trying to go from win 8 to 8.1 to 10 - not working

I have Win 8 installed with a retail key. Moving from 7 with an OEM key. It is a moved copy of Win 7 on a new motherboard. Win 8 seems fine, but may not understand what hardware it is running on. I need to go to 8.1to get to 10 with files and applications intact. My understanding is that I must go to 8.1 to be able to move apps and settings to 10. Yesterday I tried to install 8.1 from the ISO. Ran for 8 hours and failed. Installer determined there were 193 updates to make before an upgrade. Only a few actually worked. It is a fresh 8 install so a very short list of installed updates is available.

One idea I have had is that the HAL is not correct for the new drive. The MB is a Asus ROG Maxium VIII Ranger. As I moved the OS, I installed the drivers from the Asus setup DVD. I do not understand the HAL. I know what it does, but I can not figure out if it is simply the aggregate of installed drivers or something else. Everything I have found assumes I know that. And if I do, I know where to get it. That would be wrong. I have no idea.

I have looked at the MS site for hours. There are pages allowing download of KBs that have to be installed before 8.1. Everything I have tried to download just says thanks for all the fish and stops. I have been unable to find where it may have sent the file; if indeed it did. I have been unable to figure out how to determine which KBs are actually installed. I have a list of KBs that have to be installed before 8.1; but no actual instructions or being available as far as I can tell. As a side note; why on earth does MS not publish KBs starting with the KB number? They seem to have no idea what people need to do with those things.

I have spent most of the month trying to get things migrated to Win 10. My main machine had no problem going from 8.1 to 10. Zero problems. Not so with this machine.

I seriously need some help getting this done before the 29th.

An additional issue for which I could use some help: Laptop upgraded to 10 before I understood the issue with starting from an OEM 7. Is there a way to put a retail Win 8 key into 10?

1. You don't have to be on Windows 8.1 to upgrade to Windows 10. Go here to upgrade Windows 8.0:
Windows 10

2. What is the issue with starting from an OEM 7 and upgrading to Windows 10? Millions have done it. But, if you really want to put a retail Window 8 product key, if you have ver 1511 Windows 10 installed (build 10586.xxx), the go to settings, updates and security, the activation tab. Click on change product key and enter your Windows 8 product key.

1 - I found MS documentation (including some nice little charts) that said unless I moved from 8.1 it would not save applications. That appears to have been wrong. It worked fine. I finally got frustrated enough trying to get 8.1 in I just used upgrade.

2 - I wanted to be able to move the OS if I replaced a motherboard. Again, my understanding is that that can only happen if 10 was an upgrade to a retail 7 or 8.

Still messing with drivers on the new MB, but everything is on retail Win 10. And I had two days left.