Ordered Windows 8.1 - What Else Will I Need?

[DietSoda]

I apologize for asking such an amateurish question. I want to install Windows 8.1 on my computer. I intend to replace my existing OS (Ubuntu-Linux) with Windows. I do not have any other Windows related discs at all. When I receive the "full version" of Windows, will I have everything I need to get on the internet so I can start downloading the other software (iTunes, MMO games etc.). Is there another disc I will need to buy? Does Windows send what I need all in the same package? I ordered it from Amazon and the description wasn't very detailed. It's been a long time since I ordered anything like this.

[soybean]

You might need some device drivers such as audio, video, network adapter, etc.  A visit to the website of the manufacturer of your computer to search for drivers for Windows 8 is generally a good step to take in situations like yours.  If you do that before you install Windows, you'll be better prepared to install Windows and quickly get your system running well.  But, you should still open Windows Device Manager panel after installing Windows 8 along with any drivers you had already downloaded and installed to see whether all devices are working properly.  Device Manager will flag any devices with driver issues by displaying a yellow triangle with an exclamation mark in the triangle. 

[DietSoda]

The reason I switched to Windows 8.1 is because I was having continuous crashes and restarts with Windows 7 that was probably due to a bad driver update. This problem seemed to worsen day by day until finally I could no longer load Windows. I received the Windows 8.1 disc and it installed fine however the software that you access via the user interface that comes with Windows such as the video player, picture viewer etc would not open when I clicked the icons and did not run at all (I think that's separate from the problem I have now).

I installed my software which included: Bit Defender, Malwarebytes, iTunes, Steam gaming platform, 3 mmorpg games and SnagIt screen capture software. Shortly after this I experienced the same problem when I had Windows 7 which was a worsening series of crashes and restarts at startup that eventually made Windows unusable. Because this occurred even after changing to a more recent version of Windows, I am assuming it is a bad driver update. You gave me good advice when you suggested going to the Device Manager. I checked it and everything was working properly. Gradually, over a couple weeks, Windows 8.1 eventually had the same issues as Windows 7 at startup (crashes and restarts) As of now, Windows 8.1 will open but hangs and eventually restarts. Clicking on a dialog box or icon will freeze the process and make it necessary to power off using the button.

The repair tool on the Windows disc functioned but could not solve the problem. so I went to a system restore point by using the Windows disc. This didn't change things either. Windows would seem to load and bring me to the desktop but the icons were not accessible. It was hanging then eventually crashing. I did not have time to get the exact error code because it disappeared  before I could write it down. It was something like this: NO PAGE ERROR avc3.sys. After system restore, a "installing updates" message appeared. So it is probably reinstalling a bad update even though I changed my setting to disable auto-updating. The Bit Defender indicator showed a red warning that said it stopped checking for updates or something to that effect. 

I am trying to remember what update I installed before this started. I have been only installing the "critical updates". I think the last one I installed was a security related update to the Silverlight movie player but it may have been something else. I have been installing these updates via the Bit Defender interface that informs me they are "critical".