How to make Bluestacks work on Windows 8.1 & backup user data?

Question

Bluestacks won't start on windows 8.1.
I installed it on Windows 8.0, and Bluestacks was a beta version from summer 2013. Then I updated to Windows 8.1. Now I try to run Bluestacks in compatibility mode and as Admin, but it won't start.

I also try to run the service and it says:
"Windows could not start the Bluestacks Android Service service on Local Computer. Error 1068: The dependency service or group failed to start."

So first question:

1) How do I backup my user app data like KIK history, etc? I can't start Bluestacks to install any backup apps. Some people say to follow the answer to the related question.

Go to C:\ProgramData\Bluestacks\UserData. Copy the entire folder to another partition then install Windows again. At the end of the installation, copy the folder back to its location and start Bluestacks and all your apps, contacts and settings will be as they were in Windows 8. If you do the Upgrade, the application will be preserved.

But another person said that didn't work and they lost data after reinstall.
So, how do I really save the user data inside Bluestacks to keep my KIK history?

2) How do I make Bluestacks work on Windows 8.1? Reinstall the beta or install the new version?

Answer 1

The new version of Bluestacks is 0.9.3 and it's compatible with Windows 8/Windows 8.1. I also have it installed in my computer and it's working just fine. You can download it through the download link provided by the developer.

The contents of the Bluestacks (KIK, messages, images, chats, etc) is stored on the path provided above: C:\ProgramData\Bluestacks\UserData

You need to install the latest version as Administrator and the program will automatically run as it should. There is no need for additional tweaks to run the software in Windows 8.1 as it's already enabled for Windows 8.1 compatibility.