was broken, if you find traces of the old dumpfiles, ignore them cause that problem is solved, its dumpfiles from july (its 2 of them) that are making me scared if I made a big mistake letting chkdsk run for that long on a bad hdd ...
SF diagnostic tool file:
SF_19-07-2014.rar - Speedy Share - upload your files here
I just switched from Mac OS to Windows 8, and one of my biggest problems have been the function keys (F1-F12). On a mac, you could have the OS features "hidden" behind Fn, which enabled me to use function keys as shortcuts when using a software or playing. With Windows 8, the OS function keys commands go above a software's shortcut commands. So you can't press F5 for refresh and so forth.
After a lot of googling, it seemed it's impossible to switch Windows 8's features such as second screen (f10) off, or have them behind a Fn+F10 type commands.
I've tried already to achieve this with autohotkey but even with administrative rights etc, Windows 8 won't let me bypass or override the OS function keys features.
This is actually the main reason in considering to sell my brand new Lenovo laptop (which I like) and switch back to Apple.
I have a Toshiba Satellite P75-A7200 with windows 8, and none of the function keys are working, although they used to work. Windows 8 does not have flash cards, nor is there a keyboard option on computer settings.
Few days ago a friend showed me a great OSx functionality - Smart Folders. Basically it is a "virtual" folder, does not really contains files but rather an active search folder.
Let say you want to have a place that will display only word/text documents created within last 5 days, or only doc files.... regardless of where they really are.
Can you get such functionality in Windows? I know "search" pretty good but using it instead of set folder, means we have to perform search every time we want to display files we look for.
I have a laptop where my LCD is broken on the left side, but the right side works fine. Is there a way I can change my display to only show on the right side? I've managed to make the display horizontally smaller, but I can't figure out how to change the center to the right side. This is annoying because I have to re-size every window every time I open it, and then I have to constantly scroll back and forth on web pages. I'd rather be able to maximize and have it only on the right side. See the attached picture to see what I'm talking about.
how to rebuilt user with broken system settings and keep directory structure (for scripts and non -windows friendly software) and hopefully user name.
Problem: Main user profile is broken, flat out broken. After login the screen starts flashing and it gets worse from there. I can run everything and not duplicate the error message. I always create a pristine user when I do an OS install. Administrator is OK, but it has saved me more than once to have the regular admin-type account. Since I have the nice, fluffy, running profile now I would like to learn just where is it reading these files that tell it bad things.
Another is a broken video driver (sounds were Windows Default on the working one, I told it no sounds in light of what I read) Both profiles are running the exact desktop wallpaper changer, it is working fine on the one account. I couldn't turn it off anyway on the bad account, I can't get to any of the settings windows, regedit, control panel items (that I want) are not running. Same errors as above.
I assume the calls are in the .appdata directory or perhaps the registry. I used to know how to open another user's registry in regedit but can't figure it out in Windows 8. Is there a way to tell it only to run particular services for a certain user, I can't see the services module when in the broken profile, again, same type of errors as before. Not sure which info you want on the machine or how you get it.
Computer: Operating System Windows 8.1 Pro Professional OS Service Pack - DirectX 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)[code]....
The light sensor on my phone is broken so whenever I get a call the screen just goes black while I am talking and I can't put it on speaker or anything. How can I fix this??
I recently upgraded to Windows 8.1 from Windows 7 and noticed my USB 3 WD Passport external hard drive stays powered on as well as my round LED's (Lock/Start/Reset). With Windows 7 I just enabled EuP in the bios and that powered everything down when I shut down including the LED's. Now with Windows 8.1 that function doesn't work. They all stay on. I tried disabling all the power functions in Power Management for the USB but still, the power stays on. For some reason the EuP enable function does not work like before. I believe its related to Windows 8.1 since it worked fine with Windows 7. For some reason they locked USB power after shutdown.
PS: I already tried resetting the bios to no effect.
