dism /online /cleanup-image /startcomponentcleanup

[islands7]

This runs to about 20% completion then reports
The component store has been corrupted.

If your answer/help is to format drive, reinstall windows 8.1 & 3 weeks of programs (8.1 hates most programs)  to get this business running again - save your breath/fingers/keyboard please.
Looking for other answers.

Read that the deadline to install KB 2919355 has passed, have an extension but want the business extension in late Aug in hopes they'll fix this green wood they sell.

[Shane]

This is the main reason I hate that MS started using the stupid WinSxS folder. That is the component store and when it becomes corrupt only a reinstall can fix it.

BUT you dont need to do a fresh install and lose everything, instead a repair install would do the trick and you would keep all your programs.

Give this a read and see if you want to try it

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/26095-repair-install-windows-8-a.html

And if your interested here is more info on the winsxs folder and why I hate it lol
http://blogs.technet.com/b/askcore/archive/2008/09/17/what-is-the-winsxs-directory-in-windows-2008-and-windows-vista-and-why-is-it-so-large.aspx

Shane

[islands7]

After 9.5 hours of remote control, my case has been escalated to a Tech III who is still on the case, trying to allow me to avoid 3 WEEKS of reinstalling my business on hateful, rejectful 8.1-64, he seems a good guy & has repeated many fixed published, even the one you offered.  Rats. I hope to get the business extension of Aug 12 for not updating KB2912355 in hopes that Moses will come down from the mountain and explain why this invention has clay feet and the miracle they should provide to both cure it & later protect it from a repeat.

If Tech III performs this miracle sooner, I'll post it.

Looking into the gloom, I now wonder IF I get a computer guru to reinstall at least 8.1, I wonder if he could also cure this ASUS lack of planning wisely partitions and find me a much larger partition for Windows, et al., e.g. C: is 149GB and is trapped by an inaccessible partition to its right, so cannot expand either direction, yet further to the right is D: = 559GB ?!?!?!?!?  UGH  Perhaps he can rename D: to C: and vice versa ....  my head hurts now

[Shane]

If you do have to do a fresh reinstall of Windows 8 then you will be able to change the partitions

When you go through the setup it asks you what one to install ti on, at that point I delete them all and just have one large drive, like it should be 

I do reinstalls all the time for my customers. For Windows 8 I have barley a few who dont ask me to wipe it and put 7 on for them. When i have to reinstall 8 I install it with a 8.1 dvd and avoid the 8 to 8.1 nightmare.

Shane

[islands7]

Thank you for being frank.
MC Tech III tells me not to worry, that as a business the PC World article is true (Aug 12th extension) and I have an open case with MS.
He also feels confident that my corrupted stores 8.1 problem will be resolved "w/o wiping everything out" (starting over from scratch= 4 weeks of installs) because it's a NEW OS, typically the 1st 2 years are tweaking.  I consider selling "green wood" underhanded.

To boot, the Geek Squad that got me running & ignored the problems of placing 8.1 on the 150GB drive, instead of the fat 700GB one
will NOT give me a cost range ... not even a broad one ... via email.  They are stonewalling me to force a phone call = a crap shoot on the IQ one might get + wait times that are horrible + talk/listen/misunderstanding time down the drain + "will phone you back with some answers" = UGH

I think I understand you saying the clear choices are win7 (like most in the computer business/management prefer locally) or win8.1 (my original idea was to postpone having to upgrade for 3-6 years ala winXPpro by choosing the latest version).   

Omitted was what your cost range might be to wipe & reinstall 8.1 from disk, which would include having all the old, current files somewhere on the computer so reinstalling them might be easier .... this is how Geek Squad usually does it.

[Shane]

It isnt hard to do yourself actually, and I would be more than happy to show you guides on how to do it.

What installing Windows takes is time more than anything.

First you backup any files that cant be replaced to an external drive. Documents, pictures, emails. Things like that. Dont worry about programs as programs can be reinstalled.

Then You get your hands on either a Windows 7 disk or a Windows 8.1, you boot off the disk and start the install. You delete all drive partitions to have one big one and tell Windows to install.

The rest of the install is automatic from there. When Windows is done installing it will ask you a few questions, like the user account name to make and a computer name. It will ask for the cd key during as well.

Once done and installed the first thing to do is to install the drivers. You can install the drivers before hand and save them on a drive. If it is a store bought computer you can grab all the drivers from the mfg site. Normally you need video, sound, network and chipset drivers.

Once the network drivers are installed you will be able to get on the internet, when you do you want to get all the Windows updates done first, this will take a while and will be large.

Once done though that part you start installing your programs and the move your files back over and your done.

Again time is what it needs most. But if you have never done it before it can be intimidating. But so was driving a car the first time, but after you do it, it becomes easier

While it is possible to fix the computer with a reinstall, some times it isn't when things are to far gone. Plus if you want to have the extra drive space then starting fresh is a good idea to avoid the nightmare of the 8 to 8.1 upgrade.

I fix a lot of systems, thus why I made my Windows repair tool. But sometimes there is no option but a reinstall when it would be faster than trying to fix it. Windows has over 1 million registry keys and trying to trace down a problem can be really hard. So my repairs are automated to help save the user time and a headache. But my program is always growing because as i find new things I add it to it.

So the first question is, what will be faster so you can get back to work? Trying to fix it or just wipe the sucker and start fresh?

Shane

[islands7]

MS Tech III is still trying to fix it b/c a fresh install means 3 weeks of loading my business back onto it ala Nov 2013, then tweaking for weeks and weeks ....

[Shane]

I forget, was there a reason the repair install wouldnt work for you instead of a fresh install?

At least with a repair install you can keep your programs and settings.
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/26095-repair-install-windows-8-a.html

Shane

[islands7]

MS Tech III doesn't have reasons, they just follow their tech book of solutions, most of which are posted on Internet but they do pull out some MS resources at times.
Basically, something corrupted the components store, even though Norton has been on top of all this from the get-go.
Odd, though that first win8.1-64 wouldn't do the KB2919355 update, et al. then later Norton Internet Security was asking to be updated manually .... mmmmmm

[Shane]

The component store is the winsxs folder and I HATE that ms does that. It is very easy to break and very very hard to fix without a repair install.

And of course I cant find any data on it from MS on how it works, where it pulls and stores info and all that good stuff. I know there is the component registry hive, most of the data it pulls should be from there.

There has to be a way to rebuild it like the repair install does, but a way to do it without reinstalling.

Shane

[islands7]

That IS the optimism my MS Tech III from India has.  In fact, he feels more lenient toward "new" OSs "every one has it's troubles" whereas I feel they are selling green wood (construction), lemons (vehicles) and works in progress for others to iron out.  If it's the low price, I may be in the minority of thinking an OS should demand the MOST money BUT be bulletproof ... it's the foundation of a building into which one stores/banks their medical, financial, business, invaluable photos, life!  THEN they tweak it like building a bridge to make life/business easier and maybe someday do the work of ten.   MS wants us to rebuild all those bridges?  8.1 fought me many times when installing each "bridge beam".

I really don't think they are working on this problem, they are greedily looking forward to creating "cool" add-in/ons that will make their friends WOW and bosses give a raise, as it might attract new users' money.  If you realize what pedestrian, dull advantages update KB2919355 GIVES, one might wonder if MS has any brains throwing talent THAT direction instead of FIXING this update blocker.

Then one wonders WHY anyone would want to reinstall 8.1 if this Achilles Heel (components store hive) is still exposed!?!?!?!?
MS remains silent on this spilled milk as if ... maybe ... someone else might be blamed!