Windows 8.1 Freezing For Some Users

[CarlB2]

New ASUS Q550L with preinstalled Windows 8 was fine. Added Office 2012 only, no other software, system still fine. Upgraded to Windows 8.1 including all drivers and updates and problem symptoms started. We've had to recover from restore points once or twice a day since this upgrade. The symptom is an indefinite 'please wait' screen immediately after logon. No fan indicating CPU loop, no HD activity but logon/logoff and shutdown options all available. The symptom suggests this is a Windows user logon process issue. Recreating the problem is inconsistent; it will not fail on demand. Google search suggests this is a problem for many. I can try to diagnose this using event logging or simply downgrade to Windows 8 and let someone else do this. So far this has only occurred when I am at a point where I can't break away and spend time with it. We do a restore and move on. Off topic: Windows ME was a rebranded 16-bit Windows 9x. Technically, just an extension of DOS and an architectural dead end. NT 4.0 was available at the time and a far superior OS.