Will Skyrim support Windows 8.1? I recently installed Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit and Skyrim constantly freezes at the menu screen when playing in full screen. I can run the game perfectly in windowed mode, but that is not optimal. Also, when I run the game in compatability mode, it works; however, the entire screen is windowed, even though it is "full screen". Is this a known issue? Or will there be a patch when the full version of Windows 8.1 is officially released to the public?

My specs:

i7-3630QM, 12GB RAM, Nvidia 650M (x2) (SLI)

Any help is greatly appreciated.

No it is not officially supported for Windows 8 or 8.1

And no, there will not be any sort of patch.

However, that does not mean the game does not work, just that Bethesda will not give any support if you try to contact them regarding it.

Thanks for letting me know. Guess its back to Windows 7.

beside that you can see here:

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/compatibility/CompatCenter/ProductDetailsViewer?Name=The%20Elder%20Scrolls%20V%3A%20Skyrim&vendor=Bethesda%20Softworks&Locale=1033%2C2057%2C3081%2C4105%2C16393&ModelOrVersion=1&BreadCrumbPath=The%20Elder%20Scrolls%20V%3A%20Skyrim&LastSearchTerm=The%2BElder%2BScrolls%2BV%253a%2BSkyrim&Type=Software&tempOsid=Windows%208.1

I'm one of the "not compatible" voters.

alot of programs and games have Compatibility issues with windows 8.. purchased a few games from the Steam Summer Sale that either constantly crash or freeze if played on a machine running Windows 8...

and sadly, I see this as a result of a pattern for Windows Operating Systems:

Windows 2000/ME - poor compatibility (among other issues)
Windows XP - decent Compatibility
Windows Vista - poor compatibility (among other issues)
Windows 7 - Decent Compatibility
Windows 8 - poor Compatibility (among other issues)


for now I suggest keeping any gaming rigs on Windows 7, as alot of games are having issues with Windows 8 and if you try and contact the devs support all they will say is "The game does not work on your platform (Windows 8) and we currently have no plans to address the issue"..

In all honesty Windows 8 is not much of a improvement anyways.. its like they decided to Duct tape Windows 7 with the OS they use on Windows Tablets..

I've played Skyrim extensively on Windows 8 and have suffered no issues at all. In fact, most programs intended for Windows 7 that I've tried to use in Windows 8 have gone off without a hitch. I wouldn't worry so much about it.

My problem isn't with Windows 8, its Windows 8.1. I realize its not supported (and will likely never be) because its not officially released, but it svcks it won't work with the newest OS.

Windows 8.1 is basically the same Operating System. If the applications runs on 7 (or Vista) it should run on 8 or 8.1. They are all Windows NT 6.x, whereas Vista is 6.0, [Windows] 7 is 6.1, [Windows] 8 is 6.2 and finally [Windows] 8.1 is 6.3.

Official support by Bethesda may not happen, but it doesn't mean it isn't compatible

***

As for your problem is could be related to your graphics card driver. I would eliminate SLI (to troubleshoot). Make sure you have the latest driver. nVidia may need to implement a Windows 8.1 tested driver if the current one is having issues. Keep in mind most graphics driver are the same for Vista/7/8/8.1 as previously stated the kernels are similar.

The major difference between Windows 8 and 8.1 is DirectX support. Windows 8.1 does not support DirectX 9 (which Skyrim is built on) while Windows 8 does support DirectX 9. So I don't think the kernel is the problem. In fact, Windows 8.1 sees Windows 8 as an entirely different compatibility, hence why Windows 8 drivers are "hit or miss" with 8.1. WiFi drivers have given me the most issues.

Like you said, the graphics drivers could be an issue, but I tried four different drivers that were approved by Nvidia for Windows 8.1; however, I don't believe any companies are actively "supporting" Windows 8.1 until it is officially released later this week. Those of us with TechNet accounts just have to deal with the issues (same thing happened with Win 7 and Win 8).