Windows 8.1 RTM Released to MSDN & Technet

Windows 8.1 is now available for download from Technet & MSDN

Based on the feedback from you and our partners, we’re pleased to announce that we will be making available our current Windows 8.1 and Windows 8.1 Pro RTM builds (as well as Windows Server 2012 R2 RTM builds) to the developer and IT professional communities via MSDN and TechNet subscriptions. The current Windows 8.1 Enterprise RTM build will be available through MSDN and TechNet for businesses later this month. For developers, we are also making available the Visual Studio 2013 Release Candidate, which you can download here. For more on building and testing apps for Windows 8.1, head on over to today’s blog post from Steve Guggenheimer.

More...

 

[Hopachi]

I took a clean install, the 8.0 OEM key wasn't accepted (I had a key prompt which I skipped) but the OEM key it was already inserted. Just needed to activate online. :thumb:
If you need to re-insert it manually, do that. If it fails it might already be inserted.

All good.

Needed to mess around a bit so I also did the install in a VirtualBox 4.3 Beta but I had bluescreens due to VBox being unstable; VM VT-x instabilities.

The OS works fine and I like the new colored tiles.

Looks like the default Windows theme is pretty orange-yellowish, just to my liking and that was a surprise.

 

[shakennstirred]

wonder if this means they going to release some updates for the RTM too

the only update so far was today, it was a flash player update

 

[alphanumeric]

I took a clean install, the 8.0 OEM key wasn't accepted (I had a key prompt which I skipped) but the OEM key it was already inserted. Just needed to activate online. :thumb:
If you need to re-insert it manually, do that. If it fails it might already be inserted.

All good.

Needed to mess around a bit so I also did the install in a VirtualBox 4.3 Beta but I had bluescreens due to VBox being unstable; VM VT-x instabilities.

The OS works fine and I like the new colored tiles.

Looks like the default Windows theme is pretty orange-yellowish, just to my liking and that was a surprise.

The product key field was blank for me. I never thought to try skipping it. I don't know what my embedded code is. The script I ran only showed my Media Center key when I ran it, not the embedded key. In a way it actually made things quicker and simpler for me. My embedded code is for 8 core, so I end up upgrading to 8 Pro and then doing it again to add media center. I got to skip one step and install 8.1 Pro. Then do the one add features to add Media Center.

 

[Ex_Brit]

I think it's time for you to move on from Vista Windows mail and find another program that you like.

Got it to work using the Win 7 tute (Edit: now defunct) ...it and calendar both now work fine. I don't care if it's regarded as an insecurity now that its not supported, I happen to like it better than other email clients and my antivirus/antispam client will filter it anyway. Sorry but I'm not into all this Outlook in the cloud stuff.

wonder if this means they going to release some updates for the RTM too

the only update so far was today, it was a flash player update

Just received 17 and then 1 more for Office after the reboot which I had to go and download manually as it kept repeating itself and then failing.

 

[SnarkyTwit]

Microsoft screwed up big time with this one! Make sure you have a backup of your Windows 7 installation before upgrading to this piece of crap. Good thing I backed up. I had years of software installed on my Windows 7 installation that was summarily wiped out by this "upgrade". I figured that when they said you have to reinstall your apps, they meant the apps from the app store. But apparently not. All of my software that I spent years accumulating was gone! I am not about to go about finding product keys and installation media for all the software that I had installed, some of which doesn't exist anymore. I had gigabytes of games installed that I would have to re-download from Steam, Origin and Blizzard again. This doesn't work well if you have a slow internet connection with download caps. As I was restoring my backup of Windows 7, I wondered why Microsoft did this. The only reason I can think of, is to drive people to their store to buy software that cannot be easily replaced by this "upgrade". I noticed that during the "upgrade" of Windows 8.1, they helpfully added a screen that said you can get apps from their app store. Nice try Microsoft, but I won't be doing that again any time soon. If I have to replace all of my software in order to upgrade, I will buy an Apple or Chromebook first, instead of your very user-unfriendly operating system.

Snarks

Sorry to hear.... but the upgrade path for keeping apps & settings only applies to previous versions of windows 8...and yeah backup should be a regular habit IMHO particularly if you spent years accumulating apps and setting up your rig to your specific needs.

So if I upgrade to Windows 8 first and then Windows 8.1, I should be able to keep my programs? Am I reading you correctly? I'd be more than happy to do that if it meant that I get to keep my programs. Can someone enlighten me?

Snarks

 

[alphanumeric]

When I did the update from 8 to the 8.1 preview though the store I didn't lose anything, apps or installed programs. I did a clean install of the 8.1 RTM though so I started with a clean slate this time around.

 

[alphanumeric]

I think it's time for you to move on from Vista Windows mail and find another program that you like.

Got it to work using the Win 7 tute...it and calendar both now work fine. I don't care if it's regarded as an insecurity now that its not supported, I happen to like it better than other email clients and my antivirus/antispam client will filter it anyway. Sorry but I'm not into all this Outlook in the cloud stuff.

wonder if this means they going to release some updates for the RTM too

the only update so far was today, it was a flash player update

Just received 17 and then 1 more for Office after the reboot which I had to go and download manually as it kept repeating itself and then failing.

One of the office updates screwed up Outlook 2013 on me and another forum member. http://www.eightforums.com/browsers-mail/31078-outlook-2013-problem.html.

 

[SnarkyTwit]

When I did the update from 8 to the 8.1 preview though the store I didn't lose anything, apps or installed programs. I did a clean install of the 8.1 RTM though so I started with a clean slate this time around.

I think I may just bite the bullet and do a clean install. I really want to have this on my computer, but I didn't want to have to install everything all over again. Maybe a clean install is what I need in order to get rid of all the accumulated crap on my computer too. Thanx for your help!

Snarks

 

[alphanumeric]

When I did the update from 8 to the 8.1 preview though the store I didn't lose anything, apps or installed programs. I did a clean install of the 8.1 RTM though so I started with a clean slate this time around.

I think I may just bite the bullet and do a clean install. I really want to have this on my computer, but I didn't want to have to install everything all over again. Maybe a clean install is what I need in order to get rid of all the accumulated crap on my computer too. Thanx for your help!

Snarks

I had issues when I updated to the 8.1 preview though the store. My WIFI would cut in and out at random, same deal for my touch pad. All's good this time around after doing a clean install. I'll take a clean install over an upgrade any day of the week. I don't mind taking the extra time required if it gets me a nice fast stable system.

 

[Ex_Brit]

I think it's time for you to move on from Vista Windows mail and find another program that you like.

Got it to work using the Win 7 tute...it and calendar both now work fine. I don't care if it's regarded as an insecurity now that its not supported, I happen to like it better than other email clients and my antivirus/antispam client will filter it anyway. Sorry but I'm not into all this Outlook in the cloud stuff.

the only update so far was today, it was a flash player update

Just received 17 and then 1 more for Office after the reboot which I had to go and download manually as it kept repeating itself and then failing.

One of the office updates screwed up Outlook 2013 on me and another forum member. http://www.eightforums.com/browsers-mail/31078-outlook-2013-problem.html.

I wish I could remember which one it was...the KB ended in 2009 I believe and it was an Office update. (In Vista a.t.m.) I'm not sure what the cure is, if any, for hiccups in WU. Apart from hiding the darn thing and then manually installing from their website I guess.

 

[waltc]

Downloading 8.1x64 even as we speak... 'bout 10m to go...

OK, didn't someone try to say a little while back that no ISO of 8.1 was scheduled to be released? Seems Like I recall that thread... I thought it would be insane of Microsoft to do that--and I'm glad to see it isn't so, after all.

What I plan to do is to burn the DVD and boot from the DVD and do the upgrade install from there. I'm not entirely sure that trying to install 8.1 from an 8.0 boot is going to upgrade 100% correctly. I'll get back here and report on whether or not I had to re-do Media Center or anything else.

@SnarkyTwit

Although I see you've changed your mind about a clean install, yes, you can restore your Win7 system from your backup, install the 8.0 upgrade and then upgrade again to 8.1 from there. That's what I did--my upgrade to 8.1 tonight will complete the process! Yea, if you have a lot of junk installed--PD and the like, I would recommend you go for a clean install. But if all you have is a fair number of legitimate Windows applications and games that you would rather not reinstall, then I would certainly recommend the 7-8-8.1 upgrade route as it will save you a lot of time. Once you've done that--you can always do a clean install later if you become unhappy with the result for some reason.

I think Microsoft did it that way because the company didn't want anyone who hadn't bought Win8 to be able to upgrade from another version of Windows to 8.1. Doesn't matter for the 8.0 crowd since they're getting 8.1 for free anyway. Just guessing, but probably after the trial period for the RTM expires (in Jan '14, I believe) I'll bet purchasers of Win8.1 (since 8.0 won't be sold any longer) will be able to upgrade from 7 exactly as 8.0 customers were able to do.

EDIT: I can't believe it--but I'm getting so old my hinges are rusting--I *forgot* that Win8 won't let me install direct/upgrade from the DVD drive but that it has to be installed from a previous system boot! Grrrrr-r-r-r-rrrrr......the old gray cells must be dying by the billions! I *have* to upgrade from the 8.0 boot! Sorry if I confused anyone on that point!

Let's see if I can recall how I originally installed 8.0 when I upgraded from Win7--let's see, I copied the Win8 install DVD to a folder on my hard drive and then let'er rip...! OK, now I'll try *that* and see if I have forgotten yet something else!

 

[DavidY]

OK, didn't someone try to say a little while back that no ISO of 8.1 was scheduled to be released? Seems Like I recall that thread...

Microsoft said no ISO of 8.1 was scheduled to be released for consumers.

From one of the comments on this blog post:

Consumers will only be able to get Windows 8.1 for free through the Windows Store. ISO images won’t be made available broadly for consumers.

I'm guessing that "consumers"= folks without MSDN or Technet accounts; which is the vast majority of Windows users.

I've not seen anything yet that says they've changed this, although with all the back-tracking going on, it's possible they'll change their minds on that one too...

 

[waltc]

Microsoft said no ISO of 8.1 was scheduled to be released for consumers.

From one of the comments on this blog post:

Consumers will only be able to get Windows 8.1 for free through the Windows Store. ISO images won’t be made available broadly for consumers.

I'm guessing that "consumers"= folks without MSDN or Technet accounts; which is the vast majority of Windows users.

I've not seen anything yet that says they've changed this, although with all the back-tracking going on, it's possible they'll change their minds on that one too...

As it won't be that long until Win8.1 completely replaces 8.0 on retail store shelves--with iso's on DVD, of course--I don't see how Microsoft might ever be able to go DVD-less or iso-less with general consumers...

 

[DavidY]

As it won't be that long until Win8.1 completely replaces 8.0 on retail store shelves--with iso's on DVD, of course--I don't see how Microsoft might ever be able to go DVD-less or iso-less with general consumers...

You're right, of course, at least for the upgrades from XP/Vista/7. They may not appear in the stores straight away, of course, as for a while people will be able to upgrade to 8 and then use the Store.

But for people who already have 8.0 (especially pre-installed on an OEM machine), there's more possibilities...

 

[waltc]

Thought I'd check back in and let anyone who is interested know that my upgrade install of 8.1 from 8.0 went without a hitch--my considerable volume of non-Microsoft-Store applications & games was carried over without a hitch!

Inconvenience: had to phone in my activation after installation, but that was a small annoyance

Also, the upgrade policy from 8.0 has definitely changed for the better, with the 8.1 x64 RTM. In 8.0, when the installer told you that it was preserving your "files, settings, and apps" it meant by "apps" only those programs installed through the Windows store. The upgrade from 8.0 to 8.1 used the same verbiage, but happily I can report that now Microsoft programmers clearly understand that the word "apps" means "any installed applications or games in your system" and not *just* "apps" purchased from the Microsoft store. I sweated that a little tonight while the upgrade was proceeding--but I needn't have worried--Microsoft has learned what "applications" are, finally, in the Win8 upgrading saga... (Although, what at first caused the company to forget/overlook every application on earth save those available from the Windows store is completely beyond me as Microsoft has never had that problem before!)

Yep--upgrading 8.0 to 8.1 RTM and preserving 100% of your installed applications works fine now, just as you would expect! Good news, I think.

I really don't understand why Microsoft wanted to keep this away from the public until 10/18...just seems like simply another of those inexplicable brain malfunctions Microsoft has had often this year. RTM is RTM and if 8.1 wasn't "really" RTM then Microsoft should not have said that it was. OTOH, if indeed it is RTM like it seems to be, then there's little reason to hold it back from the company's 8.0 customers who have been running Win8 for a long time, going on a year. Also, it seems inexplicable why Microsoft would want to insist that its customers upgrade 8.0 to 8.1 through the Microsoft store when the upgrade install function in the present RTM iso works splendidly well! Go figure. I trust the local upgrade from local disk far more than I would trust a remote upgrade from the Microsoft store. So, I'd imagine, do a lot of other people.

What I'll work on tomorrow will be trying to change my primary account from a Microsoft account to a local account--Microsoft seems to have made that a bit more complex than it was in 8.0, where it was fairly easy to do that, I thought.

 

[DavidY]

Also, the upgrade policy from 8.0 has definitely changed for the better, with the 8.1 x64 RTM. In 8.0, when the installer told you that it was preserving your "files, settings, and apps" it meant by "apps" only those programs installed through the Windows store.

I don't understand that comment, because when upgrading to 8.0 from 7 or earlier, there was no Windows Store to keep apps from, so preserving apps meant good old fashioned desktop apps because Windows 7 didn't have anything else.

As far as I know, upgrading from 7 to 8 kept Desktop apps and mostly they worked.

If you upgraded to 8.0 from an 8.0 Preview versions, then you wouldn't expect to keep much because Previews are just a test version and all bets are off; and I think the same might be true from 8.1 Preview to 8.1.

 

[davehc]

Waltc did say "from 8.0 has definitely changed for"

 

[DavidY]

Waltc did say "from 8.0 has definitely changed for"

So which install process is Waltc comparing this to?

As I said , I didn't understand the comment - what am I missing?

 

[davehc]

Well, as I read it, if you are changing from 8 to 8.1? He doesn't mention 7

 

[Superfly]

I'm also a bit confused...Apps have not in my experience differed in origin when updating, AFAIK...

.. I think perhaps Waltc may be referring to..

Refresh your PC without affecting your files

• The apps that came with your PC or you installed from Windows Store will be reinstalled, but any apps you installed from other websites and DVDs will be removed. Windows puts a list of the removed apps on your desktop after refreshing your PC.