Oh dear! I purchased Scrivener a few days ago and at first it worked fine. I was just getting used to it and enjoying getting my manuscript into a more organised form when the problems began. Things started slowing down. I’d click on a file in the Binder and it would think about it for a while before it would load in the Editor. Opening a new file took quite some time too. Then it began to hang altogether. A lot. I tried using it in compatibility mode. No change. On advice I read online, I uninstalled and reinstalled. No dice. I opened it this morning and after successfully opening one document it just hung again. Wouldn’t budge or let me open any other doc.
Now, instead of Scrivener increasing my productivity, my output is zero and I’m spending hours mucking about trying to ‘fix’ Scrivener. I wish I’d stuck out the full 30 day trial period instead of leaping in and buying it. Right now it looks like a waste of forty quid I could ill afford.
Firstly we do offer a 30-day demo for this very reason. You can not only make sure the software is a good fit for how you work, but you can make sure it runs well on your configuration, too. But that’s all academic at this point, I would suggest getting in touch via our support address and seeing if they can offer any advice for speeding things up, and if all else fails we aren’t cruel about it, if it’s not working you can apply for a rebate.
I had the same issue, all fine for the first hour or so, but when menus go unresponsive it becomes beyond annoying! 
Restart my comp and it goes the same all over again.
However, I believe it has something to do with multiple packages of “Microsoft Visual C++ [xxxx] Redistributable [xxx.x.xx.xxxx]” installed on your computer. They appear, more or less, silently with every possible app.
Try running Scrivener on a clean machine. 
Hi
I feel the same way, unfortunately. I started getting used to the software after reading a 130-page ‘quickstart’ guide. Then I tried to import a website page. Errors and crashing every time. I went on another forum and it appears other Windows users are having the same issue and no one has figured it out. Funny - the guide I read said I should be able to do it. Next - I can’t even import a docx file. Each time I tried, Scrivener shut down. I finally had to change 100 or so files to RTF, and even then, I couldn’t import directly under the research tab - I had to create a subfolder or no dice (took multiple attempts to figure this out). As you said, I wasted a whole day trying just to set up Scrivener for my WIP with very little productivity. (BTW, I have a new, expensive (well, pc expensive, not mac expensive) machine, Windows 10 and hubby is an IT guy .
I get that you guys are anti-pc and have spent all your time and energy making the mac version great at the expense of the pc users, but seriously, why even sell a windows version if it is so substandard? I also know a new windows version is in the works, and it’s supposed to be as good as the mac version. Why didn’t you just wait to sell something decent instead of pushing out a tool that doesn’t work properly?
Anyway, the only benefit I see at the moment is that I can see all my files in a nice, organized format next to where I’m writing. I am, however, terrified that compiling will be fraught with issues and another waste of time.
Sherri, welcome to the forums. I’m sorry to hear you’ve had so much trouble; and I know it won’t help you any to hear this, but in fact thousands of people, including me, have been using the Windows version of Scrivener successfully for some years, even though it is less feature-rich than the Mac version. I’ve never worked on a Mac (I helped my mom with hers a couple times and didn’t much care for it), and I can say absolutely that, at least based on my interactions with Literature & Latte staff on this forum, they are anything but “anti-pc.” The original creator of the program worked on a Mac, and built Scrivener for working on Macs. It was then ported to the Windows universe, but has remained somewhat incomplete there. Hopefully v. 3 will solve that.
None of which solves your immediate problems, though. As for Web page import, it does indeed simply stink in the Windows version, and has for awhile, mainly because online formats developed a lot faster than the underlying software code for Windows Scrivener (as I understand it; I’m just a user, not part of L&L staff or a programmer). It’s the one really serious defect, for me anyway, and the manual does not reflect the problem. For some Web pages, it’s possible to print them to PDF and import that into Scrivener, but that won’t do for frequently updated sites. All I can do on this one is share your frustration.
As for .docx import, I just tried dragging some .doc and .docx files into a project without issue. Text formatting, tables, colors, and links all came through fine, even some Greek letters. If it’s crashing on your system, then something needs adjusting in the setup. Do you have MS Word installed on your system? If so, then in Scrivener try going to Tools > Options > Import/Export, then click Import Converters. In From File Format, select .DOCX. Then experiment with the options in “via.” I use the Microsoft Office option without difficulty; if that’s not available try switching from Scrivener (if that’s selected) to Doc2Any, or whatever else may be available for you.
I was also able to import a variety of files (.docx, .doc, .rtf, .pdf) straight into the Research folder without issue, both by dragging and by using the File > Import menu. I’m afraid I’m not sure what was going on there.
So, to sum up: Scrivener for Windows overall is functional, though there is an almighty learning curve; Web page import is not; importing .docx files, even into the Research folder, should work, though there may need to be a setting adjusted. I hope this is in some way helpful, even if only in clarifying that the program is not for you.