Can't use wordpress from newely updated windows 8.1 12/9/2015

OK it’s not the end of the world since my site(s) work and I have a couple different computers that I can log in and edit my sites–and I know this isn’t solely a wordpress thing it seems to be a combo of the particular wordpress site(s) and the Windows 8.1 OS that was just automatically updated today 12/9/2015 by Microsoft.

On a VPS, I have 4 wordpress sites only 2 of which are really very active. I also have 2 test sites behind hide-my-site for testing new things before migrating them to the live sites. I use the combination of all my sites to progressively evaluate how a particular plugin is working (first in test, then live on one of the less active sites, then on my more active 2 sites.) I need to update to WP 4.4 but I must admit I usually wait to see what problems others have (and solve) before doing the updates.

Today, after editing existing posts for an hour or so, I couldn’t add new tags to existing posts or on existing posts editing pull up the list of tags to select new ones. I thought it was weird. Noted my computer was running a little slow so restarted it — ah, and then I got the stupid Microsoft is installing updates messages. I just figured OK the computer will go faster yeah–but then my wordpress seemed to be broken (it wasn’t, because I went to a different computer (Linux OS) and I could access everything just fine. On the Windows 8.1 newly updated machine, using Chrome, Firefox, or IE, the theme option’s interface stopped working, the widgets, menus, as well as the editing of existing posts–I couldn’t insert tags or see the tags that were already part of the post. All useless. Same with categories. This is all “point and click” stuff and while I was mulling it over I though maybe it is the java (on the 8.1 machine) needing updating–so did update it on the windows 8.1 machine but that didn’t help in editing from that machine.

I have a particular user on one of my sites who has struggled to get his windows 8.1 computer to work with the site–it doesn’t–so my interest here is pretty high as I’m now experiencing what he has been for the last year if he tries to use that particular computer to access the site and do stuff. I kept telling him–check your java… ??

I checked out my other sites on the various computers and discovered nothing that made any sense for me to solve my problem on my own. I tried on Windows 7 in VMware on the Dibian Jessie Linux machine –both those are fine with all 6 sites. I tried on a Raspberry Pi II running Debian Jessie and life is good there, too, I can edit, no problems.

But–I have users who must be able to edit in other OS including Windows 8.1 so I need to understand what’s going on and quickly. Not to mention that I must SHARE the Linux computer with my husband and either we’re going to be doing day-shift and night-shift use or I’ve got to get the Windows computer working with WordPress again. After penning this lengthy post, I’ll be off to look at Java and MS issues again…

There must be some difference among the 2 sites that work and the 4 that don’t work (now) with this newly updated Windows 8.1 computer. Five of my 6 sites use the same Virtue Premium theme, the 6th site uses Booklite theme. Some have WooCommerce and interestingly enough while I cannot edit the regular parts of the products (posts) I can edit prices, toggle switches, and things that are purely WooCommerce on those sites. While trouble shooting this today, on the lesser used sites, I had gone with no plugins and the most basic install of the theme (recall, I CAN use the themes and actually ALL the plugins on two of the sites and the only difference that I can really see is the test sites have very few posts, images, products while the other sites have quite a few.

All sites access the same WordPress install (but no, it’s not multi-site install) and they each have their own separate theme and child theme. The two sites that do work share the same directory for themes and plugins etc. Three of the sites that do not work on Windows 8.1 (but work with all other OS I have access to) share the same directories for themes, plugins, etc. The last site, that doesn’t work with 8.1, but works with all else, has it’s own separate directories for themes, plugins, etc.

It sees like this is core to WP editing or something. I have a custom WooCommerce extension that my users can use to edit/add products no problem with 8.1 but yet I cannot edit those products as admin as I was able to before today (using the WP dashboard interface). When I turn off all such extensions, doesn’t matter. Also one of the problem sites doesn’t even have WooCommerce–it doesn’t have anything.

Enough run-on. If anyone can assist–if you’ve dealt with windows 8.1 and anything similar–windows and similar? I’d appreciate your help. I’m a WP lightweight and my husband doesn’t do much with WP but did look over the database and all things associated to make sure that something obvious wasn’t going on–nothing was.

Help?
Thanks.