Windows 8 FURIOUS at Windows

Eclef

New Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2015
I am extremely annoyed with Windows.

A week ago, whilst I was in the middle of work, Windows 8 just shut down. When I restarted, it began to install updates. It seemed to freeze and after a couple of hours there was no progress - I had to do a "Refresh" of Windows. Very inconvenient.

When I was 'reinstalling' Windows, I made sure to select the option to NOT update automatically.

Today I was in the middle of working, and my laptop just shut down AGAIN and tried to do an update when restarted. I left the room for half an hour or so. When I returned, it said the update failed and it was undoing the changes. Unfortunately this was still stuck after an hour or so. So I have just wasted a further hour refreshing Windows AGAIN.

WHY did this happen, and how can I make sure that Windows NEVER restarts/shuts down/updates again, without my consent.

Thank you
 
Thanks. I've actually selected the option for Windows to not even check for updates. Hopefully that will do the trick.

It's a shame cause I do like the "start button" icon that Windows 8.1 had. Never mind, no biggie.

Cheers for the reply.
 
I've actually selected the option for Windows to not even check for updates
The upgrade comes from the windows store and not the normal windows updates... you have to tell the store NOT to auto download/ update to stop this and yes that is retarded standard Microsoft rules.
 
This has just happened again!!!

Excuse my french but what the F*** is going on??

I had a message popping up every 20 seconds saying I need to help windows update by allowing it. I found out via the web how to stop this message. I've just restarted my computer for another reason and it's 'configuring windows features' and has been doing so for ages. I have work to do and god I am so, so angry. My next will be a Mac.

Does anyone know what else I can do now except another refresh. If I could complain to microsoft successfully, I would. please tell me how to stop this from the store as suggested above.

I hate windows for ruining my life right now. First a disappointing eclipse and now this.

Thank you.
 
What's the make/model of PC/laptop? Are you sure that the PC is not infected with malware/spyware/adware or a Virus; as these can cause the symptoms you are experiencing.

As a last resort, I would not use the windows 8 refresh but rather the PC/laptop factory recovery software, if it's store bought. This option will format the hdd and reinstall the OS/drivers and original software that came with the PC/laptop.
 
The exact steps depend on which copy of windows and version of the store but as a guide.

1. Starting from the desktop, Press the [windows key] to open the metro screen… find and open the windows store.
Screenshot (337).png


2. With the store open (active in the screen) press [windows key] + [c] to open your charm bar… and pick settings from the bottom of the list.
Screenshot (341).png

3. This should give you the store settings as per your account… again the exact options can look a bit different but as long as you did have the store open on your main screen then this will have the extra store options.

Key points are;

The permissions, you know… that ever so helpful pop up

App updates… should have a "set to off" that will stop it downloading on its own
Screenshot (338).png


You can of course always go back and just click the download button any time you decide that you do in fact want windows 8.1.1 without needing to reset any thing.
Screenshot (340).png
 
As a last resort, I would not use the windows 8 refresh but rather the PC/laptop factory recovery software, if it's store bought. This option will format the hdd and reinstall the OS/drivers and original software that came with the PC/laptop.

I agree... in fact ime refresh does not tip work after the upgrade but factory should be fine.
 
Many thanks for these informative responses. I'm going to try this in a moment and hopefully that will be the end of it... I would prefer to have the latest Windows version, but after freezing so many times on restart, I'm afraid to do any updates - maybe a factory reset is what I need.

The laptop is Asus s500c. I try to keep it clean with virus/malware scanners etc but you never know. PS this happened again out of the blue last night - whilst I was in the middle of a Youtube movie, and I just had to leave it and let it update whatever it was trying to update overnight. Even if Windows has a legitimate need to force a restart sometimes (find it hard to believe) then it would be much better if it could at least give a warning message, or do it when no programs are in use, or something. Really surprised about that.

Thanks again for all the non-patronizing help - this seems to be a good forum.
 
You can try to disable Windows Updates in Group Policy or even block the servers in your HOSTS file. These options aren't ideal, but if you absolutely cannot stop it from happening, it may be your only choice.

Windows Key + R (run) -> gpedit.msc
You are now in the Local Group Policy Edior
Go to User Configuration -> All Settings (very bottom) -> Scroll down to "Windows Automatic Update" (should be around the 9th from the bottom. This is in alphabetical order.)
Under this setting, set it to disabled. This should force block all Windows updates.
Again, Windows Key + R (run) -> cmd
In the command console, enter: gpupdate /force
Restart your computer.

You can edit your hosts file to try to block Windows Update, but this could cause unforseen problems down the road:
Code:
0.0.0.0 windowsupdate.microsoft.com
0.0.0.0 update.microsoft.com
0.0.0.0 windowsupdate.com
0.0.0.0 download.windowsupdate.com
0.0.0.0 wustat.windows.com
0.0.0.0 ntservicepack.microsoft.com
0.0.0.0 stats.microsoft.com
For possibly firewall instructions, see also: https://social.technet.microsoft.co...r-windows-server-2008?forum=winserversecurity
 
With app-updates, it actually asks me to sign in. Does this mean it wasn't coming from the store? Or should I sign in and do it?
Permissions - this gave me the option to turn notifications on or off, they were already on!

Mike - thanks, I saw something on the web about using gpedit but unfortunately I don't have it on my computer. Further websites told me to download local group policy editor but to be honest it felt ridiculous having to download something new just to stop this - I thought there must surely be a simple way in Windows, otherwise Windows is being pretty naughty.
 
With app-updates, it actually asks me to sign in. Does this mean it wasn't coming from the store? Or should I sign in and do it?
Sign in and tell it to stop auto-downloading (the default setting is allow).
 
Extra (off topic) info from a fellow owner:

The Asus s500c is a solid/ cheap notebook designed to give supreme audio output… mine is the basic i3 chip and I put it under loads that are way beyond what it was designed to do.

I upgraded the 500g hdd to a 1t seagate sshd (a solid state/ sata hybrid) and 8g ram… recently increased this to 12g of ram for my vmware use. I have windows 8 and windows 8.1.1 both installed on this as a dual boot and it performs well on either side.

I recommend that you do grab the Microsoft updates for it regardless of if you stay with windows 8 or eventually decide to take the free up-grade to 8.1.1.

Windows 8 side;

1. The graphics drivers from Microsoft are disappointing and should be replaced… even if you don't play games.

2. The power drivers are ok but Asus has power4gear drivers and they don't play nice together so if you go with Microsoft then be aware of that and i.e. go all Microsoft or all power4gear but don't try to mix them.

3. Your factory reset is for windows 8 and upgrading to 8.1.1 will cause issues if you want to have a reliable backup of your data then get back up software that can boot from the images it makes… I personally use Acronis but others report some of the free software works as well…

Warning; the backup software that comes with windows 8 and windows 8.1.1 is complete shit and should be avoided!


Windows 8.1.1 side
;

· The graphics drivers from Microsoft aren't that bad… I play games so still like the intel drivers for their performance features but the Microsoft ones are solid if gaming (beyond the odd solitaire) isn't an issue.

· The Microsoft power drivers are just as good… I in fact use them now because I like the touch-pad responsiveness but be aware that this disables the built in [f9] key which would normally toggle the touch-pad on and off and of course the vivo key [<>] will be disabled. If you are into putting your notebook to sleep a lot then be aware that the touch screen will be disabled when closing the lid… even if you set it not too… this is because the toggle for it is controlled in the bios and overrides Windows but you can just close and open the lid again as a work around so it isn't a major problem once you are aware of it.


p.s. if you do decide to upgrade one day then boot into your laptops bios first by pressing the [esc] key and temp disable the secure boot lock before clicking download as (from personal experience) that allows a much smoother install.

WP_20150324_12_48_51_Smart.jpg


Also the up-grade is only to 8.1 and is very unstable… if you go down this path then you MUST get at least the 8.1.1 patch which is available from the Microsoft updates as a normal part of the patching process.
 
Many thanks for all the informative responses. After a couple of failed attempts to update (windows kept failing the update and reverting the changes back) I eventually succeeded and checked it was 8.1.1. (Unfortunately, pressing esc never got me into the BIOS menu).

The following might be my own fault because I chose to install 10 or so of the non-critical updates as well, and now I am experiencing a whole new array of issues, including:

- The start button and charm bar randomly freeze up. I have to go to Ctrl-A-D and restart Windows explorer.
- VLC Player doesn't load first time round, and it often crashes and gives me errors, I have to close and reopen the movie file.
- A couple of seemingly random Visual Basic/C++ (something like that) runtime error messages
- My computer graphic and audio went crazy once then gave me an unusual blue screen and Kernel Security Check Failure error
- My cursor often disappears/freezes randomly, I usually go to Ctrl-alt-delete and by the time that's loaded, my cursor is moving again.
- My bluetooth stopped working/lost the icon/nothing detected. I have to delete the Qualcomm Atheros device driver, and let Windows install a basic one. Twice since then, bluetooth has disappeared and I've had to repeat this process.
- Chrome has frozen/crashed a couple of times, and I've had to restart.
- Strange audio issue happened twice where I close iTunes or Youtube, and the audio keeps on going.
- Generally everything feels slower and more unstable


I get that it's impossible for a diagnosis, as from your point of view there's an infinite number of things that could be going on with the PC. But as a general thing, I try to keep my computer clean and tidy as best I can. Besides Media files and documents, my computer has Skype, iTunes, VLC and Gimp installed as the major software, and everything else that's running are supposed security and maintenance programs - malwarebytes, spybot, default McAfee trial, and Chrome plugins for ad blocking and flash control.

I'm sure I could probably remove some updates to fix the problem, but when I go to remove updates, I see a large list of security updates with codes that mean nothing to me, and they're all Microsoft ones, whereas I was hoping to see things along the lines of, maybe "Atheros Bluetooth update" or "audio driver update" or whatever. Excuse my ignorance here but it could be much more intuitive and work-with-able I think.

Unless there's anything obvious that someone can suggest from this, I'm thinking I should just do a refresh (or full reset as suggested above) and stick with Windows 8.0... or attempt to update once more with just the critical ones. Thanks again all for the help.
 
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(Unfortunately, pressing esc never got me into the BIOS menu).

Yes fast boot is terrific until you want to get into your bios… starting from off;

1. Press [power] and gently mesh the [esc] key… you can also wait for the post screen before pressing but it only gives you 1 second before continuing into the boot.

2. The post screen is the logo with Asus on a black screen… you have exactly 1 second to press [esc] once this appears.

post.png


3. This screen appears next (assuming you were fast enough) and you can select different boot options… "enter setup" is the one you want.

boot option2.jpg


The following might be my own fault because I chose to install 10 or so of the non-critical updates as well, and now I am experiencing a whole new array of issues, including:

I'm not surprised… windows 10 is just a beta and the 1041 version in particular is riddled with bugs!

p.s. you can't have mal-warebytes and spybot on the same system at the same time... you can use them both for better cover but un-install one before loading the other.

p.p.s I'm not a fan of the "default McAfee trial" and would use Avast or just WD (windows defender), instead... but it's your computer mate.
 
Thanks for the reply (and sorry for my delayed response).

I agree about McAfee - I let the trial run for a week and then removed it (gave me a couple of seemingly invented-by-mcafee results).

Didn't know that about spybot/malwarebytes, very interesting, don't know which is best but I think I'll lose spybot!


The following might be my own fault because I chose to install 10 or so of the non-critical updates as well

I'm not surprised… windows 10 is just a beta and the 1041 version in particular is riddled with bugs!

Sorry I didn't mean that I installed Windows 10 - what I meant was that, along with all of the Windows updates, there were ten or eleven updates that were "not critical". I installed those as well, which might have caused the problems I've had since... unfortunately I don't know how to identify/uninstall those specific updates! If you have any advice there that would be great. The most persistent problems are the start button constantly freezing up and the touchpad gestures not working.

BTW cheers for the BIOS booting tip - unfortunately, I lighty tapped ESC repeatedly from turning on the laptop, but it doesn't take me there.

PS - As you probably guessed, I'm only just learning to quote previous messages....

Cheers
 
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