In case this crash is caused by the install in the Program Files folder...
The security of the Program Files folder is quite messy with some programs... mostly because of the Virtual Store.
Here are the problems, from what I've already experienced (my PC is running with Windows 7, it should be globally the same with Win8):
Usually, installers can modify directly the Program Files directory (which is the "main" folder for Uru). Then the game itself doesn't have write access to the folder in Program Files, but to the Virtual Store instead (any file modified post-install, including saved games, are there).
However, when running in the crazy Windows7 compatibility mode in Win7, the program has access to the "main" folder in Program Files... This also applies when you run the game as admin.
But there is another exception: when you start Uru with UruSetup.exe instead of Uru.exe. Because of the word "setup" in it, Win7 thinks it's an installer... and gives it access to the "main" folder. This isn't the case when UruSetup.exe is started by Uru.exe.
Another problem: it seems files aren't always read correctly from the Virtual Store, which causes bugs with the books' linking panels, for instance...
Sometimes, Windows refuses access to the Virtual Store to the program, which means it might crash because it doesn't have anywhere to save its settings...