Okay, so my friend and coworker has SOMEHOW never heard of Myst despite being around 45 or so years old AND having two sons who enjoy video games. I described it to her and she is eager to play and I told her I'd try to find it for her. She would very much like to play it in it's original... ness. If that makes sense. I described RealMyst to her and is less than impressed. She's not exactly computer-savvy and far from being an experienced gamer.

In my attempts to find an easy-to-run version which still holds the same graphics/sound/etc of the original (ie: NOT realmyst) I have come across so many people describing so many issues with so many versions of Myst like the masterpiece edition, etc, mostly with getting it to run on modern PCs. She is running Windows 8.1, the same as I am.

So basically, to save us both some frustration, is anyone able to tell me or even link to me ANYWHERE that sells either a soft copy or hard copy of Myst with all original gameplay intact the best it can be while retaining the ability to run on Windows 8.1?

Would buying an original CD-rom of the game, or the DVD edition work better than a downloadable version that I've seen people having myriads of issues with when trying to run it? Is there even a PC version that actually works more often than it doesn't on modern PCs? If not, is there a (SUPER) easy fix to make it run on a modern PC?

Long story short, I'm looking for the most-likely, easiest, most hassle-free way to run the original game. I hope there is one. :<

It's still available, e.g. on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Myst-Pc/dp/B00000JL60
or ebay:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/items/?_nkw=Myst

But beware, the original version from 1994/95 has probably got a 16-bit installer if not the whole program still runs on 16 bit. This means you can't install it on any Windows 64-bit version without using an emulator. It's not that difficult, but could give you and your friend a hard time when you're completely new to this. As you've said, you're not too PC savvy I'd really stick to GOG's offers. They all run on the new Windows versions mentioned on the game's catalog page and if they don't as expected, you get professional support here and if a game still doesn't run, you get your money back. If you buy the original on Amazon, you're more or less on your own. Go for GOG's version of Myst Masterpiece. It's true to the original with remastered graphics and sound and GOG support it on Windows 8.1 32-bit and 64-bit. You can still run into problems, e.g. with some Win8.1 graphic drivers causing troubles with old games or missing older DirectX components, but it's nothing compared to getting the original CD version running.

You might also consider just getting it for a PlayStation 1.
http://www.amazon.com/Myst-PlayStation/dp/B00000IMK5
She may already have the hardware (a PS1 or PS2 would both work)

A used copy for $20 on a PS1 would probably be a lot less of a headache than getting it to work flawlessly on a modern computer.

Alternatively the App Store also has Myst for $5 that works without any issues if she has an iPad, I really wouldn't recommend it on the iPhone/iPodTouch. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/myst/id311941991?mt=8

I can tell you the PSX version runs like crap. It also had a tiny print run.

hmm that's to bad, scratch that idea then. Any console where it didn't run like crap? I remember playing it on the 3DO without any issues.

Your choice is runs awful on a common console or runs well enough on a harder to find maybe more expensive console.

Thank you so very much for the very informative reply!
I can probably very likely get it to run myself, even if issues do crop up, thanks to all the helpful stuff people like you have been posting around the internet. If I find the steps to make such fixes to be simple enough where my coworker (in her 40's and who didn't grow up with computers/gaming like I have) would be able to follow the steps I took if I wrote them down and am not actually at her home with her PC to do it FOR her, that would be beautiful.

I will happily take your advice and try the MYST Masterpiece Edition that GOG has right here to see how easy/difficult it might be to get it to work exactly as it should.

Again, thank you very much!

Welp, I tried the above suggested version of MYST. Does not work at all. Tried uninstalling the QT Lite that came with it, and before that I also tried running it in different color modes, and in every different OS Compatibility mode it offered me in the properties. Every single time it told me MYST.exe has stopped working even before starting. Running the troubleshooter told me simply Myst is incompatible.
I suppose I should go get my money back?

Have you tried to run it (or not run it) as an administrator? Alternatively, if you have a soundblaster that might cause issues as well. Should that be the cause of you problems, it can be easily solved by switching back to the soundsupport on the motherboard.

The QT Lite didn't work for me either.
I tried installing Myst Masterpiece Edition and Riven.

My best result was with Quicktime 7 (latest), I was able to start the game, walk a few meters and click some stuff. Then it hung in a loop while playing some sequence.

The first properly working version for me is Myst 5, this is incredibly better in graphics, compatibility and controls ;)