Tried and failed with 8.1 months ago

Hi, Been meaning to write a note here for perhaps some tips and suggestions on what to do to get my 8.0 upgraded successfully to 8.1. Months ago I was very excited to upgrade as I read of all the great improvements and now there is a note on line that 8.1 will get more upgrades in April. So I got the banner across my desktop asking me if I wanted to upgrade so eventually I gave in...