I may recant my statement about Windows 8.  I got to thinking my whole issue with programming on windows 7 was There was no active sync.  I had to install the windows mobile device center.  This according to Microsoft is compatible with windows 8.  I was able to load it yesterday evening with no issues.  I have some more updating to do on my MX-980 and will be trying my Windows 8.1 laptop and will post back my results.