Windows 8 W8 Crash

[boblink]

Hi, I was away from my computer and when I returned, I found a BIG message on my computer advising that W8 crashed and if I wanted to send a report to MS (which I did).
I didn't think anything of this until I accessed my computer and noticed that EVERYTHING that I was working on was gone. My Bookmarks/Favorite Places were gone, folders/files that I saved on my Desktop were gone,....... not what I wanted to see.
I have an External drive that use for these instances but somehow the folders for Bookmarks/Favorite Places were there but the files in the folders were gone so I am in the process of trying to reconstruct everything which is NO FUN and wonder if anyone could please venture to guess what might have happened and how to avoid this from happening again.
Thank you for your help,
Bob

 

[kemical]

Hmm... Looks suspiciously like spam to me.. Also can you tell me if your system has crashed recently? You did say it hadn't crashed for a day or two and I'm wondering if the trend continues?

 

[boblink]

I don't think it has Kemical but I can't say for sure.
I was working on the system when it crashed the 2 previous times and it (automatically) restarted at that time and displayed a screen that said (words to the effect) Windows crashed, do you want to send information to Microsoft....... and then restarted.
I am not at the computer 24/7 so it might have crashed while I was away but my guess and it's only a guess, is that it hasn't crashed again. BTW, I think that I mentioned that when it restarted after the crash, my Favorite Places / Bookmark folders were circa 2008.
Is their anyway to resurrect the most current Favorite Places / Bookmarks? I did a Search and couldn't find anything newer than the 2008 stuff.
Thanks,
Bob

 

[kemical]

You could try going back to a point when they were fine with system restore. Although, if you think the crashing has stopped due to the new network driver. I would seriously consider performing a fresh install making sure you use the correct and up to date drivers (like the network one). Your system has been through an intense period of blue screening and it wouldn't surprise me if things weren't so happy with the os. If you do decide on a new install please make sure it's a custom or clean install, no upgrade. Once the os is installed don't do anything else but run windows update and get your latest updates. Make sure any drivers downloaded are removed as you'll be installing the correct ones, yes? Now install your drivers making sure the system seems stable. Only then try adding third party apps and drivers but wait in between each one making sure everything is ok before proceeding.

 

[boblink]

Hi Kemical, thank you again for ALL your help.
I was ready to perform a Clean Install and you won't believe it, I restarted my computer this morning and everything was back to normal (i.e. the Favorite Places/Bookmarks were current and did not include Windows Vista Websites).
I think I am going to do a Clean Install anyway, it's prone to less problems than an Upgrade (over W7).
Now a couple of questions for you.
You said "*Make sure any drivers downloaded are removed as you'll be installing the correct ones, yes?" Yes, I am not sure what you mean by this since a clean install will WIPE out EVERYTHING including Drivers so can you please clarify what I should do? *
Also, is their a Utility that I can use to check if my Drivers after the Clean Install are current (being that you found that my Realteck app was out of date) so I am ensured that everything is current?
And one minor issue / question, how do I shut down the system in W8? I couldn't find the Shut Down icon so I forced a shutdown by turning off the computer and don't knwo where MS "hid" the Restart and Shutdown option?
Thanks Kemical,
Bob

 

[kemical]

Windows update sometimes will download drivers for your machine which is fine but they aren't always current. So to monitor what the Windows Update app installs you change it's settings (on the left of the windows update screen via the control panel)

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You change it from 'download automatically' to 'check for updates but ask me whether to download and install them'.

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As for Drivers after os installation, one should always and I mean always install the latest versions found. The os does carry drivers to get you started but really they are intended as a stop gap until the latest versions can be installed.

Your pc has it's very own driver page:

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Use the link above to get the drivers you need after you've re-installed and updated.

Good luck!

 

[kemical]

Sorry, forgot about the shutdown procedure.

Place cursor top or bottom right of the screen and then click on 'Settings':

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You'll then see a further menu appear with a power icon located near the bottom. If you click that you'll have the option to shutdown etc..

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[boblink]

Hello Kemical, I just wanted to POST a quick note to thank you for your and since I am able to send this, it appears that the Clean Install is going well but VERY slow.
Hopefully having a CLEAN OS instead of an upgrade will avoid further problems.
I installed McAfee Internet Security and Updated the Drivers and obviously got my DLS connection going as well as my printer.
I'll be working on installing my software apps and will "save' MSOffice for last and will give you an update tomorrow.
One question (is their always one more question), when I look at "C" it has "Old Windows" which I assume is the last version of Windows that was installed meaning that Old Windows is the W8 Upgrade so my question is, is it safe to DELETE OLD Windows since I have a CD for W* Pro in case their's another problem (which I am sure their will be).
Thank you again for walking me through this Kemical,
Bob

 

[kemical]

Bob how are you performing the clean install? The reason why I ask is because a clean or custom install would not leave that type of folder.

 

[boblink]

Hi Kemical, I placed the W8 CD drive in the CD-ROM Drive and it asked me if I wanted to Repair or install W8.
I chose install and said that I would lose all mt settings.
I am attaching a ScrSHOT of my "C" Drive
Bob

 

[kemical]

Well yes you will lose all settings as it's a clean install and not an upgrade. This way will install windows 8 so there's no corruption left over from the previous install which is always a danger when upgrading. The most thorough method is to change the bios settings so the system will boot from the win 8 cd. This gives far more options on the type of installation you want as well as creating a crisp and shiny new partition.

Try this web page for further reading:

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[boblink]

Thank you again Kemical, I think I am going to wait a liitle while before I perform a "true" Clean Install since it took me about 12 hours to install, upgrade the drivers, install my apps and data files,........ and that's not counting all the time I spent fiddling around with the W8 Upgrade configuration before I decided to perform a Clean Install (which in hindsight, I should have done in the first place).
In any event, am not ready for another "challenge" at the moment, I clean up my Favorite Places and my data files. save them on the External Drive and do a REAL Clean Install in a couple of weeks (that is unless I run into "problems" and need to to it soon).
I truly appreciate all the time that you spent helping me Kemical, THANK YOU,
Bob

 

[boblink]

Hey Kemical, I believe what I did was this:
How to Reinstall Windows 8

 

[kemical]

Well as long as your without issue's Bob then i'm a happy man. Good luck and please post again if you should need us....

 

[boblink]

Thanks Kemical, I would be happy also if I myself off my back, Thank you for your help and paraphrasing Arnold Schwarzenegger, I am SURE I'll be back