Mark your calendars for Windows 8.1!

I know a lot of folks are eager to find out when they will be able to get Windows 8.1. I am excited to share that starting at 12:00am on October 18th in New Zealand (that’s 4:00am October 17th in Redmond), Windows 8.1 will begin rolling out worldwide as a free update for consumers on Windows 8 through the Windows Store. Windows 8.1 will also be available at retail and on new devices starting on October 18th by market. So mark your calendars!



Windows 8.1 continues the vision we began with Windows 8 and is an example of our commitment to continuous innovation and improvement for our customers. And Windows 8.1 brings many improvements in areas like personalization, Internet Explorer 11, search which is powered by Bing, built-in apps including a few new ones, an improved Windows Store experience, and cloud connectivity with SkyDrive (and much more) that people will enjoy. If you haven’t already, you can give many of the new features and improvements in Windows 8.1 a try with the Windows 8.1 Preview. Business customers can begin testing Windows 8.1 for deployment in their environments with the Windows 8.1 Enterprise Preview.

Now is a great time to buy a Windows 8 device in a range of different form factors like Microsoft Surface, the Acer Iconia W3, the Lenovo Yoga 11s, the Toshiba KIRAbook or the Dell XPS 18 . For students going back to school, we have Windows Chip-in which is a crowdsourcing program to help students and parents purchase a new Windows device for school. And the Windows Store Only at Best Buy store-within-a-store experiences will be launching throughout August and September, just in time for the back-to-school shopping season to check out all the latest Windows devices! If you buy a Windows 8 device today, you can look forward to the new features and improvements from Windows 8.1 in October.

It’s very exciting to be delivering Windows 8.1 to consumers just before Windows 8 celebrates its 1-year anniversary. You can expect to read more from us on Windows 8.1 leading up to availability on October 18th
!

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2 months.....not bad. :thumbsup:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self built
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-4790
    Motherboard
    GA-Z87X-D3H
    Memory
    G.SKILL 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 F3-10666CL9D-8GBNT
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire ATI Radeon R7 250
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC892
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung UN32EH5000, Dell 1703FPT
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    WD5003AZEX
    WD10EZEX
    Samsung HD103SJ
    Samsung 128 GB 840 PRO
    PSU
    SeaSonic M12II SS-500GM
    Case
    Fractal Design Define R4
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900ALED
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800
    Mouse
    Logitech M705
    Internet Speed
    16 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Avast
    Other Info
    Bose Companion 2 Multimedia Speakers
I've expected that date to be a bit sooner but yeah, not bad. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy DV6 7250
    CPU
    Intel i7-3630QM
    Motherboard
    HP, Intel HM77 Express Chipset
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD4000 + Nvidia Geforce 630M
    Sound Card
    IDT HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6' built-in + Samsung S22D300 + 17.3' LG Phillips
    Screen Resolution
    multiple resolutions
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 250GB + Hitachi HDD 750GB
    PSU
    120W adapter
    Case
    small
    Cooling
    laptop cooling pad
    Keyboard
    Backlit built-in + big one in USB
    Mouse
    SteelSeries Sensei
    Internet Speed
    slow and steady
    Browser
    Chromium, Pale Moon, Firefox Developer Edition
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    That's basically it.
Cranking it out sooner than I thought. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer T690
    CPU
    Intel Pentium D Dual Core
    Motherboard
    Acer/Intel E946GZ
    Memory
    2GB (max upgrade)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3000 - PCI Express x16
    Sound Card
    Integrated RealTek ALC888 high-definition audio with 7.1 channel audio support
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer AL1917W A LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1440 X 900
    Hard Drives
    350 GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10
    Thumb drives
    PSU
    Standard 250 watt
    Case
    Desktop 7.2" (183mm) W x 17.5" (445mm) L x 14.5"
    Cooling
    Dual case fans + CPU fan
    Keyboard
    Acer Windows PS/2
    Mouse
    Wireless Microsoft Arc
    Internet Speed
    54mbp/s
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    Office Pro 2013 / Nokia Lumia 1520 Windows Phone 8.1DP GDR1
it's great we know date now cant wail roll on 18th october
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 update 1 Pro X64 with WMC
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    intel i7 2600k
    Motherboard
    Asrock H61M-VG3
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    nvidia geforce GTX 560 Ti
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Internet Speed
    100MB
Just a pity MSDN/Technet subscribers have been shunned for an early release:cry:.. but hopefully that will change :think:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    PC-DOS v1.0
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    IBM
    CPU
    Intel 8088, 4.77MHz
    Memory
    16K, 640K max
    Graphics Card(s)
    What's that?
    Sound Card
    Not quite
    Screen Resolution
    80 X 24 text
    Hard Drives
    dual 160KB 5.25-inch disk drives
Why do my machines just got 8 update? Counter productive if 8.1 is here in 2 months?

Because it's patch Tuesday. Why would Microsoft leave you vulnerable with your current systems just because there will be an updated OS in a few months.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built in July 2009
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Acer x233H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX modular
    Case
    Antec P182
    Cooling
    stock
    Keyboard
    ABS M1 Mechanical
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
    Internet Speed
    15/2 cable modem
    Other Info
    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
So how long after the release do you figure that the Windows 8.1 Preview will be functional?

Hello Casey,

Windows 8.1 Preview expires on January 15th 2014. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Just a pity MSDN/Technet subscribers have been shunned for an early release:cry:.. but hopefully that will change :think:

Rumors are that 8.1 will RTM this month but with a number of bugs still and MS wants more time to clean it up before GA.

Jim :cool:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 HP 64bit, Windows 8.1 Pro w/Media Center 64BIT
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS - Home Built
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X6 1100T
    Motherboard
    ASUS M5A99X EVO
    Memory
    Crucial Balistic DDR-3 1866 CL 9 (8 GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI R6850 Cyclone IGD5 PE
    Sound Card
    On Chip
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS VE258Q 25" LED with DVI-HDMI-DisplayPort
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Two WD Cavier Black 2TB Sata 6gbs
    WD My Book Essential 2TB USB 3.0
    PSU
    Seasonic X650 80 Plus GOLD Modular
    Case
    Corsair 400R
    Cooling
    Antec Kuhler H2O 620, Two 120mm and four 140mm
    Keyboard
    AVS Gear Blue LED Backlight
    Mouse
    Logitech Marble Mouse USB, Logitech Precision Game Pad
    Internet Speed
    15MB
    Antivirus
    NIS, Malwarebytes Premium 2
    Other Info
    APC UPS ES 750, Netgear WNR3500L Gigabit & Wireless N Router with SamKnows Test Program,
    Motorola SB6120 Gigabit Cable Modem.
    Brother HL-2170W Laser Printer,
    Epson V300 Scanner
For students going back to school, we have Windows Chip-in which is a crowdsourcing program to help students and parents purchase a new Windows device for school. And the Windows Store Only at Best Buy store-within-a-store experiences will be launching throughout August and September, just in time for the back-to-school shopping season to check out all the latest Windows devices! If you buy a Windows 8 device today, you can look forward to the new features and improvements from Windows 8.1 in October.

It’s very exciting to be delivering Windows 8.1 to consumers just before Windows 8 celebrates its 1-year anniversary. You can expect to read more from us on Windows 8.1 leading up to availability on October 18th!

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More...

Careful there Shawn, some may accuse you of pushing an unholy OS :D

Anyway that's good news. Guess that's when I'll be reinstalling my Win 8 copies.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom built by me
    CPU
    Haswell i7-4770K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte G1 Sniper 5 (BIOS F9)
    Memory
    Corsair Dominator Platinum 32 gig (1866MHz)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire R9-280 Vapor X
    Sound Card
    Soundblaster ZXR
    Monitor(s) Displays
    NEC PA242W - 24 inch
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 512gig 850 Pro SSD (OS), Samsung 256gig 840 Pro SSD (photo editing), Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB HD
    PSU
    EVGA Supernova 1000 G2
    Case
    Cooler Master HAF X
    Cooling
    Corsair H100i Closed Loop Cooler
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech Performance MX
    Internet Speed
    High Speed
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Norton Security
    Other Info
    RAM Speed: 1866MHZ @ 9-10-10-27-2T, 1.5v
The comments are worth a read too, especially those from Brandon LeBlanc.

For instance:
Brandon LeBlanc said:
we haven't announced RTM today. This announcement is just for general availability. We also haven't made any new announcements for TechNet subscribers.
Which I think is interesting because it doesn't say Technet subscribers won't get an early copy; it just says they haven't said anything about Technet folk.

Brandon LeBlanc said:
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. For most consumers, the Windows Store is the easiest and most efficient route for updating a Windows 8 device to Windows 8.1. ... installing Windows 8.1 through the Windows Store even on slow connections should work.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1, 10
Just a pity MSDN/Technet subscribers have been shunned for an early release:cry:.. but hopefully that will change :think:

Rumors are that 8.1 will RTM this month but with a number of bugs still and MS wants more time to clean it up before GA.

Jim :cool:

Why would they release a buggy RTM to OEM's?...I suspect they just want confirmation from the vendors (drivers etc) before "going gold" and releasing on MSDN. GA only relates to commercialization activities.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    PC-DOS v1.0
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    IBM
    CPU
    Intel 8088, 4.77MHz
    Memory
    16K, 640K max
    Graphics Card(s)
    What's that?
    Sound Card
    Not quite
    Screen Resolution
    80 X 24 text
    Hard Drives
    dual 160KB 5.25-inch disk drives
Really looking forward to Windows 8.1. I love what they have done, especially stopping all newly installed applications being plonked on the main metro window. Great job Microsoft!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    CPU
    AMD FX8150 8 Core 3.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    ASUS
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI HD6950
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP 2310i
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    60GB - Boot Drive
    3TB - Media Drive
    750GB - Data Drive
    500GB - Games
    500GB - Games (Raid 1)
    Case
    Maelstorm
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Wireless Keyboard 3000
    Mouse
    Microsoft Wireless Mouse 3000
    Internet Speed
    1 MB/s
Did they ever say, definitively, whether the people on preview will have to re-install?

You do not have to reinstall, but you do have to reinstall your apps. Still the same story as when the preview came out. This is repeated in the comments section of the linked article
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit SP1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Built
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3930K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte X79s
    Memory
    16.0GB Corsair Dominator DDR3-1866
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI GTX 680
    Sound Card
    Sound Blaster ZxR
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U2711 and 2407WFP
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440 and 1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    3 x SSD
    Mix of 2, 3 and 4 TB Hard Drives
    PSU
    Corsair HX1050
    Case
    Lian Li Diamond Series PC-Z70 Full Tower, Black
    Cooling
    Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo CPU cooler
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Revolution
    Internet Speed
    20mbs
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Avast Free and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Pro
    Other Info
    Win 8.1.1 and Office 2013 via Virtualbox
I was so ready to do a clean install of 8.1 at then end of this month...so the agony of waiting continues.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom build
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X 4 965 BE
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-MA790X-DS4
    Memory
    G-Skill 8 GB PC 8500
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD XFX HD Radeon 6790D
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2l Samsung SyncMaster S20B300
    Screen Resolution
    1600 X 900
    Hard Drives
    Seagate Barracuda 320 GB w/OS
    Seagate Barracuda 1 TB data storage
    PSU
    Ultra X4 750 watt fully modular
    Case
    Thermaltake OverSeer RX 1 fulltower
    Cooling
    Cooler Master Hyper212 120mm
    Keyboard
    Logitech G510
    Mouse
    Razor DeathAdder 3.5
I was so ready to do a clean install of 8.1 at then end of this month...so the agony of waiting continues.

Same here. Will finally go to a SSD and wanted a clean install of 8.1. With no ISO available without TechNet or MSDN it looks like a clean install of 8 and then an upgrade to 8.1 is in my future. I have about 90 updates to 8 and hope there will be a way to updated to 8.1 without doing all those 90 updates first. Hopefully that procedure will be clearer when 8.1 is released.

Jim :cry:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 HP 64bit, Windows 8.1 Pro w/Media Center 64BIT
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS - Home Built
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X6 1100T
    Motherboard
    ASUS M5A99X EVO
    Memory
    Crucial Balistic DDR-3 1866 CL 9 (8 GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI R6850 Cyclone IGD5 PE
    Sound Card
    On Chip
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS VE258Q 25" LED with DVI-HDMI-DisplayPort
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Two WD Cavier Black 2TB Sata 6gbs
    WD My Book Essential 2TB USB 3.0
    PSU
    Seasonic X650 80 Plus GOLD Modular
    Case
    Corsair 400R
    Cooling
    Antec Kuhler H2O 620, Two 120mm and four 140mm
    Keyboard
    AVS Gear Blue LED Backlight
    Mouse
    Logitech Marble Mouse USB, Logitech Precision Game Pad
    Internet Speed
    15MB
    Antivirus
    NIS, Malwarebytes Premium 2
    Other Info
    APC UPS ES 750, Netgear WNR3500L Gigabit & Wireless N Router with SamKnows Test Program,
    Motorola SB6120 Gigabit Cable Modem.
    Brother HL-2170W Laser Printer,
    Epson V300 Scanner
I was so ready to do a clean install of 8.1 at then end of this month...so the agony of waiting continues.

Same here. Will finally go to a SSD and wanted a clean install of 8.1. With no ISO available without TechNet or MSDN it looks like a clean install of 8 and then an upgrade to 8.1 is in my future. I have about 90 updates to 8 and hope there will be a way to updated to 8.1 without doing all those 90 updates first. Hopefully that procedure will be clearer when 8.1 is released.

Jim :cry:


I couldn't agree more...it's so confusing right now with all the speculation of how it will work.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom build
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X 4 965 BE
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-MA790X-DS4
    Memory
    G-Skill 8 GB PC 8500
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD XFX HD Radeon 6790D
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2l Samsung SyncMaster S20B300
    Screen Resolution
    1600 X 900
    Hard Drives
    Seagate Barracuda 320 GB w/OS
    Seagate Barracuda 1 TB data storage
    PSU
    Ultra X4 750 watt fully modular
    Case
    Thermaltake OverSeer RX 1 fulltower
    Cooling
    Cooler Master Hyper212 120mm
    Keyboard
    Logitech G510
    Mouse
    Razor DeathAdder 3.5
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