Powerpoint 2013 unstable

I never had this error before I recently got a new laptop with Windows 8 & did the 8.1 update; then loaded Office 2013.  I am editing (and about 75% of the time successfully saving) about 10 different .ppt & .pptx files.

I have been (seemingly randomly) getting these same error messages (cannot save, read-only file, save with another name - resulting in 2 fractured files)  while I update PowerPoint slides (which I had no problem updating with a previous version of Ppt last fall, all downloaded from Dropbox).  I've been struggling with this issue on & off for a week now.  

This error has occurred after I edited text by changing the size of the font.  Another time after I changed the size of the space between bullet points.  Another time after I cropped an image (which PPt 2013 does not make look like a smooth process; the image gets way too big and looks like it's over-reacting to this task).  Another time after I removed an image and replaced it with a version of that image which I modified in another PowerPoint file. 

I have tried everything suggested in this post (and I had such high hopes that Bella's Nov 2013 post was the answer) as well as chkdsk on my harddrive (no problems), and the friendly agents at Geek Squad have run every diagnostic they have and have confirmed our suspicions that there seems to be file saving contention (including the steps suggested by MS engineers in a similar post at "PowerPoint 2013: Trouble Saving the Files").  So I also uninstalled Dropbox but had the same problem recur about 1 in 10 saves.  I have tried removing the oldest images from the file; that seemed to work, but then it didn't.  The fonts are standard; that shouldn't be the problem.

Watching me re-create the error, the most recent Geek Squad agent suggested I always save the file in its exact same location with the same file name (and not, as I have often done, intermittently perform a Save As then rename or relocate the folder).  So I thought, OK this must be it!  Office 2013 & Windows 8.1 are somehow contending for the file and I cannot use my old habits to work on the file in Downloads and then save it to a more useful location when done.  Instead, I determined to work on & save it in the first location, close it, then copy (or cut) & paste it into another file.  I didn't even get that far.

Sometimes it feels like it's about the 3rd save, others it seems more like the 10th save.

We need to keep posting what we've tried, what we've thought caused the problem, and give Microsoft more incentive & direction to get this issue resolved.  I, too, can't believe it was first posted almost 9 months ago and we don't even have more than one early Microsoft official response in this thread!  

I'm out numerous hours of work plus $100 to Geek Squad (purchased this week for help with this issue) & not to mention some portion of my sanity over this, and very possibly credibility for keeping my job.  Apparently I have some excellent company, but all we'd rather just get our work done.

Apparently today's Windows update did not address this issue.  

Come on, Microsoft!  Respond something useful!!

I have found that when I get this error, I can't save in the PPTX format; however, doing a "SAVE AS" a PPT (2007 - 2010) and the document can be saved.  Make sure you try another format before just tossing away all of your work.

I have followed everything and have made some changes.  For a little while it looked promising until this week.

Note I am only saving to my hard drive and there is absolutely no synchronization involved of the folder and any other source.  I have disabled my file sync altogether just to be sure and yet it still fails.  Have tried to go back to older file types and it kind of works but then we lose some functionality and professionalism. 

I can't believe with all the comments MS has not received enough info to come up with something positive.

>> I assume MS does not really read these post and consider our lost time valuable.  

They've read the posts and they do understand the value of our lost time.

>> Worst part is our users think it is us in IT versus MS and are demanding we fix the problem.

I get hit with some of the same thing when MScrewups make my add-ins appear to be misbehaving.  I understand the pain.  Really.

But unfortunately, they can't tell us when we can expect a fix until they know what the fix is.  So far, it's been one of those "My car keeps making this noise until I take it to the mechanic.  Then it stops." kind of problems.  What MS can't observe/reproduce, they can't fix.

Have you followed the rest of this (long,long,woeful,long,long) thread and followed the suggestions to either disable any automatic file synching software or at least to not work on PPT files that are subject to synching (ie, move them to an unsynched folder, work on them, save, close PPT, them move the files back if you want them synched)?

I can't believe this continues to go unfixed.  I assume MS does not really read these post and consider our lost time valuable.  Just this week our company has lost over forty hours of combined time and folks are not happy.  Worst part is our users think it is us in IT versus MS and are demanding we fix the problem.  When we say we could try another product they get worried.

MS PLEASE TELL US WHEN WE CAN EXPECT A FIX!