For all foreigners living in China who want to have Windows 8 in English I highly recommend to do as described below. It will add the cost of a Windows 8 Pro Pack license but will save you hours of wait, discussions, reinstallation and uncertainty.
Windows 8 PRC which comes pre-installed on all OEMs computers in China is locked with Simplified Chinese only for the OS language.
You will have to purchase Windows 8 Pro Pack which upgrades the pre-installed Windows 8 PRC on your new computer to a full fledged Windows 8 Pro with Media Center
Add features - Microsoft Windows
Windows 8 Pro Pack can be purchased online from China and you can pay using Paypal
Terms and Conditions Feature Packs - Microsoft Windows
Windows 8 Pro has full capabilities to download and add language packs.
Start the upgrade with the help of the following screenshots
http://winsupersite.com/windows-8/windows-8-release-preview-add-features-windows-8
You will need an address in China and to switch off your VPN before starting the upgrade.
There is only one choice of product to purchase which is the Windows 8 Pro Pack.
The update took a few hours of download so start in the evening and sleep it over.
After the upgrade you have Windows 8 Pro with Media Center still configured with Chinese as the main language.
You then need to Download and Install the English language pack according to these screenshots
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/5850-language-pack-install-uninstall-windows-8-a.html
The US English language pack is 154Mb and might take a couple of hours to download as well.
Reboot and go back to the language screens to make English as your primary language as described in these screenshots
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/5853-display-language-change-windows-8-a.html
Reboot again, et voila!
PS: after the upgrade your Windows 8 Pro is automatically activated with the new Product ID but you have not lost any of the OEM stock applications and warranty (Dell in my case).
You still connect to the China Windows app store and are able to install apps *except* the ones made specifically by the OEM. In my case there are only a few and I cannot install Renren for Dell for example, but it is also available as another non OEM version in the app store.
This limitation is explicitly mentioned in the footnotes here, and I confirm this.
Add features - Microsoft Windows
The OEM apps that I did install before the upgrade are still there and working, so you might want to install them all before the upgrade.
Windows 8 PRC which comes pre-installed on all OEMs computers in China is locked with Simplified Chinese only for the OS language.
You will have to purchase Windows 8 Pro Pack which upgrades the pre-installed Windows 8 PRC on your new computer to a full fledged Windows 8 Pro with Media Center
Add features - Microsoft Windows
Windows 8 Pro Pack can be purchased online from China and you can pay using Paypal
Terms and Conditions Feature Packs - Microsoft Windows
Windows 8 Pro has full capabilities to download and add language packs.
Start the upgrade with the help of the following screenshots
http://winsupersite.com/windows-8/windows-8-release-preview-add-features-windows-8
You will need an address in China and to switch off your VPN before starting the upgrade.
There is only one choice of product to purchase which is the Windows 8 Pro Pack.
The update took a few hours of download so start in the evening and sleep it over.
After the upgrade you have Windows 8 Pro with Media Center still configured with Chinese as the main language.
You then need to Download and Install the English language pack according to these screenshots
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/5850-language-pack-install-uninstall-windows-8-a.html
The US English language pack is 154Mb and might take a couple of hours to download as well.
Reboot and go back to the language screens to make English as your primary language as described in these screenshots
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/5853-display-language-change-windows-8-a.html
Reboot again, et voila!
PS: after the upgrade your Windows 8 Pro is automatically activated with the new Product ID but you have not lost any of the OEM stock applications and warranty (Dell in my case).
You still connect to the China Windows app store and are able to install apps *except* the ones made specifically by the OEM. In my case there are only a few and I cannot install Renren for Dell for example, but it is also available as another non OEM version in the app store.
This limitation is explicitly mentioned in the footnotes here, and I confirm this.
Add features - Microsoft Windows
The OEM apps that I did install before the upgrade are still there and working, so you might want to install them all before the upgrade.
My Computer
System One
-
- OS
- Windows 8