Windows 8.1 will not download from the Store

When I got my PC (Alienware X51 R2) on 19/12/13 I couldn't see the Windows 8.1 update in the store.

I made sure I had all the Windows updates

I ran wsreset.

Made sure I had KB2871389 installed.

Still no Windows 8.1.

I found some suggestion on the web to uninstall practically everything and start again.  "Sod that" I thought, if I'm going to go to that amount of effort I'll just install Windows 7.

Then on 1/1/14 Windows 8.1 suddenly appears in the store.

"At last" I cried.

But then I tried downloading it and got the very helpful message that "Something has happened" and that it couldn't download 8.1.  I cried.

Tried several more times only to get the error telling me I had to be an Administrator.  "I am" I cried.

I created a local account and logged out of my live account and into my local account.  I can't see 8.1 in the store any more.  So in and out, back and forth, round and round, all to no avail.

Then I tried uninstalling KB2871389.

Then 8.1 was in the store but wouldn't respond when clicked on.

So I reinstalled KB2871389.

8.1 was still in the store and when I tried to download it "Something happened" !!

Tried again and finally it started downloading the f***ing thing.

It's downloading as I type so hopefully this will be the end of all the crying - well OK there wasn't actually any crying but there was a lot of swearing.

I had the same issue. Brand new computer. The first account I created was my HOTMAIL account which showed up as being an admin but still threw the error ("not an admin") in the Store when trying to download 8.1.

Here is what worked for me:

1. Changed my HOTMAIL account to a local account
2. Logged off
3. Tried the store again and even though I was still listed as an admin it still failed
4. Switched my account back to HOTMAIL connected account
5. Logged off and then back on
6. Windows 8.1 download worked

Beats the **** out of me why this worked, but it did.

the mysteries of life continue...

I know this topic is concerned with the people who can already see the upgrade, attempt to install it then get the error message that they are not an administrator, even though they are. I had this problem, but I tried those steps anyway and they worked for me, though at the end I had to log out then log back in.

Hi Paul,

 

I would have you refresh the store and check-

1. Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, and then tap Search.

(If you're using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer down, and then click Search.) 2. Enter run in the search box, and then tap or click Run. 3. Enter wsreset.exe in the Run command and then tap or click OK. 4. Restart your PC. 5. On the Start screen, tap or click Store, and check to see if Windows 8.1 now appears on the Store home screen.

Thanks.

These are the exact steps you must follow in order to solve this issue, i have tryed it worked perfectly. I hope you guys at MS keep a note of this as you were no help what so ever.

No, this is NOT the solution to this topic.  This topic is not concerned with the upgrade not showing up in the store.  That has already been clarified.

The problem is for people who can already see the upgrade, attempt to install it then get the error message that they are not an administrator, even though they are. Please refer to my screenshots on page 1 of this topic.

Except for trying things at random, there seems to be no recognized solution to this and zero help from Microsoft.

As it happens, in my case I managed to solve it by randomly re-booting, deleting software and reinstalling but I have no idea why it worked.  But as we can see there are many others having the exact same problem.