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Store does not recognize my Administrator User account when attempting to upgrade from Windows 8 to Windows 8.1
I purchased a Inspiron 17 7737 directly from dell.com on 12/5/2013. It was delivered on 12/182013. It had Windows 8 as the operating system. I had assumed that it would have the latest version of Windows when it arrived since 8.1 had been issued in October. I opened the Store app and the upgrade to Windows 8.1 was not available to me. I understood that this was a problem for others and did not pursue it further at that time. I was out of town for 2 weeks in January and did not use the laptop during that 2 week period. When I returned, I opened the Store and found prominently placed the invitation to the free upgrade to 8.1. I was signed in using the Administrator account and when I hit the download button for 8.1. I was given the message "You need to use an account with Administrator privileges to install Windows 8.1, try logging in with the user account of an administrator of this PC and try update again". I verified that my account had Administrator privileges and tried again and got the same message. I created another user account and gave it administrator privileges and tried the download again signed in on that account and got the same message. I called technical support and for over 5 hours over 2 different days, the technician attempted to resolve the issue by uninstalling and reinstalling Windows updates. When that failed to resolve the problem, he "refreshed" my PC which, I understood put it back to the status it was in at time of delivery. He then had to do all the Windows updates (approximately 65) and tried to download 8.1 again. This did not change the error message when trying to download to 8.1. At that point, I was told that they were elevating it to a technical team who would research all the logs from my machine and come up with a solution. They indicated that they would call me back when a solution is found. Although my Administrator account was not recognized when attempting to do the 8.1 download, it recognized the Administrator role when the technician needed administrative approval to do all the uninstall and reinstall activities when trying to resolve the issue.
Has anyone else experienced this problem? Has it been resolved and, if so, how was it resolved?
kirkd
5.2K Posts
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February 8th, 2014 14:00
You are not alone. Several have had the same problem with no resolution. I think it has something funny to do with the User Accounts. Making a second account with admin privleges doesn't work. I would try to reinstall the OS from the hidden image and try again. A Refresh like Dell tried will not do the trick, as it retains much of the data from before the Refresh; you need a clean start. Don't do anything witht the Admin Account other than let Windows set it up and set your password. All updates need to be installed before the upgrade will show in the Store. I have upgraded five Win 8 installations and have had zero problems.
ddudon
2 Posts
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February 8th, 2014 21:00
KirkD
I appreciate your response. I especially appreciated your opening statement: "You are not alone." The Dell tech who tried unsuccessfully to resolve this indicated that they will be getting back to me. He indicated that they may need to do as you suggest, if Microsoft tech team has no alternative solution.
Philip_Yip
7 Technologist
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16K Posts
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February 9th, 2014 04:00
This is a very common problem. Follow the procedure here:
http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/download-microsoft-windows-and-office/download-microsoft-windows/upgrading-to-windows-8-1-from-windows-8-0-via-the-microsoft-store/
The symptom is usually the KB2871389 update is installed incorrectly:
http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/download-microsoft-windows-and-office/download-microsoft-windows/upgrading-to-windows-8-1-from-windows-8-0-via-the-microsoft-store/windows-8-1-doesnt-show-up-in-the-store-after-kb2871389-is-installed/
Its not certain whether this update is included in the Dell Factory settings (incorrectly installed) or whether it comes from Windows Update (incorrectly installed). The steps including where to restart are regarded as important by other users who have followed the workarounds.
DELL-Jesse L
Moderator
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16.7K Posts
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February 28th, 2014 08:00
ddudon,
If you are still having issues trying to run the Windows 8.1 update through the Windows Store. Try the steps to reset the Windows Update Components below to see if they will resolve the issue.
If you have it installed can you uninstall and reinstall the Windows Update to see if it resolves the issue?
How do I reset Windows Update components?
Philip_Yip
7 Technologist
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16K Posts
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March 13th, 2014 21:00
The symptom is usually the KB2871389 update is installed incorrectly:
http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/download-microsoft-windows-and-office/download-microsoft-windows/upgrading-to-windows-8-1-from-windows-8-0-via-the-microsoft-store/windows-8-1-doesnt-show-up-in-the-store-after-kb2871389-is-installed/
resmisamcherian
1 Message
0
March 13th, 2014 21:00
i purchased an Inspiron DELL 3521 from Abudhabi on 10/02/2014. i brought back , and configured the lap in India recently i opened the store and to upgrade windows 8.1 .But i face a problem,there is a message stated as, "You need to use an account with Administrator privileges to install Windows 8.1, try logging in with the user account of an administrator of this PC and try update again". .i dont know how to solve this problem..Has anybody known solution for this kind of problem,please post it.....
Stiaan_
1 Message
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April 12th, 2014 01:00
I've checked and that update is not there.Problem persists...
acesandell
1 Message
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October 13th, 2014 13:00
I installed and re-installed with admin privlege. Finally figured out the problem. I logged into the microsoft store using username and password. This was the ticket to finally get it to download without the admin privelege warning.
kathy84
2 Posts
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August 12th, 2015 15:00
This did not work for me. I have been on this problem for more a year and a half. I am now stuck with a machine that was obsolete the moment I got it and will remain that way until the day I get rid of it. I've bought Dell's for me and my father for 20 years. No more. I am through trusting Dell. My Inspiron 7737 has given me nothing but problems.