Multiple issues with Win8 XPS8700

I am deeply unhappy with the performance, appearance, format and flexibility of windows8 on my XPS8700. I would appreciate any help fixing the following issues:

Signal to monitor interrupts intermittently when opening certain programs (including winamp)

Sound when watching videos or playing music is 5.1 but drops to stereo when certain web pages are opened

I cannot append a windows start option to the taskbar as appears in all other windows OS's

General appearance and themes cannot be altered to previous versions of windows, unlike previous versions of windows

Cannot run games in windows 8 (including Cossacks, European Wars) I had thought windows might have improved backwards compatibility for once

Photo's accessed through start screen followed by slideshow appear not to allow shuffle function

That is all for now. I have only used my new pc a few times but each time I have been left frustrated and disappointed by the decreased flexibility in all aspects.

Thank you for any help you can offer....