wellies

It is always possible to read about upgrades that have gone wrong and about faults on operating systems. As your own experience has perhaps shown though, the upgrade from Windows 8 to 8.1 goes without problems for the majority of people. Also, it's generally reckoned that Windows 8.1 is an improvement on Windows 8 (I think it is). If your upgrade has gone OK and the system is running well, it could be best to keep Windows 8.1. If nothing untoward arises over the next week or two, thank your Grandson for the accidental upgrade. :) Windows 8.1 has been thoroughly stable for me.

Not necessarily something using your bandwidth but possibly slowness due to something else. If it only happened a few days ago and the computers were running OK before that with whatever software is currently installed, then it seems it could be something external that is common to both computers. If the 'unplugging/plugging in' of the BT box doesn't help, I wonder if your near neighbours are also getting the trouble? Anyone you could ask to make sure the problem is not an area one?

I've tried: Bitdefender Internet Security. Norton Internet Security. Windows Defender along with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Pro. Kaspersky Internet Security. AVG Free. Qihoo Internet Security. Qihoo Total Security. All of those ran OK apart from the Qihoo offerings. These have good detection rates but can be a little buggy due to them being still somewhat new (compared to other more well-established names). It depends on what points you judge an AV/security program by. Some go for low resource usage and some for good detection rates. A balance between the two is often difficult to attain but it's perhaps better to put up with a little slow-down and have better detection rates. A modern system is not often slowed down too much by most security programs. The security programs mentioned above tend to do well in tests carried out by: AV-Comparatives. AV-test. Virus Bulletin. AVG Free doesn't come top of their tests but I got to try this because it came installed on my new computer. Even so, used along with MBAM Pro I'm sure it would be fine. Right now I'm running Emsisoft Anti-Malware (uses the Bitdefender engine) along with the Online Armor firewall. I'm going to stay with this a while because I think it's good. A recent test/survey carried out by AV-Comparatives highlighted how much information about you and the sites you visit is 'phoned home' to the AV program suppliers . You have to decide if this matters to you but it has become yet another factor that some are considering when choosing an AV program. Two programs send back less information than any others. These are Emsisoft and Ahnlab. I don't know much about Ahlab but Emsisoft has a good reputation. This is why I'm trying it at present. This AV-Comparatives article and table might be of interest: http://www.av-comparatives.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/avc_datasending_2014_en.pdf (PDF document) Different people put different criteria on how they choose a security program. It's one of those things where ten different people can give ten different opinions. All that can be done is to read, read, read in order to gain a consensus of opinion. Always a difficult topic with no hard and fast answer unfortunately.

You could try the repair install suggested by DSTM. Failing that, it could be a graphics problem if it won't play off-the-shelf DVDs either. Do you have some graphics card settings available to try? Is the driver the latest one?

Some faults are hard to diagnose and cure over the Internet. Just some things that need confirming that might be a help though: * Are the video's that won't play all Flash videos/presentations? * Do some YouTube videos play and some not? * Are they all played via the browser or do some videos use a standalone player? * If some other player, what file extensions are the videos that won't play? * If just the browser, have you tried a different one? * Have you got any script blocking software installed (if so try disabling it)? * Have you looked into it being something blocked in any security program that is installed? I know some of these points have been spoken of already but since nothing has worked up to now, it could just be worth combing over them again in case something comes to light.

Yes, a problem Microsoft should address. You pay for the Windows 8 upgrade, get a product key number and install Windows 8. The upgrade process puts a folder on the C: drive called 'ESD'. This contains all the files needed for the Windows refresh operation. Then the 8.1 upgrade comes along and successfully upgrades the system to Windows 8.1. However, it doesn't update the files in the ESD folder. These remain at the Windows 8 version. The result is that the Windows 8.1 files are not available for a refresh. All a bit of an oversight if you ask me. It is possible to download an 8.1 ISO for using as an 8.1 installation disk (for both refresh and re-installation purposes). I have done this but there is a further problem. The Windows 8 product key won't work with the downloaded 8.1 ISO. I tried a workaround but it all seemed so much hassle in the end that I re-installed using the procedure mentioned by Nev in the previous post. This will wipe our all existing data on the disk. However, I have since read of another way of doing a clean installation of Windows 8.1 and using the Windows 8 product key. This is to initially use a dummy key that will let you go ahead with the installation. This might sound slightly dodgy but the key only allows you to do just that. When activation time comes, you will be required to use the Windows 8 key that you purchased. I haven't tried this myself but here is someone who has: You'd obviously end up with the cleanest of new installations that way. Installing Windows 8 from the CD that you already have and then upgrading to 8.1 via the Windows Store should work but you end up with large automatically created backup folders. Not ideal when you want to save all the space you can on an SSD. However, the backups can be removed using Windows' own disk cleaning function once everything seems to be working OK. (Right-click on the C: drive > Properties > Disk Clean-up > Clean up system files make sure everything is ticked). Note that a full disk clean-up including the system files takes absolutely ages. Once done though, much disk space is reclaimed and I'm pretty sure you'd end up with a system nearly as clean as when using a Windows 8.1 disk for a new installation. Since the C:\ESD folder doesn't seem to be any good for 8.1 refresh purposes, I suppose this could be removed as well. Just a suggestion. Make a disk image of your existing system before you start.

Further thought, I notice YouTube videos are played by HTML5 (not Flash Player) if using Internet Explorer and Chrome. Maybe the problem is a browser issue.

This is something wrong and might be giving a clue to the problem. The option should be there when right-clicking on a Flash presentation (option written as, 'Settings...'). Uninstalling and reinstalling Flash Player to see if it returns that option could be worth trying. Then try un-ticking 'Enable hardware acceleration'. If it is a Flash Player problem, I'm not sure System Restore would have any effect on it?

The hardware enabled/disabled option is found by right-clicking on the video while it is playing and then going to 'Settings' first. Edit: Sorry, on re-reading, you say you don't have the 'Settings' option present?

All fine. I suggested FAT32 because just about everything works with that. My home cinema system (not that old), doesn't work with NTFS but I expect later equipment will.

Something has to be tried to overcome the error and in the same situation with all files backed up, I think I would try a quick format in FAT32.

Does the Western Digital Media Player have a file number limit? The media player in my TV doesn't (or I haven't reached it yet) but if I put the USB drive in my Bluray Player, I'm informed that not all files/folders will show because I've exceeded the limit that the media player can handle. Sure enough, some of the folders full of music will come up as 'empty'. All can be seen by the TV and computer though. Just thought that worth a mention.

Does the disk still work despite that message? If you want to check the disk, how about initialising a scan by right-clicking on the drive in 'This PC' and seeing if a scan completes. Might be best to back up any wanted data on the disk to start with if you have a large enough space to store it somewhere else ...just in case anything is amiss. I have had some experience with that message. I recently recorded my entire CD music collection to a USB thumb drive. This now sits permanently in a USB port on the back of the TV, which subsequently can be played via a home cinema system. The USB drive switches on an off with the TV. If I remove it from the TV and plug it into the PC in order to add music to it, I often get the message you are getting, perhaps because Windows knows it hasn't gone through its own 'safely remove' procedure (I think). I've sometimes let it scan and sometimes ignored the message. Whatever, the files are all OK and the music still plays on the computer and on the TV's media player. Wait for further comment but if the disk still works as it should, I'd tentatively say there is nothing to worry about.

It could be something to do with having Winrar installed. I know from experience (not recent) that this can upset (or take over) Windows's own zip funtion.

Windows 8.1 Update 1 has reduced system requirements on a 64-bit computer to 16 gigabytes of disk space and 1 gigabyte of RAM (with Windows 8, it was 2 gigabytes of RAM and 20 gigabytes of disk space). Even so, it looks like your computer isn't up to running Windows 8+. This is what I found on it: Dell Latitude D610 Notebook Computer (Pentium M 740 1.73GHz/40GB/512MB) Part Number: D610SAPP Released: 1 Feb 2005 Then there's the drivers for the hardware. Windows 8 is pretty good at providing drivers for most hardware but it looks like your Dell is quite dated now (in computer terms anyway) and I think the Windows 8 problems are due to this. Windows 8 takes some getting used to even on a computer that is up to spec., let alone trying it with one that isn't. :) All in all, it looks like a new computer will be needed to keep up with Microsoft's latest and future software.

The update going OK after this step seems to suggest something going amiss with the system in between when you bought the computer and the time the latest update was tried. Since upgrade/updates did install OK after the system recovery, it shows that these Microsoft updates don't give a problem on an 'out of the box' Windows 8. I suppose that's all that Microsoft can ensure. Hard to cater for all the variables that can occur to people's computers as they get used and programs are installed etc. I wonder if the update failing might have been because of a condition existing that was beyond Microsoft's control? A 3rd party AV program or firewall getting in the way maybe? Some other factor? Different with a Mac because they keep a tighter control on what can and can't be done. So yes, I think Mac users would not get this type of problem. Then again, I think it's quite nice to have the freedom of software choice that comes with a Microsoft operating system ..maybe this can lead to problems of its own though. Now that you have your working upgraded/updated OS, perhaps make a disk image of it. Then, if this type of problem happens again, you wouldn't have to go all the way back to the 'out of the box' date. You will have a recovery point with all of the current updates in it. Make the image before installing anything else if possible.

Thanks for your comments Nev. I agree that free software can be as good as paid software for some purposes ..or good enough for the degree it will be used (for example: some features in the paid versions will not be needed). More the point I try to make about using free software is that it maybe should be paid for regardless if it forms part of an everyday and permanent system set-up. By that I mean the software has been installed on the computer for a good length of time and there are no current plans to stop using it. I know risk I repeating some of what has been said but software needs the financial support of its users. I believe if we don't give it by upgrading to paid versions, or by making donations to free software, the quality of software will suffer. I think the current free software situation where PUPs can be deselected will progress to the degree where they cannot be deselected. This does happen in some cases already I believe. It's because of our unwillingness to pay that the whole PUP situation exists in my opinion. Software developers are quite justified in wanting to make some money for their good bit of software. If they can't get this by charging for it or getting enough from donations, then I think we have to expect they will try to make money somehow. There is nothing wrong with them wanting some money for their cleverness and labours. They aren't likely to be able to charge for it because of the constant quest for free software (the mindset against paying?). Software that is used once or twice for a particular job and then discarded because it has served its purpose should also qualify for a donation (in my opinion). If any software used for clearing up an infection has worked, then it has probably been worth its weight in gold. So rather than taking it for granted that such a useful bit of software can be used freely, think of the good it has done, what went into its development and pay the developer something for the trouble. As said, nearly all free software developers hope to receive donations. Perhaps thinking about paying or donating should be encouraged rather than it being put out of the question. Payment to software suppliers is good for the software and therefore the computer world in general ..again in my opinion. It's been a while since I tried any of the free versions of AV/security software (apart from Comodo Internet Security) but I read that companies have turned to carrying annoying ads now? If so, that could be a sign that not enough people are upgrading to their paid versions. Not only that but even paid versions can advertise a company's other products (so I read). Perhaps that's done in the hope that those who have proved willing to pay for software might be willing to buy some more of it, so providing support for the company. Those who feel it is OK to use the software on offer freely for ages aren't likely to upgrade and provide income. All in all, free isn't necessarily good.

Sorry the thread has gone off at a tangent.

I've tried most image programs free and paid apart from Photoshop, which I know I'd never be able to afford or justify buying. I have tried the latest version of Elements too. Very good but my favourite program for photo editing is Corel Photo-Paint (part of the CorelDraw Suite). Not free but there is a Home & Student version that is much more affordable than the full version that costs a fortune. I had version X5 at the time of upgrading to Windows 8 and this was judged as being incompatible. I went ahead and used Photo-Paint X5 anyway. It turned out that it was only the 'import from scanner' function that had stopped working. I have a Brother all-in-one (DCP-385C) and luckily, the scanner software that comes with this sends scans straight to a program of choice. This works with Photo-Paint OK, so that overcame the problem. Out of all the free photo editing programs I tried, I thought PhotoScape was best. I Don't know if you have tried this program. It's not so fully featured as Gimp but it is fairly easy to learn and has some good points. I have tried it with Windows 8.1 and it was initially slow. A reboot seemed to sort that out OK. There's a link below in case you want to try it. I'll give the Softpedia one (WOT approved) because I know the download isn't wrapped up in a third-party installer. It does come with the offer of the Google Toolbar though. This offer comes just after the 'I agree - install' stage. When this button is clicked, you have the option of deselecting the installation of the toolbar. http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multime...otoScape.shtml Photoscape has a 'Donate' button if you feel inclined to click it having used the program for a few months.

I think companies do offer free versions of their software in the hope that people will upgrade to the paid versions but maybe not enough people do so. Those who offer 'free forever' software rely on a certain number of people donating to the software's upkeep. Also, I guess the developers need to make money somehow in order to feed their families etc. Whether they all have other ways of making money or not, I notice nearly all the 'free forever' programs have their 'Donate' buttons. Everywhere I look, people who want a job doing on the computer will request a recommendation for a free bit of software to do it. Many never want to pay for any software used. It is my opinion that it's because software developers aren't able to make enough money via the paid versions or donations, they resort to bundling the PUPs/adware that people install. Then comes the need to turn to a forum for help in removing them where further free software is recommended without encouragement to pay or donate. Would it hurt to link to a few 'Donate' pages where software has been helpful? It looks like even a traditionally free site is having trouble supporting 'free'. Sends a message I think: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/11/08/gimp_dumps_sourceforge_over_dodgy_ads_and_installer/ I'd say to consider paying for software that is regularly used, software that has been useful or software that has helped with a problem. It might help stop the decline. It does seem to be going further. There are cases of PUPs being installed even where people have carefully unticked the options to install them. I have experienced this personally with some software I wanted to try before buying. I know I turned down the options but the PUPs installed anyway. It looks like whoever bundles PUPs are wising up to the fact that more people know to uncheck the options when installing free software. I believe that paying for software helps support the quality of what's on offer on the Internet. The trouble is that, with not many people agreeing, I'm probably only making a token gesture. David, I did once make a donation to the forum because that's what I do. It was only once and a long time ago though, so I'm not really an example. I would donate regularly if I was here more though. The trouble is that I've fallen out of love with computers and the Internet to a great degree, so am not so avidly interested as I once was. Don't post too much anywhere now ..except when I get a bee in my bonnet about a subject or two. That's probably just as well. :)

I haven't needed a Hex viewer for a good while, so can't recommend any particular one. There is this one from Softpedia, a reliable download site: http://www.softpedia.com/get/Programming/File-Editors/Hex-Viewer.shtml The procedure would be to start the Viewer, then browse to and select the file to open. When open, lots of code will be displayed but if you scroll through it you may find written text. There may even be a filter for finding the text in the viewer's options. It would be this that you could copy into a new Open Office document. You would have to rearrange the text into sentences and paragraphs again but at least not type it all. I suggest this procedure in the absence of there being any other solution suggested. See if there is for a while maybe. If no other suggestions are made and it seems that the file is otherwise lost, then you have nothing further to loose by trying a Hex viewer to see if anything is retrievable. When downloading free software, beware of any unwanted programs that may be bundled with it. Always choose the 'Custom' or 'Advanced' installation option. Examine the installation stages carefully and un-tick or deselect any unwanted programs.

If the files are corrupted and can't be opened in any sort of text or word program, I wonder if it might be possible to see the writing in a Hex viewer/editor? If so, you'd be able to copy/paste the text content into another text/word file and save it. Use an Open Office document since you now have it installed. Not an ideal solution (if it works) but at least you wouldn't have to type all of the text again.

I know not everyone will agree with everyone else but I can never find anyone who would agree that the 'free' tradition could damage the software market and that it might have done so to an extent already. I think my points have been maturely put but just assuring that I haven't stopped in an immature huff. It's only because of the unwritten rule mentioned. I think I ought to just run my computer, full of paid-for smooth-running software. I'm good at doing that. I mean, using the computer was why I got one in the first place. Never thought I'd feel the need to be endlessly discussing computers, software, the Internet etc. I should have bought that wood-turning lathe instead. It was a close-run thing. :) Biting would definitely be against the rules. :D

Don't worry cockpheasant. One thing just lead to another there as can happen. Not your fault. Take the advice of those who give advice and help on a day to day basis here and have proven to be good. I'm just a feller who popped in and threw a spanner in the works. I can't help it sometimes. :)

I had written quite a long post before I read this but If that's the forum policy, then I'll refrain from further comment. Sigh ..I think this is why I don't seem to fit anywhere.