Trouble enabling FBI settings

I could really use some help getting User Account Control turned on. The issue is, I can’t even get into my account settings to change it—every time I click on "account settings," absolutely nothing happens. It just sits there like it's frozen.

Thanks!

You got admin privileges?
If you do, there’s a chance some malware slipped in...

Anthony Ross said:Are you running with admin privileges?
If you are, there's a real chance some nasty piece of malware slipped past your defenses.

Yeah, I do.

Anthony Ross said:Are you logged in as an administrator?
If you are, there’s a pretty good chance some nasty piece of malware has hitched a ride on your system.

The real kicker is that I can't even get into Run or CMD because the system just blocks everything immediately.

Just reinstall Windows. You’ve got way bigger issues than UAC anyway—who knows what kind of mess has piled up on that machine.

Jeffrey Chavez6 said:Just wipe the drive and reinstall Windows. Honestly, you’ve got much bigger headaches than UAC; who knows what kind of junk has piled up on that machine over time.

I actually managed to fix the UAC issue,
but regarding that whole "reinstall everything" suggestion—is it even possible to have bought a laptop that came with Windows pre-installed but didn't include a recovery disc or anything for a fresh install?
The real nightmare right now is that I can't even set up a Microsoft account. It keeps throwing an error telling me to check my network connection, but my internet is working perfectly fine! Everything else is running smooth, so why is it choking on this one step?

There might be a hidden recovery partition on your drive used for reinstalling the OS. What specific error message are you getting when you try to set up a Microsoft account?
Ultimately, you could always just go with a PC refresh.

Noah Sanchez39 said:It’s entirely possible there's a hidden recovery partition on your drive that lets you reinstall the OS. What kind of error message are you actually seeing when it fails to set up your Microsoft account?
At the end of the day, you could always just go with a PC refresh.

Unfortunately, we're currently unable to connect to Microsoft services.
If this issue persists, try typing "network problems" into the search bar

You could give it another shot later on, or maybe try running the Microsoft Accounts troubleshooter.

For what it's worth, you don't actually need a Microsoft account to run Windows normally; a local user account does the job just fine.

Noah Sanchez39 said:You could try again later, or maybe run the Microsoft Accounts troubleshooter.

For what it's worth, you don't actually need a Microsoft account to get Windows running properly; just setting up a local user account works just fine.

Look, this problem has been dragging on for months now. On top of that, I can't even get into the store to install 8.1

Is your Windows Update actually turned on? Is it set to automatic?

Before you'll even see the Windows 8.1 upgrade pop up in the Windows Store, you need to make sure you've installed those two specific updates mentioned on the site.

Once those are in, the Windows Store should show this image. Click it to kick off the Windows 8.1 download (it's about 3 GB—it'll hit 50%, then move into optimization before the restart).

After the 8.1 version installs successfully, you'll need to run the Windows 8.1 update installation. Again, just follow the site's instructions regarding those two required updates.

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Your other option is a clean reinstall. This guide walks through the entire installation process with screenshots.