Get Windows 8.1 for free

[Rudi]

If I had to give a answer, I'd say it is the Strong VPN installation that is the cause of your issues. I have been running Win8.1 and Office 2013 for months now and I have never encoutered any of these issues you list. Before you take extreme measures, try uninstalling Strong VPN (using Revo Uninstaller) so it cleans out registry settings too...or do a system restore (rollback) to remove only VPN (if possible).

[jmt356]

Overall I don't like Windows 8.1. To me it is only a series of inconveniences without any benefits. Are there any security issues to be aware of if I roll back to Windows 8?

[HansV]

I don't think that the problems you have been experiencing are caused by Windows 8.1.
But if you do want to roll back to Windows 8, you'll still be receiving security updates until January 12, 2016.

[jmt356]

As an update to the below, I did roll back to Windows 8 and have been using it for several months without any issue. However, I just decided to re-upgrade to Windows 8.1 to see if doing so would resolve an issue I have been having viewing Amazon.com page (I have another thread on this forum dealing with that issue). After several hours of downloading Windows 8.1, I was prompted to restart my computer. Since restarting my computer about a half hour ago, I have been at a black screen with the hp logo and a loading circle for over a half hour. It is clear to me now that the hanging issues I was experiencing last year are due to Windows 8.1, not to Strong VPN.

[Rudi]

Let hope Windows 10 performs better for you... (available within the next few months)

[jmt356]

Windows 10 users: What has been your experience? Is Windows 10 bogged down with bugs and inconveniences? Did you have issues upgrading?

Is Windows 10 like Windows 8.1 in that you can't pin a customized Windows Explorer shortcut to the Taskbar that opens only one icon when launched? (In Windows 8.1, there are 2 options for launching Windows Explorer through a Taskbar shortcut:
1) Pinning the Windows Explorer program to the Taskbar, which will launch "This PC" as the location by default; or
2) Pinning a Windows Explorer shortcut to the Taskbar, which allows the user to customize the address to which Windows Explorer launches, but opens up a second icon on the Taskbar when multiple instances of Windows Explorer are running.)

[HansV]

Windows 10 is not perfect, but generally it works well for me. But then, Windows 8.1 also worked well for me, so I suspect that you'll find many more features "inconvenient" than I do.