Warning! Users will have to reinstall all apps...

warning   Warning
Users will have to reinstall all apps if they opt for Windows 8.1 beta



Beginning June 26, users will be able to download the beta or preview version of Windows 8.1 fairly simply, via the Windows Store. But Microsoft officials confirm that upgrading to the final RTM build will include a gotcha—you’ll need to reinstall all of your apps.

Put another way, Windows RT users will be forced to reinstall all of the “Metro” apps (now known as modern apps) they’ve added to the OS, once the final RTM version is released.

And Windows 8 users will be forced to reinstall all of the modern-stype apps and all of the desktop apps they’ve added—a real pain for anyone with a well-populated system, according to ZDNet, which first reported the story.

Source

A Guy
 
I don't see why everyone is complaining just think how much better your PC runs after a fresh install all the rubbish removed from being used
 

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Hi there
The main problem isn't in re-installing all the applications again -- I have most of mine on a 32 GB USB stick under a folder labelled Installable_apps with a TEXT file of a serial number if one is required for the application so I just work down the applications and install one by one.

The REAL bugbear is when you need to find and apply all the fixes / upgrades / patches that your applications have had since you originally installed them -- and a lot now are installed directly from servers / the web so you don't install these from local files on your PC.

Sometimes in "Dumbing down processes" to make it simpler for the masses the software suppliers actually make it WORSE when you need to do something other than click a web link to install an application.

Office 2010 for example with SP1 has a huge number of fixes and security updates since the original version - but all these need to be run again via Ms update.

Also sometimes you have legacy / older software too -- you have the original install program but the updates are no longer available (company no longer supports the version you have / gone out of business etc etc).

Finally sometimes you can ONLY get a newer version of the software rather than the version you have been using (with its fixes / upgrades) and you find that it doesn't work properly or you just prefer the previous version so what do you do then.

I've often "upgraded" software to a newer version and wished I hadn't - at least until the bugs had been fixed.

So it's not always a "no Brainer" to do a clean install unfortunately.


Cheers
jimbo
 

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How about Office programs like 2007 or 2010 and 2013, in the final will have to uninstall that too? That would be a real pain
 

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It is hubris, plain and simple. Ms thinks they are too omnipotent to be wrong.
 

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    Me
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Quit bitching. The preview is FREE and so is the final update. You only have to re-install if you use the preview. Just let someone else test it and then if you want the final you won't need to re-install anything.

Jim :cool:
 

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    APC UPS ES 750, Netgear WNR3500L Gigabit & Wireless N Router with SamKnows Test Program,
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    Brother HL-2170W Laser Printer,
    Epson V300 Scanner
Quit bitching. The preview is FREE and so is the final update. You only have to re-install if you use the preview. Just let someone else test it and then if you want the final you won't need to re-install anything.

Jim :cool:

That is my plan let somebody else be the tester.
 

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Me too. You can all test it and let us know
 

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    CPU
    desktop/laptop
    Memory
    4gigs
    Graphics Card(s)
    atm randioum
    Hard Drives
    350,250
8.1 would want to be worth all the hassle. Too bad they couldn't pull off a 'Service Pack' style upgrade for existing 8 installations.
 

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    ASUS P8Z77 WS
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    16GB G.Skill Trident 2666mhz
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8.1 would want to be worth all the hassle. Too bad they couldn't pull off a 'Service Pack' style upgrade for existing 8 installations.
Well if you skip the preview version and wait for the actual 8.1 release, it shouldn't be too bad. It's only if you use the Preview that you'll have to reinstall, as I understand it.

Whatever I think of Microsoft and the features they have or haven't included in 8.1, I think it's entirely reasonable that they haven't poured resources into supporting in-place upgrades from a test version.
 

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How about Office programs like 2007 or 2010 and 2013, in the final will have to uninstall that too? That would be a real pain

Hi there
Actually provided you have the serial numbers Office products are quite simple to re-install -- and remember with W8 you can simply copy the .iso to HDD and mount the "Virtual iso" directly so install is a breeze. - There are a LOT of downloads to update though so POST INSTALL such as SP1 for office 2010 etc. You simply use the Windows update service. After installing office go online and check for updates. With decent internet speeds that shouldn't be a problem these days.

Other non ms products that have had lots of updates are much more of a problem in practice.

Cheers
jimbo
 

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    SSD's * 3 (Samsung 840 series) 250 GB
    2 X 3 TB sata
    5 X 1 TB sata
    Internet Speed
    0.12 GB/s (120Mb/s)
I don't mind reinstalling modern apps, or installed programs. A clean install status will make my PC/dad's laptop snappier to use.
However does this effect files too?
 

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System One

  • OS
    windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
I don't mind reinstalling modern apps, or installed programs. A clean install status will make my PC/dad's laptop snappier to use.
However does this effect files too?

Hi there
By this I assume you mean your User data such as multi-media, photos, documents, music etc.

Now this is why one should ALWAYS keep these files on separate partitions or disks - then when you restore / recover / re-install the OS you don't LOSE any of this. Apart from anything else it also means you can have a much smaller OS partition which is easier to backup regularly.

If your data is on the same partition as the OS then you WILL lose data if you re-format the disk. So if this is the case you have now why not create a separate data partition and move your data files to it. You can dynamically create and re-size partitions with the FREE partition wizard tool without re-installing your OS.

Best Free Partition Manager Freeware and free partition magic for Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Vista and Windows XP 32 bit & 64 bit. MiniTool Free Partition Manager Software Home Edition.

Cheers
jimbo
 

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    1 X LG 40 inch TV
    Hard Drives
    SSD's * 3 (Samsung 840 series) 250 GB
    2 X 3 TB sata
    5 X 1 TB sata
    Internet Speed
    0.12 GB/s (120Mb/s)
8.1 would want to be worth all the hassle. Too bad they couldn't pull off a 'Service Pack' style upgrade for existing 8 installations.
Well if you skip the preview version and wait for the actual 8.1 release, it shouldn't be too bad. It's only if you use the Preview that you'll have to reinstall, as I understand it.

Whatever I think of Microsoft and the features they have or haven't included in 8.1, I think it's entirely reasonable that they haven't poured resources into supporting in-place upgrades from a test version.

That's the way I read it to. If you skip the beta the 8.1 update will install service pack like and you won't have to reinstall anything. It's only if you run the beta release that the reinstall complications arise.
 

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    80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
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    Internet Explorer 11
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    Windows Defender
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    HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
8.1 would want to be worth all the hassle. Too bad they couldn't pull off a 'Service Pack' style upgrade for existing 8 installations.
Well if you skip the preview version and wait for the actual 8.1 release, it shouldn't be too bad. It's only if you use the Preview that you'll have to reinstall, as I understand it.

Whatever I think of Microsoft and the features they have or haven't included in 8.1, I think it's entirely reasonable that they haven't poured resources into supporting in-place upgrades from a test version.

That's the way I read it to. If you skip the beta the 8.1 update will install service pack like and you won't have to reinstall anything. It's only if you run the beta release that the reinstall complications arise.

Hi there
the best way if you want to try the preview is to run if from a VM - and TEST install any products you want to try on this VM. Keep an image of the previous OS as well just in case.

With the VM you can probably try out a few products without activating immediately - I think for example Office will allow some days of use before it goes into "reduced functionality mode". This should be long enough to get a feel for 8.1.

Use VMware player or Oracle's VBOX (both free) for creating and installing the VM's --plenty of help in the tutorials on the virtualisation section -- note you can even run W8 VM's on an XP host if you are still running XP as your main system !!.

Cheers
jimbo
 

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    Computer type
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    1 X LG 40 inch TV
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    SSD's * 3 (Samsung 840 series) 250 GB
    2 X 3 TB sata
    5 X 1 TB sata
    Internet Speed
    0.12 GB/s (120Mb/s)
How about Office programs like 2007 or 2010 and 2013, in the final will have to uninstall that too? That would be a real pain

Hi there
Actually provided you have the serial numbers Office products are quite simple to re-install -- and remember with W8 you can simply copy the .iso to HDD and mount the "Virtual iso" directly so install is a breeze. - There are a LOT of downloads to update though so POST INSTALL such as SP1 for office 2010 etc. You simply use the Windows update service. After installing office go online and check for updates. With decent internet speeds that shouldn't be a problem these days.

Other non ms products that have had lots of updates are much more of a problem in practice.

Cheers
jimbo

true but now you have to do all the windows updates again
You have to reinstall your backup for Office
these are a real pain in the :you know what!

and any programs you installed now need to be reinstalled

We never had to do this with a service pack, why start now?

I do not mind reinstalling apps but programs? that is another story, I have lots of programs on my Windows 8, now i have to go through the time and energy to reinstall them- NOT

I will wait for the final and hope that it is not like the preview- where all you have to do is put back the metro apps
 

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    4 Windows 7 Pro Sp1- 4 Win 8 Pro, 1- xp pro sp3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
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    Dell Optiplex 390, 380, 3 Vostro Laptops (7 computers in all)
    CPU
    desktop/laptop
    Memory
    4gigs
    Graphics Card(s)
    atm randioum
    Hard Drives
    350,250
We never had to do this with a service pack, why start now?
But have there ever been Preview versions of Service Packs?

Exactly, its a BETA version and that changes things. Also, it may sound like nit picking, but its a bit more than just a service pack. The Windows kernel goes from 6.2 to 6.3 and that equates to an OS upgrade. At least in my books it does. The way I see it is Microsoft is coding it for a 8.0 to 8.1 upgrade, not a 8.1B to 8.1 upgrade.
 

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  • OS
    Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
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    PC/Desktop
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    Asus
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    AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
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    ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
    Sound Card
    VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
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    22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
    PSU
    Thermaltake TR 620
    Case
    Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
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    Stock heatsink fan
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    Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
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    Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
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    80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
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    Windows Defender
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    HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
Hmm, I am lucky. I never installed any apps on Windows 8 since I am not using it anyhow. Only fire it up once per month for the updates.
 

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I saw, and posted the article as a warning that if you install the preview, you will have to reinstall apps. To me, and many, it may have seemed obvious to play with the preview in a VM, but there are always those who aren't as technical reading. As has been stated, if you install the preview, you will have to reinstall apps when the final comes out. If you use a VM to play with it, you will just do an update. I think the idea was that everyone be made aware, then it seems a small thing, no?

A Guy
 

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    Windows 10 Home x64
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    Custom
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    INTEL Core i5-750
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    Memory
    KINGSTON HyperX Fury Black Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 1866Mhz
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    EVGA GTX750
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    LG 27MP33HQ 32" IPS LED
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    1920 x 1080
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    Samsung 840 Evo 120 GB, 2 x SEAGATE 500GB Barracuda® 7200.12, SATA 3 Gb/s, 7200 RPM, 16MB cache
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    ANTEC TruePower New TP-550, 80 PLUS®, 550W
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    ANTEC Three Hundred Illusion
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    COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus, 3 x 120mm 1 x 140mm Case
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    20 + Mbps
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    Vivaldi
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    Avast
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