Gordon,
 
If you do a search on "windows 8.1 download iso" you will get
several websites with information on this.  I have not tried any
of the procedures, but from reading several of the sites, it appears
that you can get an iso downloaded to update your 8.0 systems
to 8.1; however, you may need to be running Windows 7 on the
system that you use to get the download (saw this in one site)
and you will need to be running with a 32 bit processor if you
want the 32bit version of the iso (saw this in more than one site)
or on a 64 bit processor if you want the 64bit version.  Not sure
about amd vs intel processor.  I think the most complete site I
saw was at http://www.jmedved.com/2013/09/installing-windows-8-1-or-8-without-a-product-key/
and talks about how you can do a clean install and activate
later with your 8.0 license.  There also are some statements
I saw in some of the sites indicating an OEM or preinstall
license would not work.  Not sure about this, as the above
site indicates what is necessary to install for an OEM.
 
Good luck..

> I am running Windows 8 on both a 32-bit laptop and a 64-bit
> desktop.  I am trying to download version 8.1 via the Windows store
> with no success.  In the case of each computer the download
> succeeds just about to the 50% mark and then suddenly starts all
> over . . . over and over and over.  I've tried turning off
> AV protection and running WSReset.exe to clear the cache at the
> store, as well as making sure all updates are installed.  None of
> this works.
>
> The laptop connects via WiFi to my home network and the desktop
> uses a direct cable connection.  I have high speed Internet access
> via Comcast cable.  The laptop runs standard Windows 8 and the
> desktop uses Windows 8 Pro version.
>
> Any tips on what to try next will be appreciated.
>
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