Windows 10: Recover back to Win 8.1 from 10 Temporarily But .......... plus questions

I’m not sure of forum but I think this one is good. I am not looking for a resolution to listed problem but I think it’s prudent to list the details of why I am looking at a recovery.

I certainly would not ignore any suggestions for a different solution.

We have not used or put too much on the machine so “going back” is not too painful. Not much installed and all personal files are backed up or on OneDrive. I have to look into saving our Outlook 365 pst file. I will use our Office 365 support for recommendations on that.



Background:

Dell XPS 8700 brand new out of box but at least 4+ years old before turning on for 1st time long story.

But, I purchased with future in mind. Here are its main specs:

• Win 8.1
• 4th Gen Intel Core i7-4770 4 core, 8 logical processors 8M Cache, up to 3.9 GHz
• 64 bit
• 2TB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive 6.0 Gb/s
• 16GB Dual Channel DDR3 1600MHz – 4 DIMMs
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1.0GB min to moderate game play. No intensive game playing

Before using I did this in order:

1. Dell and MS 8.1 updates
2. Dell recovery backup to USB
3. Win 8.1 recovery backup to USB
4. Upgraded to Win 10
5. Applied all available Win 10 updates
6. Activated Windows defender
7. Installed and activated Malwarebytes Premium after research I decide this security setup is sufficient relative to our usage
8. Purchased and activated Office 365. Installed desktop outlook
9. Installed Big Fish games
10. At this point the GPU worked and was recognized by the system
11. Had Dell auto upgrade on never again, I am disciplined enough to check for and manage updates
12. Win 10 auto update on and will keep it that way

Here is our problem and what we have done to no avail:

• After a Dell bios upgrade the GPU stopped working. Win 10 updates occurred in same time range so I can’t say for sure if it is Dell or Win 10 causing the issue.
• GPU was not seen by the system:
  • sys info/Components/Display is blank
  • The GPU does not show up in device manager even with “show hidden devices” set and running “Scan for hardware changes”
  • NVIDEA is seen in Device manager/Sound, video, and game controllers: NVIDEA High Def Audio. But, its Properties shows this:
    • “Currently, this hardware device is not connected to the computer. Code 45
    • To fix this problem, reconnect this hardware device to the computer”
• I’ve tried NVIDEA support 3x. Same result – do device mgr “show hidden” and “scan for new HW”. Then do driver upgrade which always fails with “device incompatible”. Each time also reseated the card, checked for power via seeing fan on. Ultimately, NVIDEA says “not us since sys does not see the GPU. “Use Dell support”.
• I am not crazy about paying Dell’s support cost and googled suggestions include same as above – have not found anything that looks promising.

So, since, as noted in beginning, going back to the Dell config per #2 above is relatively painless it seems like a good solution.

I am not sure if the Dell backup includes everything regarding Windows so I also plan on restoring the Win 8.1 backup to be sure I am back to where the point I previously upgraded to Win 10

Then I’ll do all available Dell and Win 8.1 updates. Then I’ll do fresh Win 10 upgrade.

After The Win 10 upgrade I’ll save a restore point I did not so before.


My actual questions are:

1. Does the Dell recovery backup include Windows as is or some initial state?
2. Are both Dell and Windows recovery backups recommended?
3. I think not but to be sure does Win recovery backup includes bios? I am anticipating same thing occurring upon some Dell bios update:
   • If needed I’ll take Dell recover backup before a bios update.
   • If and when I get to a point where I know next update is “bad” is it safe to stay at a static bios version I assume the major security update is a must?

Is there an overall recommendation besides getting a new machine or wiping and doing fresh manual install.

:)

 

Unlocked Realtek HD Audio Drivers Windows 7 & 8 (With Dolby Digital Live and DTS Interactive)

DTS supported natively by Windows 8/8.1 and it should work on windows 10 too just DDL require to unlock your driver .

 

Halt Windows 10 Maintenance Tasks Temporarily

Hi,

Thank you for posting the query on Microsoft Community. I am sorry to know that you are facing issues with Windows 10.

Method 1: Update video adapter driver.


Verify that the latest drivers for the display adapter are installed.

• a. At the Start screen, type Windows Update.
• b. Click or tap Settings on the right side of the screen, and then select Install optional updates from the left results
  
• c. When the Windows Update control panel opens, click on “Check for Updates” on the top left corner to receive a fresh list of updates.
  

I would also suggest you to refer to the following article and perform the steps mentioned under “Update driver” section.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/all-drivers (Also applicable
for windows 10)

Method 2:

Check the Device status in the Device Manager. The yellow exclamation mark provides an indication of a device's current status and could mean that there is a system resource conflict, a driver issue, or any number of other
things. Refer to these steps to open Device Manager.

Step 1. Press Windows and X keys together.

Step 2. Click on Device Manager.

Step 3. Expand Sound, video and game controller.

Step 4. Please check with the optional driver updates through windows update and check if it helps. And
for more information I suggest you to refer the link below.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/all-drivers (Also
applicable for windows 10)

Method 3: If the issue still prissiest, install the Windows 8.1 drivers in compatibility mode.

Step 1. Download the Windows 8.1 drivers.

Step 2. Right click on the downloaded driver file.

Step 3. Click/tap on
Troubleshoot Compatibility.

I also suggest install the latest drivers available for Windows 10 and check if it helps.

Hope this helps in resolving the issue. If the issue persists, do get back to us. We will be happy to assist you.

 

Money Plus Wont Start After Win 10 Update

After upgrading to WIN 10 on my Dell laptop, Money Plus will not start. Keeps telling me to install IE6.

Any suggestions?