Annoyances of Windows 8 and 8.1

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The first major group of annoyance correction you can make to Windows 8 is to upgrade to Windows 8.1. Windows 8 can be thought of as a bit of a flop much like Windows Vista.

Get Windows 10 popup notification

A popup notification in the Windows taskbar installed by a misleading fraudulent update.

To remove the Get Windows 10 popup notification follow the instructions in KB3035583.

Product Key Problems

Windows includes a process known as "Windows Activation." This process activates your copy of Windows with Microsoft, and they check to make sure it’s a properly licensed copy. It ensures your Windows license key is only being used on a single PC at a time and that thousands of PCs aren’t using the same key. Windows also regularly checks to ensure that your key hasn’t been reported as pirated. This occurs when your computer tries to download optional updates from Microsoft.

When you’re using a non-genuine copy of Windows, you’ll see a notification once every hour. The notification informs you it’s non-genuine and that you need to activate. Your desktop background will become black every hour — even if you change it, it’ll change back. There are also other limitations and annoyances.

If you do actually have a valid Windows key, you can change the product key in Windows. Windows will then activate with Microsoft and remove the limitations.

Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 have different product keys. That is, if you have a Windows 8 license and attempt to install Windows 8.1 with your Windows 8 product key, you’ll receive an “invalid product key” message. You must instead install Windows 8, provide your Windows 8 product key, and then update to Windows 8.1 from within Windows 8.

View product key

To view the Windows 8.1 product key you can type the following command in the command shell: 

slmgr /sli

However, with neither the /sli nor /slv switch will you see the entire product key. This displays the "partial key" or the last 5 characters. Viewing the full key is not possible without using a 3rd party or external program. A number of free utilities available to retrieve product keys. KeyFinderPro and Windows Key Finder are two of the best free tools available to recover Microsoft Office 2010 and Windows product keys.

Changing product key from Command Prompt

Step 1: Open Command Prompt with admin rights. To do so, switch to the Start screen, type CMD and then simultaneously press Ctrl + Shift + Enter keys to run Command Prompt as administrator. You can also go through our how to run Command Prompt as administrator in Windows 8 guide for step-by-step instructions.

Click Yes button when you see the UAC prompt.

Step 2: In the elevated prompt, type slmgr.vbs /ipk <Your product key> and then press enter key to change the product key and activate Windows using the newly entered product key.

For instance, if your product key is 12345 12345 12345 12345 12345, then you need to type slmgr.vbs /ipk 12345 12345 12345 12345 12345 followed by Enter key to activate your Windows 8/8.1.

Download Legitimate Windows 8.1

If you need to install or reinstall Windows 8.1, you can use the tool provided by Microsoft at microsoft.com called Create installation media for Windows 8.1. This is an executable that you download and run to create install media while connected to the Internet. It requires Windows 7 or higher to run the media creation and download program.

If you’re not running Windows 8 or Windows 8.1, you’ll need to enter a Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 product key. You'll also need a product key if you're running Windows 8 and trying to install Windows 8.1 Pro.

  • Windows 8.1 RTM = Release to Manufacturer version.
  • Windows 8.1 GA = Free upgrade from 8 to 8.1

Student discount version: Students with valid .edu email address: purchase and download Windows 8.1 Pro from Microsoft for only $69.99 USD. You'll get a copy of Windows 8.1 in ISO format, ready for burning to a disc or transferring to a USB device.

Private individual: Purchase and download from Microsoft either Windows 8.1 for $119.99 USD or Windows 8.1 Pro for $199.99 USD.

Source: About.com Where Can I Download Windows 8 or 8.1?

Skip past "Sign in to your Microsoft account" screen after installing Windows 8.1

Click the "Create an account" link which will take you to another page with forms to enter your personal information. You don't have to enter the information. At the bottom just click where it says, "use existing account" and then you have successfully skipped what seemed like an impossible obstacle. You have to think like Micro$oft, that is to say, disregard logic.

Disable the Metro interface, boot to traditional desktop

  1. On the Metro screen are many square blocks. Click on the block in the bottom left labeled "desktop."
  2. Right-click the taskbar, click Properties and select the Navigation tab in the resulting screen.
  3. Uncheck everything in the "Corner navigation" area
  4. Check items 1,2,3 and 5 under "Start screen," that is to say, everything EXCEPT "Show the Apps view automatically..."

Bring back the familiar Start menu

Classic Shell is free software that improves your whole life... yada yada... it gives you back the old Start menu.

  • Start button for Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10
  • Toolbar and status bar for Windows Explorer
  • Caption and status bar for Internet Explorer

Note: Microsoft is bringing back the Start menu for Windows 10.

Show My Documents on desktop

Microsoft changed the name of "My Documents" to "Documents." Unlike the old My Documents folder, Documents does not contain folders for pictures and music. Those folders are now stored outside of Documents and are also available on the Start menu.

To show or hide common desktop icons

  1. Open Personalization by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button, and then clicking Control Panel. In the search box, type personalization, and then click Personalization.
  2. In the left pane, click Change desktop icons.
  3. Under Desktop Icons, select the check box for each icon that you want to appear on the desktop. Clear the check box for icons that you don't want to appear, and then click OK.

FTP Error: 425 Use PORT or PASV first

NOTE: THIS ISSUE REMAINS UNRESOLVED From the command shell trying to use ftp (ftp.exe) and unable to get a directory list or transfer a file. The errors may include: 

500 Illegal PORT command. 
425 Use PORT or PASV first.

Then you try to enter passive mode PASV 

ftp> literal PASV
227 Entering Passive Mode ...

Problem: the Windows command-line FTP client does not support passive mode FTP. You have to configure the Windows Firewall to support ACTIVE mode FTP. Exit the FTP program and from the command prompt (cmd.exe) enter the following command: 

firewall.cpl

The "Windows Firewall" interface will open. On the left pane choose "Allow an app or feature though Windows Firewall". (yeah, Microsoft is copying the smartphone world and calling programs or software "apps" now. lame.)

To make changes in the "Allowed apps" interface you have to first click the button on the right of the screen near the top that says "Change settings" which will unlock the checkbox selections. Scroll down the list of "Allowed apps and features:" until you see the following checkbox: 

[x] File Transfer Program

Now check the box, and click OK to exit

unresolved. issue was not resolved. further research:

Windows Update stuck at 0% - Wont Download Updates

Reader asks, "When I click on windows update, it just sits there with the bar running, showing me its at 0%."

SOLUTION 1:

Solution: manually reset the Windows Update Components

From the command console (cmd.exe) type the following: 

net stop wuauserv
net stop cryptSvc
net stop bits
net stop msiserver
ren C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old
ren C:\Windows\System32\catroot2 Catroot2.old
net start wuauserv
net start cryptSvc
net start bits
net start msiserver

Type them one at a time. Wait for each command to finish. Be patient. Now exit, reboot, and try Windows Update again. This solution has been tested and worked on Windows 8.1. There is, however, a more involved solution proposed at Microsoft.com, See: How do I reset Windows Update components?

SOLUTION 2:

Sometimes Windows Restore aka Microsoft System Restore can cause problems with Windows Update. This is especially true on a fresh install of Windows 8.1 when there are many updates waiting to be installed.

Disable Automatic Restore Point creation, which is a feature of System Protection. Go to System Properties by typing "sysdm.cpl" at the command prompt. Click the "System Protection" tab and disable automatic restore point creation. After you have all of the updates for Windows installed, then be sure to go back and reenable System Protection auto restore point creation.

See: Unified_Support_Technician_Guide_to_Utility_Easy_Access_via_the_Windows_Command_Shell#Start_System_Protection_from_a_command_prompt

TrustedInstaller won't let me delete a file or folder

The TrustedInstaller user account started with Windows 7. For Windows 8 and 8.1 it basically works the same way. The TrustedInstaller user account owns your system files. If you try to delete a system file such as notepad.exe then you will receive an error. See our help page on Working Around TrustedInstaller to find out how to take ownership of your files and delete system files you want to be rid of, such as the lousy notepad.exe that Microsoft is so proud of.

Legacy Documentation: Old Annoyances Still Persist

Some well documented Windows Annoyances of the past still exist in current versions of the operating system and the resolution still applicable from the older guides. For example, some of the resolutions in our Annoyances of Windows 2000/XP still work in newer versions of Microsoft Windows. Some steps are slightly different but close enough to be of assistance when reviewing the legacy documentation. See all of our Windows Annoyances pages.

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