Thanks for the detailed advice!
However, seriously, how can HP promote or even accept a "servicepack" (or whatever MS chooses to call 8.1) that requires so much extra work? Can 99% of HP´s customers even follow Your advice?
How can HP accept updates that crashes their customers machines? Without so much as an official warning - "Dear customer, as MS has no clue what they are doing with the win8.1, many software stops working, other crashes, we suggest that YOU DON´T install it"
Your advice clearly sends that message, for which I am others should be grateful. But what does HP think?
Further - do You have any advice on how I could make my crashed machine WITH Win8.1 boot again? Or is the advice a reformat of the disk and a clean installation of win8.0 staying away from 8.1 for the future?
Thanks again and Kudos!