Windows 8.1 is like a virus AGGHGHGHHFollow

I've tried to be patient. I've tried to give Windows 8.1 a fair shake.

Ever since I installed it earlier this week, I've been drowning in constant BSODs (with no consistent error message) and total system lockups.

I'm so frustrated that I think I am going to do a complete system refresh. I'm quite annoyed that only "Windows Store" apps are kept installed and the actual programs I use on a daily basis will be blown away in the process because that's not what they promised us a year ago, but whatever.

If this system refresh fails me, I'm going back to Windows 7.

I don't even care about the interface. I just want my computer to do the most basic things expected of it, like not crash when I'm trying to unzip a file or view Facebook. I'm getting a lockup and a bluescreen (or just a lockup with no bluescreen) a dozen times a day. It's absolutely awful.

Now I'm running into problems where Windows refresh says my installation media for Windows 8 isn't valid (what? how did I install it the first time...?) and my product key isn't valid (because Microsoft is a schoolyard bully.) So I can't use my old installation media to do a refresh, nor can I make a new one.

FINE! **** YOU MICROSOFT! I'll install Win 8 from scratch!

Even DBAN has failed me. I just don't understand.

This is what you get for installing Windows 8 in the first place. Really, you should have known better.

Whatever I uninstalled allowed it to be stable enough to stay alive overnight. The only critical program I'm short of right now is Drop Box. I would not be surprised if Microsoft "accidentally" sabotaged that to force us to use their SkyDrive instead.

Windows native hardware doesn't seem to have these problems. My husband's Surface took a look at 8.1 and went "Okay boss, got it" and has been totally glitch free. Figures.

Software for the HP All-in-One machines is garbage. At work I can get in 1 or 2 scans before it locks up and I have to restart the printer and PC. I've gotten to where I just don't use it any longer. I have a Dell All-in-One machine at home and it's software is trouble free.

I'm too lazy to do that.

I have Windows 8 (now 8.1) on my ideapad (. . . what happened to thinkpad?) and it works fine but that only tells half the story. I hate it. I hate that Micro$oft insists on thinking they're better than me, and dictating "new ways" for me to work and play. I don't want new ways to do things, I just want my operating system to work in the background. It should be like a good referee - it does its job and when it does it well you don't even know it's there.

And as for Micro$oft killing Dropbox so that you have to move to SkyDrive, well just remember that this is the company whose mantra once was "DOS ain't done 'til Lotus won't run."

Other than that, I love it.

You can still buy computers with windows 7 on them. I bought one for my dad for Christmas since I didn't have time to build one for him. It even cost me $20 less to have Window7 pro put on it instead of windows 8.1.

These were ISO files that I had to burn onto disk myself. Not upgrade disks, but clean OS installs.

Nice guide, except that when it came to deleting partitions, Win8 locked itself down and didn't give me the option.

Ahhhhh that I didn't know about.

That changes everything!

SecureBoot -- Making me want to beat an engineer in the face senselessly as though I lived in Russia since 2012