another horror of 8.1.  No click&drag on downloads page or within folders.  cannot organize files! .2 restoration to a hallmark windows tool coming???

Hi,

According to your description, I suspect your system becomes corrupted.

Thus I would like to suggest you try to below methods to repair your system:

How to  refresh, reset, or restore your PC

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-IN/windows-8/restore-refresh-reset-pc