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jaclaz, I can't be sure what's the cause of these WLAN problems, but it is strange. I would expect that both Microsoft and Intel/Qualcomm tested the scenarios that trigger it. Maybe the cause is some installed software, who knows. Anyway hybrid boot isn't the trigger, it's hibernation and sleep (and sometimes plain boot).

Just create a separate .theme file. It's a text file which you can edit. Among other things it includes a reference to the .msstyles file, and the name of the theme. And yes, Microsoft's stupid strategy with the skins is annoying, especially now when you must modify skins if you want to change basic UI settings.

jaclaz: Whether the time saved matters depends on your usage and taste. With cellphones and the likes having "instant on", I think people do notice this sort of delays more. It also encourages/discourages certain usage patterns. Even if it's not that crucial, there's something satisfying about instant on, or at least quick loading, and I do hope other software would pay attention to it as well. With all the improvements in computing hardware, I always find it disappointing that I have to wait for software to load, even in simple things like text editors. In many cases hardware+software from 15 years ago was overall quicker. Yes, SSDs are one way to counter it, but the main problem is the software design. Instead of using the advancements in hardware to get things to happen quicker, we're just standing still in the same place because software gets less and less optimized. Noel: I'm rather sure the big majority of users who made an informed decision not to use Win8 didn't do it because of hybrid boot. And sleep/hibernation aren't new to Win8. Regarding testing, I would assume Microsoft's WHQL testing likely includes sleep behavior as well. I don't think there's anything inherently different in this sort of testing compared with the rest of their test suites. By the way, speaking of driver problems related to sleep modes, both of my WiFi NIC cards (Atheros and Intel) sometimes don't work correctly after wakeup (sleep or hibernation). Happened much more in 8.0 than 8.1, but the "fix procedure" in 8.0 worked pretty much every time, and in 8.1 it's a random flailing about until it works. But I also sometimes encounter this after a restart (which should be "full", unlike shutdown/boot which can be hybrid), so maybe there's more to it.

It's either due to Windows, or the multimon software.

Why half baked? Hybrid boot is the default in Windows 8, so there should be millions of people using it every day. And plain hibernation is even more common.

So they made a full alternative that looks the same as the stock Windows switcher? What do you mean, the switcher shows on each monitor only the windows from that monitor? If it mirrors what each taskbar shows, perhaps you can configure that in: Taskbar Properties \ Multiple Displays.

I haven't timed it, but I think wakeup from hibernation should be quicker than any sort of shutdown/restart. Hibernation stores the memory contents to the disk, and turns the computer off. It doesn't use power. It keeps your whole state, including open programs, etc. Hybrid shutdown is probably a shutdown/power up that stores and restores some core state of the OS, but not programs, and maybe not various other things. I believe it should be quicker than a full shutdown/wake up, but slower than hibernation. Sleep turns off various things in the computer, but keeps the memory active. On wakeup there's very little it needs to do so it's quick. If you lose power, you lose your unsaved stuff. Hybrid sleep, if I'm not mistaken, is a sleep that starts by writing the memory to disk, but then doesn't turn off the power to memory. Normally you wake up like from sleep, but if you lose power you don't lose your state, unlike normal sleep. Perhaps it can also turn into a full hibernation after a preset sleep time, to save battery, but maybe that's another feature. Rapid Start is something of Intel. Not sure what it is, maybe some name for hibernation on SSD?

Why don't you just use hibernation? No need to do a full shutdown in most cases.

Try running ProcExp as Administrator (there's also such an option in ProcExp's File menu). The interesting results are those with type "DLL".

Maybe this program keeps a copy of AltTab.dll in its directory, or uses the one in the WinSxS folder? You can use Process Explorer. Hit Ctrl+F and search for "alttab". Another option is doing a global file search for AltTab.dll. The WinSxS one should be in (but keep a copy of the original for future SFC/DISM usage): C:\windows\winsxs\amd64_microsoft-windows-alttab_31bf3856ad364e35_6.3.9600.17031_none_59cea49792e2c928

Thanks Noel. Sanic: Nah. Just wait for a fix, or until someone figures out why it can't install, or use SFC (if it works), or DISM (if it works).

I wonder how that software ends up "retaining" the original AltTab. BTW, what functionality in it do use? Win8's supposedly has better multi-monitor support than Win7. Though it still seems a bit dodgy to me.

Thanks. Looks like the same v6.3.9600.17031 DLL as before.

AltTab.dll still the same?

Well, that's mysterious. When did it stop working? Was it after a change in Windows or other software? How did you change Windows from 32-bit to 64-bit? And, anyone else having it work fine under 8.1.1 before/after the August updates?

If you run setup.wsf again after finishing the installation, does it ask about installing again or about uninstalling?

I find it best not to rely or try to solve problems with side functionality of programs. And Skype was never too reliable or nimble even in its core functionality in my experience. For simple large file transfers I'd use http://www.rejetto.com/hfs/

Did you use setup.wsf in the version for 8.1.1? It checks that the existing AltTab.dll is the 8.1.1 version, and it can both install and uninstall so you can use that to know if the AltTab.dll you currently have is the original or modified.

Are you still on the 32-bit version of Windows? (And why, actually?) If so, maybe the Windows 8.0 DLL just isn't compatible and gets reverted automatically to the stock one. AltTab.dll changed both in 8.1 and then in 8.1.1. Did it ever work for you on 8.1/8.1.1 using the 8.0 DLL?

I wouldn't know. After one of the July updates failed with an error for me, Windows Update was left in some sort of limbo state and updating doesn't work properly anymore.

Maybe a mixup between 8.1 and 8 somewhere? If it's currently 8.0 and you don't mind the trouble, it might be a good opportunity to do a clean install of 8.1 (not an update).

I don't think it means much. No point in expecting undocumented behavior to stay. You might even call it counter-documented. Who knows, maybe it's some sort of internal optimization to not set the error code to 0. You might step into it in 8 vs 7 and see what changed. BTW, did you try running it in the various compatibility modes?

Even Process Explorer still doesn't show in a simple way what's the function served by each WUDFHost. Regarding drivers for USB, I didn't mean in a general sense, but WUDFHost specifically. I thought it'd odd that you have it running when your USB HDD is connected, but I just tried a UFD and indeed also here WUDFHost loads. That's news to me.

Why would a USB drive need a special driver? And if it's okay to turn this into another Microsoft rant... maybe in Windows 9 the Task Manager would show legible sub-details for WUDFHost and not only for svchost.

The big problem isn't CPU usage, or memory (though I still find it grating when a functionally-small support EXE is multiple megabytes), but software that breaks other unrelated things due to unexpected side effects.