Windows 8.1 RTM is already available for download, so many users have actually decided to deploy it right away, even though the public launch will only take place in October.
Basically, the existing builds that are now published on file-sharing websites should provide an experience that’s very close to the one of the stable build coming out in October, as
Microsoft has promised to roll out a new pack of updates just before the official release.
One of the problems users encountered with these leaked ISO is the fact that they require a clean install, so everybody would lose all settings and apps.
The good news is that upgrading from Windows 8.1 Preview to RTM is actually possible, even though you install the stable version of the
operating system from a stand-alone ISO.
It all comes down to just a few steps detailed on the
MDL forums and which would require users to edit the cversion.ini file included in every single Windows 8.1 ISO.
So let’s start with the first step.