Windows 8.1 Update 1: Having issues with it on your Alienware?

so you're using UEFI? I am using legacy boot so i don't know if that can affect the updates.

 

No, I use legacy boot, not UEFI. I finally got fed up with this nonsense and downloaded a new ISO of Windows 8.1 with Update 1 and did a clean install using that. Now everything is as it should be.

I found that one of my UI tweaks breaks the new right-click Modern UI feature for modifying the tiles. The UltraUXThemePatcher (even the latest version for Windows 8.1) is not compatible with Update 1. Uninstalling it restores proper function and I will manage living without it until a compatible version is released. Thankfully, AeroGlass for Windows 8 still functions flawlessly. So do the Stardock Start8, ModernMix and Decor8 apps.

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Mandatory Windows 8.1 Update failing for many | TechSpot

 

UxStyle works fine, best method, patching system files is not required.

 

Hi
I have got one problem like this! When I shut off the PC, comes this Message


Explorer.exe - Application Error
The instruction at 0x00000000 referenced memory at 0x00000000. The memory could not be read.
Click on OK to termintate the program.



The only thing I've added is win 8.1 (1) last update and the latest nvidia beta driver.
What do you think is the problem? Is it the new update for windows 8.1 ? or nvidia beta ?

 

I updated to 8.1.1 no problem with any errors, but I kept the old nvidia drivers from a month ago, so it may be a possibility, not sure.

 

was wondering how you did the aero thing

EDIT: tried the app - doesn't install. it says not compatible with my OS - either because it's 8.1 or i'm on a 64-bit OS....can't say for sure.

 

Maybe you're not using the correct version. I have Windows 8.1 Update 1 Pro x64 and AeroGlass works fine with the download for Windows 8.1 Current version: 1.2.1. See the guide found here relating to Windows 8.1. It explains what you can change manually, but the installer works without any issues. The Windows 8 version 1.3 does not work with Windows 8.1 if that is the one you tried. I have the files in C:\AeroGlass and did a little bit more registry tweaking to get the crystal clear window borders without blur. Choose the option (check mark in box) during installation to use the included theme as long as you are not using any other aftermarket theme mods.

If you get it to work and like it, you can purchase the license for about a $5 donation to the developer (no exact price is set, just needs to be a "reasonable" amount) and that will get rid of the watermark and command window that goes with using the "test" version.

 

installed 1.2.1 and it gave me a DWM incompatibility error and it was so annoying that i had to reboot into safe mode just to uninstall it because the stupid DWM error would keep taking back to the log in screen.

 

Hmmm, this is something simple that needs to be done differently. I had that at one point in time, but it has been so long ago that I don't remember now what I did that fixed it. Did you look in the forum for that? I believe that's where I discovered what I needed to do differently. There is some good info in their threads and the developer (Big Muscle) is engaged with the discussion.

It's totally worth it to get this working. It makes Windows 8/8.1 a MUCH nicer OS to use than the icky-looking default UI.

 

i'll have a look though aero on win 8.1 isn't really necessary for functionality but rather more the aesthetics of making it look like win 7.

 

That's true... although the two things I hate about Windows 8/8.1 are (a) the aesthetics really suck IMHO, and (b) Windows 8/8.1 cripples CPU performance. I have fixed (a) to where I am happy with how things look on the desktop, but haven't found a solution for (b) yet, unfortunately.

 

You need to download DWM symbols pack for W8-1-1, instructions here [HowTo:] Working AeroGlass for W8-1-1 x64 x32
Under C:\AeroGlass\symbols copy the contents of 2014-04-06_W8-1-1_x64\symbols then copy/overwrite 2014-04-08_W8-1-1_x64\symbols (latest update dwmcore.pdb)
- Run setup-w8.1-1.2.1

 

...and the win8.1.1, last minute updates saga continues...KB2919355 packages 2.8MB -> KB2959977.

 

Just installed the update on my M18xR2, no problems. Running Windows 8.1 Pro with startisback+.

Also on an Alienware 17, no problems.

 

What Windows 9 Must Do To Avoid Flopping Like Windows 8

 

Mr. Fox.....I love it...when you go on a rant....you are so...... expressive

You said it so much better than I could have....

Interesting that you say that.......Microsoft has just recently announced that they have an OS that will be completely and totally unencumbered by any influences from the company.

The Redmond based software patch company indicates that WinXP has finally reached a point where no more useful patches can be found, and the Company will move forward to other operating systems that are in dire need of patching.

Who am I to argue with a software patch company? If they don't feel that they need to patch it.....must be good.

No more borked updates....no more patches for the patches......no more panic mode when you realize that the last improvement blew away your system restore.....no more all night sessions trying to recover the OS from an update that won't let you rollback and won't work with your faithful backups.

So...I formatted the drives on one of my desktops and installed XP.......works good....(for the purpose)

And the UI.....at least I don't feel like I'm playing a game of Teletubbies.

(Gotta be some logic in there somewhere..... )

 

For me I just back up my system and did a fresh install from a Win 8.1.1 ISO, I got of the internet. I used the generic serial to install and then changed it over to my serial that came with my Win 8 upgrade disk and all is good and activated.

 

That's what I had to do. It would not install "normally" (the way Micro$oft intends) for me at all.

 

that's just getting ridiculous now!

 

It was already ridiculous, but it's just more so now. That's why the OS pie is sliced like this...

Desktop Operating System Market Share | NetMarketShare



Windows 8/8.1 market share is actually shrinking a little bit as people "downgrade" factory-installed Windows 8 systems to Windows 7.

 

people still use the POS that is vista? LOL

at least windows is dominating but fractured.

 

I still use Vista on one old Acer and did until a couple of weeks ago on an old Dell Inspirion (upgraded it to Windows 7). Both laptops are circa 2006, Core 2 Duo machines. In my opinion there's more to like about Vista than there is Windows 8. Vista is very stable. It looks better and performs better than Windows 8 does. But, we can say the same thing about Windows XP, LOL. Windows 8 is the 21st century OS faux pas à la Windows ME.

 

The main problem with Vista was its lack of compatibility with most software packages out there.

Sent from my One using Tapatalk

 

Hmmmmm. I recently decided to give Windows 8 another shot, so I managed to create an .iso to clean install 8.1 Pro from my Windows 7 to 8 upgrade offer key (the $14.99 offer for Win 7 machines) and all seemed to go just fine. I installed all the 8.1 drivers from Dell for my 14, did the Windows updates (including 8.1 update) and am fully up to date....however, I am seeing some odd messages in action centre that I dunno why they are there. See pic in spoiler below for screenie:

Spoiler

As you can see, nothing missing in device manager....I installed chipset and freefall sensor drivers without error.....anyone got any ideas?

 

Hmm... I dunno, Brother Stevie. I've not seen either of those before. Might be unique to the Alienware 14. But, I'm no longer dual-booting the Alienware 18. It runs Windows 7 exclusively, so I cannot compare notes with you on a Haswell platform. Do you have OSD, AWCC, FF Sensor and Airplane Mode switch installed? The Compal EC driver almost has to be a proprietary Alienware/Compal something that is not installed.

 

You can ignore those. My M18xR2, and friend's M14xR1 have those too. It's from the free fall sensor and alienware on screen display drivers I believe. You can just press archive this message as long as all of your drivers look good(which they do).

If you click view message details and read through, it will automatically archive them.

 

Good info, ssj92. These must be obsolete messages generated BEFORE drivers were installed and Windows 8/8.1 is too stupid to delete them after they no longer apply. I don't understand why anyone would want to archive something ignorant like this... "delete" would make a lot more sense than archive.

I'm going to downgrade the Inspirion Mini 9 back to Windows Vista because that's a better OS for it than Windows 8 has been.

 

That is actually EXACTLY why the messages are there. Windows 8.1 doesn't realize the issue has been solved and keeps the messages there.

IMO, Windows Vista wasn't too bad. I ran it on a Core 2 Duo, ATI 4850 system back in the day and it was rock stable for me.

 

Thanks, fella's :thumbsup:

I have another couple of questions for you Windows 8 Pro's

i) Regarding my .iso of 8.1 - I had to use a generic key to install and then change to my upgrade key once done, which was fine. I wanted to see if after doing that, re-installing via the same USB would still require the generic key first - it did. Is there any way to avoid this step in future so that I don't have to enter a generic key to install from my .iso ?

ii) Kinda linked to the above - I had to update to 8.1 update via Windows Update, which again was fine, however, is there a way to create an .iso that already has it included ? - only asking because I read that Micro$haft were planning to withdraw support for non-updated systems pretty darn soon: Windows 8.1, which you probably haven't upgraded to yet, ALREADY OBSOLETE • The Register

Of course, I'm thinking that if I want to clean install AFTER support has been withdrawn, my current .iso obviously requires an update to 8.1 update - which will no longer be available!

 

i) Windows 8.1 is a aio disc now I believe. So depending on which install key you enter, the version changes. I believe there was no way past this last time I checked.

ii) The support ending doesn't mean you can't update to what is already out. Basically no more support means no more new updates. All prior updates before ended support will still be available. I'm still able to download updates for Windows 2000.

There was a way to integrate part of the 8.1 update 1 to an iso, but there would still be the need to update the kernel through a windows update. So a Windows 8.1 iso is fine. You'll be fine for a long time. :thumbsup:

To help reassure you, here's the Windows 8.1 product lifecycle as of now:

Mainstream support: Until January 9, 2018
Extended support: Until January 10, 2023

As you can see, whether or not you have the Update 1, your base 8.1 is supported still for a long time.

 

I see. I just read from that article:

Which seemed to mean that if you didn't have the update installed by then, zero security updates....

Maybe I'm just having a "Blonde" day, but I then thought....hang on, if I clean install after that deadline, I'm not gonna be a happy bunny (excuse the Easter pun LOL)

Anyway, I've downloaded the KB's just in case: Download Windows 8.1 Update for x64-based Systems (KB2919355) from Official Microsoft Download Center

 

so far i have had no real user issues other than petty UI features.

 

There is an MSDN ISO of Windows 8.1.1 available. That was the ONLY way I was able to get Update 1 because it repeatedly failed attempting to install it through Windows Update. A good member of this forum showed me where I could download it. Those that haven't had any trouble should consider themselves fortunate because it looks like thousands of Windows 8.1.0 users have run into problems trying to install the update. None of the workarounds and special instructions worked for me, so a clean install of Windows 8.1.1 was the only solution.

 

quite unfortunate but happy that it has been resolved....now you can get back to gaming LOL

 

I did not have any problems quite a lot of people seem to have when installing update 1. I still want to have a copy of genuine Windows 8.1 Pro update 1 as a backup for a clean install. How did you download the iso file for full 8.1 update? I have a genuine Windows 8 Pro upgrade key, which I used to download 8.1 via MS upgrade tool ( Upgrade Windows with only a product key - Microsoft Windows Help). I don't seem to find the same iso but with the update 1 already integrated.

 

I just read the article. Basically, any updates that are released in May onward will require the user to have Windows 8.1 Update 1 installed.

You can still download the 8.1 update for 8 users and the 8.1 update 1 for 8.1 users.

It just means in order to receive the latest updates released after update 1, you need the patch, that's all.

 

Just did a clean install of 8.1.1 on the Alienware 18 and have AeroGlass working nicely just like the M18xR2. :thumbsup:

Spoiler

 

Updated Win8.1.1 Aero Glass compatible theme (dark) AeroByDesign For Windows 8.1 / Update 1 by LiveOrDieTM on deviantART

- Install http://uxstyle.com/
- [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\DWM]
- Delete -> "CustomThemeAtlas"="C:\\AeroGlass\\win8cp.png"
- Add -> "DisableGlassOnBattery"=dword:00000000
- "BlurDeviation"=dword:00000009




Edit: Under C:\Windows\Resources\Themes\aero\ Shell -> copy/paste C:\Windows\Resources\Themes\AeroByDesign\ Shell, 'Shell' missing files.

 

I had previously posted that UXStyle causes problems for me with Windows 8.1.1 and uninstalled it. I tried again this evening per your suggestion. It's nice having the white text on title bars back, but I still have an issue where installing it breaks the right-click context menu on the Start screen. None of the tiles can be changed, and it breaks all of the apps. Breaking the apps is not a big deal since I hardly use any of them. The only one I actually like much at all is the weather app, but all of them are broken and signing-in also fails. When I uninstall UXStyle everything works again, but I had to uninstall and reinstall the basic standard apps (weather, video, music, maps, etc.) because they would instantly snap closed. This happened twice on the M18xR2 (before and today) and also the Alienware 18. I don't understand why UXStyle is doing this on both machines. Do you experience the same? I had to undo the changes even though I much prefer the white text on title bars.

Edit #1: I just noticed your edit, LOL. I wonder if the missing "Shell" files is what causes that problem? I'll try again and see if that corrects the problem.

Edit #2: Adding the Shell files fixed the problems with the apps crashing, but the right-click context menu on the Start screen remains broken with UXStyle installed. Cannot change any tile options, unfortunately. Will have to wait until a fix is identified for that before I can use UXStyle. Bummer, too... I was using older versions of this theme with Windows 8 and 8.1.0 and really liked it. Wish I could use in now.

Edit #3: Hmm... seems the right-click context menu is broken by this theme, not UXStyle. If I put "CustomThemeAtlas"="C:\\AeroGlass\\win8cp.png" back into the registry and use a different theme everything works OK. No white title bar text, but nothing is broken. Seems to be the AeroByDesign for Windows 8.1 theme itself is the problem here.

 

UltraUXThemePatcher has issues, uxstyle 0.2.3.0 works fine, try using Classic Shell instead (winaero start skin/ uncheck Opaque Start Menu and taskbar) Get the best looking Start Menu for Classic Shell 4+ with Winaero Skin 2.0 | Winaero

- Install uxstyle
- Delete -> "CustomThemeAtlas"="C:\\AeroGlass\\win8cp.png"
- Install Theme

Spoiler

 

I already installed UXStyle from the link you provided. I did not use UltraUXThemePatcher. I followed your instructions exactly. Everything worked perfectly on the desktop, but broken apps and non-functional right-click option on the Start Screen.

Having used both for a long time, I prefer Start8 over Classic Shell.

 

Then the theme and/or Uxstyle are not compatible with Start8, StartIsBack+ is better Classic Shell • View topic - Compare Start Menus:Classic Shell vs StartIsBack, Start8 etc

Spoiler

View attachment 111244

 

The problem seems to be the theme, not Start8. To test your theory about Start8 having a compatibility issue I uninstalled it and installed StartIsBack+ and the problem is identical. If I use the theme with white title bar text the right-click context menu is gone completely. Right-click adds a check mark to a tile and no adjustments are possible. If I switch to a different theme the right-click context menu on the Start screen functions normally. Not sure why it is different on your system. Maybe it is Decor8 or ModernMix, or something else less obvious.

I can just change themes temporarily if I need to use the right-click feature. I use Windows 8 apps and the Start screen so infrequently this really doesn't matter, so in the end this glitch really makes no difference. At best it represents a very slight inconvenience to have to momentarily change themes. Once everything is set to my liking on the Start screen I might not have any reason to even access it for weeks, since I use the desktop almost exclusively.

Thank you very much for your suggestions. StartIsBack+ is very similar to Start8 in appearance and features. I don't like Classic Shell start menu... for some reason it feels like garbageware to me, same as Pokki does, but Start8 and StartIsBack+ are both very professional and elegant utilities. As they say, "you get what you pay for" and free sometimes comes at a sacrifice of quality for its price tag.

 

GREAT NEWS fellows old start button lovers,windows will officially re-release the start button:
Windows 8 Start menu should return in August, thanks to new, faster release cycle | ExtremeTech
it looks to better fit the windows 8 UI,while giving us back the old start functionalities we always loved

 

Let's hope that's true, because this (quoted from your linked article) is what Micro$haft should have thought about all along......

Instead of doing that ^^^, they thought it'd be cool and hip to roll out some garbage aimed at fools who like to tinkle with a smartphone (or worse, surface) and play about with Facefook and the like. Oooooh...touch this, flick that.....tsk.

Don't get me wrong, tablets and smartphones have their place.....it's just when it's forced down your throat as "acceptable" that it becomes "unacceptable".

 

I tried with Startisback and it's working fine, so probably Decor8 or Modermix are breaking the theme right-click context menu.

Spoiler

HaHaHa...he needs to improve skins and menus but the functionality/configuration of Classic Shell is still unbeatable, themes/skins are mostly modified for Startisback/Uxstyle now...I'm using startisback since it was released but with uxstyle installed 120Hz laptop/Nvidia GPU causes blank screens when uninstalling (even safe mode) and verifying/fixing all the proper registry paths doesn't work (5 steps uninstall to fix it), the developer refuses to fix this...uxstyle alone ( or Classic Shell installed) no issues.

 

Here's a very short video showing exactly how this is behaving. The most important thing is that AeroGlass still works flawlessly. I think to simplify things I am just going to uninstall uxstyle, use the default Aeroglass win8cp.png atlas file and live with the black title bar text. I don't change Windows themes often enough to care. Decor8 and ModernMix are too critical to making Windows 8 tolerable to live without either one of them. I can live with black title bar text until I figure out something to make the white text work properly.

<iframe width='853' height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/xAAHHeG8l_U?rel=0" frameborder='0' allowfullscreen=""></iframe>

 

You could try reporting this ModernMix + windows 8.1 Spring Update 1 issues » Forum Post by wolfsilverlone
MrGRiM could also have some good ideas Title Bar Text and Background in Windows 8.1 - Windows 8 - MSFN Forum

 

Well, guess what. The problem was USER ERROR... There is no incompatibility with uxstyle, nothing wrong with the theme and no conflict with Start8 or StartIsBack+ to fuss over. I did not recognize that only one of the four included themes was applicable to Update 1. As soon as I select the correct theme everything works great, LOL. I deleted the three themes that are not applicable so that does not happen again. Not sure why those were included in a theme package for 8.1.1 if they don't actually work with 8.1.1, but all is well that ends well. Gosh, all that rigmarole for nothing... and all my bad, ha ha.

Spoiler

 

... ...(1) AeroByDesign For Windows 8.1 / Update 1 by LiveOrDieTM on deviantART