8 Issues and Solutions for Windows 8

 8 Issues and Solutions for Windows 8

 Considering lots of users meet various issues and problems when running Windows 8, I am summarizing the top 8 issues of Windows 8 and providing some possible fixes for these. 

1 – Windows 8 installation error when upgrade from Windows 7. Error message: “Windows 8 installation has failed”

Possible Solutions:

1.1  – Check your system requirement if it meets the minimum system requirement which are similar with Windows 7 system requirement  to install Windows 8
1.2 – Disable all NON Microsoft installed software, uninstall your third party antivirus program, remove anything that is plugged in the USB ports then restart your computer.
1.3 – Disconnect all the external devices ( printers, USB , scanner, etc. except mouse and the keyboard; shut all non-essential services and apps off ( like iTunes, Skype, Antimalware, AVG etc) and then choosing the ‘install only’ option.
1.4 – Created an installation USB  and ran the upgrade setup from there instead of the HDD
1.5 – Try installing Windows 8 doing a CleanBoot ( that procedure is same as for Windows7) .

1.6 – Check your ISO file. You might have a corrupt download that is causing the issue.
Check the ISO Sha 1 hash to verify if you have the correct hash. If they don’t match then your download is corrupt and you will need to download a new ISO and reinstall.
( http://www.julien-manici.com/file_hash_checker/ )

You can check here both 64-bit (x64) Sha 1 hash and   32-bit (x86) Sha 1 hash 

2 – Application / program can’t work

Possible Solutions:

2.1 – Try to un-install and re-install the application/program.

2.2 – Switched to local account and switched back to Microsoft account and then tried to run the application. (Go to desktop, press ALT key + F4, and select “switch users”.)
2.3 – Check your third party program like firewall or antivirus program. Try to disable/remove your firewall/antivirus programs.
2.4 – Re-install Windows 8.The ISO file might be corrupt and need to re-install Windows 8.

3 – Can not to connect to network

Possible Solutions:

3.1 – Check your hardware- Check your cables, check or reset your router (modem), and check for possible problems with your network adapter.
3.2 – Check your connection settings to see if they’ve been changed. (Control Panel > Network and sharing center > Change Adaptor Settings)
3.3 – Run Network troubleshooter to check issues. An automated troubleshooter can find and automatically fix some common networking problems.

3.4 – Update network driver for your hardware and install driver in Windows 7 compatibility mode , Bellow you can see How to install driver in Windows 7 compatibility mode.

4. No sound on Windows 8

Possible Solutions:

4.1 – Check your sound card if that works properly. Open your device manager and check to make sure your PC has a sound card, or sound processor, and it’s working properly.

4.2 – Check your driver if it’s installed properly. Make sure you install driver in a compatibility mode.

4.3 – Use a troubleshooter.

4.4 – Update drivers.

5. Windows 8 Black Screen

Possible Solutions:

5.1 – Reboot the system by pressing power button. Sometimes, rebooting can fix this issue.
5.2 – Go to Safe Mode ( before  Windows start, press F8 button to go to menu for Safe mode, Last Known Good configuration and more options)  to uninstall certain programs you’ve been installing lately, try to disable all NON Microsoft installed software, uninstall your third party antivirus program, remove anything plugged in via the USB ports, then restart your computer.
5.3 – Disconnect all the external devices (except mouse and Keyboard) and check
your Graphic Drivers and programs if they are compatible with windows 8, go to Windows Compatibility Center. Try to install incompatible program and update the driver. Be sure that you install driver in compatible mode.
5.4 – If you tried to upgrade from Windows Vista to Windows 8, you may try to remove the drivers of the Graphics card, Audio Card, Network Card and security programs. Then, reboot the system to perform upgrading again for a test. If you tried to upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 8, please boot into Safe Mode with the option “enable low-resolution video” and see how it works.
5.5 – Check your ISO file. You might have a corrupt download that is causing the issue.
Check the ISO Sha 1 hash (see above) to verify if you have the correct hash. If they don’t match then your download is corrupt and you will need to download a new ISO and reinstall.

6 . Windows 8 freezes

Possible Solutions:

6.1 – Check system if it meets system requirement to install Windows 8 (they are similar with Windows 7)
6.2 – Check if any new program/driver has been installed or upgraded. Disabling/un-installing the program/driver might fix this.
6.3 – Run System Maintenance Troubleshooter to see if it helps.
6.4 - Try to update all the drivers and check if it helps.

7. Cannot play YouTube video

Possible Solutions:

7.1- Upgrade to the most recent version of Adobe’s Flash Player. Please note that before installing Adobe Flash, you will need to first uninstall any older versions you currently have running on your computer.
7.2 – Temporarily disable popup blocking software installed on your computer to test.
7.3 – Allow YouTube.com as a trusted site in your Firewall software.
7.4 – Ensure other applications like QuickTime, iTunes, Real Player, or Windows Media Player aren’t set as the default streaming application, as this might affect the video player.
7.5 – Check your third party program like firewall or antivirus program. Try to disable/remove your firewall/antivirus programs.

8. Driver won’t be installed/ recognized

Possible Solutions:

8.1 – Check if your driver is compatible with Windows 8 (Windows Compatibility Center). Try to update driver for your hardware and install driver in Windows 7 compatibility mode (How to install driver in Windows 7 compatibility mode?)
8.2 – Run Hardware and Devices troubleshooter and check if it helps.

Thanks & Regards

Srikanth Goud- Virtualization Administrator