Does anyone know of a program for Windows 8 which will reliably copy cw? I have tried using fldigi but it mostly shows nonsense on the screen even though the code sounds strong and crystal clear. Yes, I admit, I am one of those *%#*! no-code generals.
Actually, you don't really know if everything on the screen is nonsense. Since the signal is clear and strong you are probably seeing some correct characters that are interspersed with incorrect/extra characters. The problem is figuring out which ones are the good and which ones are not.
There are many different types of CW decoders. None of them are perfect, but some are a little better than others. There is CWLab, DXLab, EchoCW, HRD (DM780), and Fldigi, but I can't say whether there are Windows 8 versions available. Of all of them, I have found that HRD (DM780) does the best job of decoding. But, as KA3JJZ said, none of them are perfect.
The best one that I have used, I built over 20 years ago. The hardware interface had a set of filters that helped isolate the signal and then turn it into zeros and ones. A LED let me know when it was tuned in properly. The zeros and ones were then sent to a serial port. A program on the PC did the job of decoding. It was pretty fast and adapted very well to speed changes. I still use it today. The software is written in C and runs on a small "Sub Note" laptop that is running Windows 3.1. Can you say "386"?
There are hams that use computers for high speed CW QSOs. These are mostly prearranged QSOs with both parties using computers. You can easily spot them because their CW decodes perfectly, when conditions are good. However, if you don't know Morse Code and you are not familiar with the normal procedures of a CW contact, I don't recommend trying to make a CW contact. There are a lot of abbreviations and Q codes used and it may be difficult to make sense of them on the screen.
If you are trying out different pieces of software, a good source of machine sent Morse Code would be the code sessions from the ARRL. You can get their schedule from their web site. They usually start at 5 WPM and increase their speed by increment of 5 WPM (I think). They usually send text directly from QST magazines. It's a good way of testing decoders.
Bottom line, if you want to work CW, learn Morse Code. It's not as difficult as some say, but harder than others say. You will only know if you try. It shouldn't take much time to get good enough to get on the air. You might want to check out the SKCC or FISTS. Both organizations are dedicated to CW and have slow speed areas for beginners. SKCC likes you to use straight keys or bugs, but I just use what I like. I gave up straight keys a long time ago and mostly use an old bug (1916 Blue Racer) connected to a keyer.