Win 8.1 for dummies?

[Theocnoob]

Start typing
registry
in Windows 8 to see Registry Editor pop up, open it by double clicking on Registry Editor. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ ImmersiveShell \

Right click on ImmersiveShell > New > Key >
EdgeUI

Select EdgeUI and in right-side pane, right click on empty space > New > DWORD (32-Bit Value) and call it
DisableCharmsHint
and set its value to 1

Did this. Hoping charms are gone for good.

 

[Theocnoob]

My laptop (the one with win 8) has slowed to a crawl. I can't figure out why. I have nothing installed on it. Chrome and Skype are the only programs I've installed. It goes to a blank screen for almost a minute when starting up now and it just freezes up for a minute or two at a time or takes forever to load things that were running fine before I did some windows updates on the machine. Now that it's been updated it is slow as molasses. Wth is going on? I can't use it like this...

Also CHARMS ARE STILL THERE!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAH!!

 

[c627627]

Only do critical updates.
*never* allow Windows Update to install Hardware updates.
Only Windows OS critical updates. Leave optional updates alone unless you specifically need them. It is time to save personal files away from laptop and reimage your laptop. Something is serioisly wrong.

Always get hardware drivers from manufacturers. Never Microsoft Windows Update.
From Windows 98 to Windows 8, hardware driver updates offered by Windows Update were responsible for many a hosed machine.

 

[Theocnoob]

Only do critical updates.
*never* allow Windows Update to install Hardware updates.
Only Windows OS critical updates. Leave optional updates alone unless you specifically need them. It is time to save personal files and reimage your laptop.

So this installation is f**** now is that what you're saying?

 

[Silver_Pharaoh]

So this installation is f**** now is that what you're saying?

If it's that bad probably.
I've seen what Updates do

That said, you might be able to un-install them.
Control panel > programs and features, see if the updates are listed there.
(Unless Windows 8 changed where the add/remove programs link is

 

[c627627]

You are reporting things indicative of serious problems that are unique to your system.

I partition the hard drives on machines I use and image/reimage the OS partition *all the time*.


If you have not messed with major things on your system yourself, then I can only assume that you blanket installed everything and anything Microsoft Windows Update offered you, optional updates and hardware updates and that some of them are responsible for your system slowing down to a crawl.


OS problems are a serious time waster. I have things setup on my desktop where I can reimage any of the four OS on my quadruple boot in 2-3 minutes - that's less time it takes to diagnose a major problem. Less time to make a couple of posts in your thread even .


If my system as much as hick-ups, if my system shows delays of half a second, I nuke it in less time it takes me to go on a short bathroom break. By the time I come back it is already reimaged and rebooted into the state it was in when every single program, every single font was the way I liked it to be, when I made the drive image.

 

[anthonyg45157]

You are reporting things indicative of serious problems that are unique to your system.

I partition the hard drives on machines I use and image/reimage the OS partition *all the time*.


If you have not messed with major things on your system yourself, then I can only assume that you blanket installed everything and anything Microsoft Windows Update offered you, optional updates and hardware updates and that some of them are responsible for your system slowing down to a crawl.


OS problems are a serious time waster. I have things setup on my desktop where I can reimage any of the four OS on my quadruple boot in 2-3 minutes - that's less time it takes to diagnose a major problem. Less time to make a couple of posts in your thread even .


If my system as much as hick-ups, if my system shows delays of half a second, I nuke it in less time it takes me to go on a short bathroom break. By the time I come back it is already reimaged and rebooted into the state it was in when every single program, every single font was the way I liked it to be, when I made the drive image.

What software do you use

 

[Theocnoob]

How do I reinstall windows? All I have is a partition on the drive. No reinstall DVDs were provided. I can't use this thing like this. It's gimped. Please help me I can't figure out how to reinstall windows on it...

 

[Theocnoob]

I tried the HP utility but couldn't figure out how to reinstall windows with it so I'm doing a system restore to yesterday...

 

[Silver_Pharaoh]

I tried the HP utility but couldn't figure out how to reinstall windows with it so I'm doing a system restore to yesterday...

Do a sys restore further back if you can.

That way you can eliminate updates as an issue.

And of course turn off that pesky auto-update

 

[c627627]

If system restore fixes your problems then great.
I would hate to give you advice to reimage the system then inadvertently mess something up.

You have a new laptop? hp support should tell you how to reimage your system from images located on a hidden partition on your laptop. That is why there are no DVDs.

First thing I do when I buy a laptop is make backup images - I don't even turn it on so that images can be in their fresh zero boot state.

Sometimes people hold ESCAPE when booting up to get to the menu allowing them to reimage, sometimes some other key.


Call hp support or search for your model number how to reimage the system.

Once again, this will wipe everything off, and can mess the system up if anything goes wrong so be careful.

 

[Theocnoob]

I wouldnt say it solved the problem but it made the system run smoother definitely. Im going to have to reimage eventually anyways right? I plan to swap the hdd for an ssd as soon as possible (like in June). Hard drives are too slow for me. Especially these little rinky dinky ones.

How would I reinstall windows on an SSD so that it would still have all the HP software for the track pad and all that other stuff? Would I just copy the "reinstall" directory off my laptops hdd to a usb key or external hard drive and do it that way? You've been fantastic at helping me through things and I hope that you could help me through that one last thing when the time comes. I'll be asking in June when I get the ssd. No sense asking now. The information won't be fresh in my head.

 

[RGone]

It's probably because I have a bastardized HP Win 8. When I reinstall I'll make sure to use vanilla 8.1 and hopefully this won't happen.

IF you are going to get a non-bastardized Win 8.1, then you need to install it on the new SSD and then simply go to HP with your serial number of the laptop and download and then install the particular drivers available at HP download by model and serial. I might make one EDIT: here and that is to get the NIC driver of your laptop before installing on SSD even with non-bastardized Win8.1 so you have access to the net to get the other drivers. I had forgotten I always do that and have a folder on my backup drive that has all the relative drivers for all of my laptops.

Then the tips you have received for Win8.1 will likely work as expected.
RGone...

 

[SteveLord]

Always get hardware drivers from manufacturers. Never Microsoft Windows Update.
From Windows 98 to Windows 8, hardware driver updates offered by Windows Update were responsible for many a hosed machine.

To make such broad statement is just baloney. Maybe in the 98 era this was more common, but I've done this a lot for the last 8 years in I've worked in IT. I setup or re-purpose at least a few machines a month. In addition to my personal equipment. Sometimes I will go to the manufacturer to get some of it that Windows Update misses, but I can't recall any issues that were a direct result of it. And hosing an entire machine is a bit of a stretch.

 

[c627627]

This has happened to me on every OS iteration from Windows 98 to Windows 8, note who the thread starter is:

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=721236


At any rate, @SteveLord and @EarthDog: You all know who redduc900 is. He discussed this issue in several threads in this section of the forum in the past. If he shares the opinion that Windows Update is not reliable with hardware drivers then I would take another look if that notion has any merit.


But for the record: Separately, one of the times when Windows Update driver hosed a system I was working on, it wasn't even an optional choice, it wasn't even listed anywhere other than under a Critical Update section.

I distinctly remember questioning why a video card driver update would be listed there, and especially a bug ridden update capable of hosing systems? The evidence over the years is ample that Windows Update hardware drivers can make your system unusable at the same time when the driver you download directly from a manufacturer site on that same day, would not make your system unusable.


I found this out the hard way over the years. If redduc900 reached that conclusion independently... that should give you cause to take another look. I don't know, maybe it comes down to making a choice between what kind of a hardware driver we are talking about, for example a small adapter vs. a video card... but I'm comfortable with continuing to suggest hardware drivers should *not* be downloaded from Windows Update.

 

[EarthDog]

My preference is to get it from Nvidia, or the motherboard MFG etc, but, for all that was there, on every OS iteration from W98 to W8, I have not had a problem... at least not with DRIVERS. KB hotfixes, sure. But not with drivers.

I know in my office, desktop support sources all their drivers from windows update. 1K+ PC's in my organization... all is well. To be fair, these are canned Dell machines so that may play a role in their success rate...

Anything "CAN" make your system unstable, even from the MFG drivers... which is essentially what the windows drivers are, just usually back a version or two. I think SL took exception to the absolute nature of the post more so than the content. I do agree to get the latest from the MFG over windows when you can. But in a pinch, I haven't been burned yet from only windows update... perhaps I am lucky.

 

[SteveLord]

I surely don't doubt that it is possible. This is Windows after all. And Windows Update isn't pretty either. For video and motherboard drivers on my own machines, I typically go to the manufacturer.

I will also say I've also had issues with the KB hotfixes.

 

[Theocnoob]

Thread going off topic a bit..