The short of it seems that one of two updates were the culprit and I am not likely to soon find out because it takes close to 5 hours each cycle from restore to 8, update, upgrade to 8.1 and 3.5G download each time. The offender is one of
Intel-Other hardware-Intel Smart Connect Technology Device
Realtek Semiconductor Technology WLAN-Realtek RTL8188EE 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi Adapter
I also installed a 480G Crucial M500 and I learned that system restore disks don't work to install W8 to it, failing late in install with some file merge error. EZ Gig with Apricorn cable kit I got about a year ago from Crucial worked flawlessly on automatic for HPW8 transfer; tech support said they ship another kit flavor now that does not work with Windows 8.