Windows 8.1 RTM Now Available for Download from Microsoft for technet & MSDN

[hclarkjr]

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Wind...able-for-Download-from-Microsoft-381596.shtml

 

[hclarkjr]

glad they changed their mind and let us have it early

 

[Dahak]

arrg, bet me to it This includes as well all the Server 2012 variants as well as Visual Studio 2013 RC Link

yea. Hard to test properly without having the final bits. especially for metro developers who want to be sure the apps work in 8.1

 

[uallas5]

Nice catch clark, just checked my technet page and sure enough it's there. Gotta wait till i get home to dl tho, the office i'm in today only has 2 T1's.

 

[hclarkjr]

i hope they change their mind about cancelling technet too

 

[Dahak]

i hope they change their mind about cancelling technet too

well they are extending it another 90 days if you had a sub prior to sept 1st

 

[Franzi]

I have no access to technet but if I happen to get my hands on an image for Windows 8.1 Pro x64 will my current Windows 8 Pro x64 Systembuilder key work?

I rather perform a clean installation since this upgrade will be much more than a service pack.

 

[StinkyPinky]

Nice, will install it.

Such a shame technet is going. Although I know lots of people who abused it and sold their keys. Jerks.

 

[StinkyPinky]

I have no access to technet but if I happen to get my hands on an image for Windows 8.1 Pro x64 will my current Windows 8 Pro x64 Systembuilder key work?

I rather perform a clean installation since this upgrade will be much more than a service pack.

I'm not sure, but on my technet they treat 8.1 as an entire new OS so they give you new keys for it.

I'm thinking when it hits retail it will just be treated as a large service pack that you can get from the MS Store. So I would think old keys would also work but I'm not 100% sure. Plus that may not apply until it hits retail.

 

[RU482]

I'm not sure, but on my technet they treat 8.1 as an entire new OS so they give you new keys for it.

I'm thinking when it hits retail it will just be treated as a large service pack that you can get from the MS Store. So I would think old keys would also work but I'm not 100% sure. Plus that may not apply until it hits retail.

Please god, make it come from Windows Updates and not the Store....bleh

 

[corkyg]

I'm not sure, but on my technet they treat 8.1 as an entire new OS so they give you new keys for it. ...

That is correct. I downloaded both the 64bit and x86 versions this afternoon, and new keys go with them. The downloads are ISO files for ALL versions, standard and Pro. Your key determines which you will get. Since the keys available to me were all for Pro, it may be that the standard won't require a new key. Curious.

 

[Dahak]

Please god, make it come from Windows Updates and not the Store....bleh

Nope it has been said many times that it is coming through the store

 

[Dahak]

I have no access to technet but if I happen to get my hands on an image for Windows 8.1 Pro x64 will my current Windows 8 Pro x64 Systembuilder key work?

I rather perform a clean installation since this upgrade will be much more than a service pack.

I believe so, the media is treated as retail media which all keys would work on except for vl or enterprise keys

 

[ViRGE]

I'm glad Microsoft has come to their senses and released Win8.1 to Technet and MSDN early. Not giving developers ample time to test their wares against the OS (even if it is just a SP) was a dumb move.

I believe so, the media is treated as retail media which all keys would work on except for vl or enterprise keys

The installer looks to be exactly the same as the Win8 installer. In which case it should be possible to use the (yet unreleased) gVLKs to do VL installations with the current media. Excluding the screwball embedded versions, MS really only issues two separate images; one for Core/Pro, and one for Enterprise.

 

[fleshconsumed]

I know this is not the thread for it, but whoa, technet is going away? I went on vacation in July so I totally missed the announcement. I guess thanks for the heads up, I have an unopened subscription box that I was planning to activate at the end of the year, now I'll have to activate it before September 30. Still, better than losing it completely by missing the activation deadline. I would hope Microsoft reconsiders, but I know they won't. I guess this is the end of cheap, legal, and hassle free software for me.

 

[TechSavage]

Should my current Windows 8 Pro retail key work if I can get a copy of the 8.1 iso?

 

[ViRGE]

Should my current Windows 8 Pro retail key work if I can get a copy of the 8.1 iso?

Yes and no. In the strictest sense the answer is no. Windows 8.1 will not accept Win8 keys for install. However it apparently (according to the boys at Ars) accept Win8 keys for activation if you first install it with a different key and then change the key ahead of activating it.

MS has made the whole process absurdly cagey. Win8.1 is being treated as a new OS despite the fact that it's a service pack for Win8 in accordance with MS's service pack and lifecycle policies. You can't even do a "proper" in-place install with the Win 8.1 media; it's an upgrade install that lays down a new OS and then copies over your old data and settings (equivalent to a full upgrade from Win7 to Win8).

 

[Chiefcrowe]

Well I must say that is lame. I was here thinking that the update would be from windows update or an installer file downloaded and run from the OS and it would be pretty quick.

Yes and no. In the strictest sense the answer is no. Windows 8.1 will not accept Win8 keys for install. However it apparently (according to the boys at Ars) accept Win8 keys for activation if you first install it with a different key and then change the key ahead of activating it.

MS has made the whole process absurdly cagey. Win8.1 is being treated as a new OS despite the fact that it's a service pack for Win8 in accordance with MS's service pack and lifecycle policies. You can't even do a "proper" in-place install with the Win 8.1 media; it's an upgrade install that lays down a new OS and then copies over your old data and settings (equivalent to a full upgrade from Win7 to Win8).

 

[BlueWeasel]

Yes and no. In the strictest sense the answer is no. Windows 8.1 will not accept Win8 keys for install. However it apparently (according to the boys at Ars) accept Win8 keys for activation if you first install it with a different key and then change the key ahead of activating it.

MS has made the whole process absurdly cagey. Win8.1 is being treated as a new OS despite the fact that it's a service pack for Win8 in accordance with MS's service pack and lifecycle policies. You can't even do a "proper" in-place install with the Win 8.1 media; it's an upgrade install that lays down a new OS and then copies over your old data and settings (equivalent to a full upgrade from Win7 to Win8).

Any issues with the Win8 -> Win8.1 upgrade, or should one just do a clean install? A clean install is possible with the Technet RTM release, right?

 

[StinkyPinky]

Any issues with the Win8 -> Win8.1 upgrade, or should one just do a clean install? A clean install is possible with the Technet RTM release, right?

I tried to upgrade two of my pcs last night.

Wife's PC

Went well. Minor problems with cisco vpn software not working. Had to modify a reg entry to get it to work. Overall a painless experience but someone not advanced with pcs would have found that cisco problem unsolvable.

My PC (in my sig)

Takes a giant crap. Refuses to do the upgrade and rolls back right at the end of the install. Have tried everything to solve it. Clean boots with all non-microsoft services disabled, uninstall lots of my apps that i thought may be causing it...no dice. That thing ain't upgrading. So will just do a fresh install later in the week. Also when it rolled back it fucked up my cisco vpn software .

Overall not a great experience.

 

[Ketchup]

Sounds like what one would expect going to Win 9. What the heck Microsoft?

 

[DarkTXKnight]

has anyone done this on their surface pro yet? I was thinking of just doing an in place upgrade as it is to 8.1, but then I started thinking that maybe I'll back up my docs, revert everything back to factory settings (win 8 ) and then upgrade to 8.1 . Any thoughts on this?

 

[skriefal]

Wife's PC

Went well. Minor problems with cisco vpn software not working. Had to modify a reg entry to get it to work. Overall a painless experience but someone not advanced with pcs would have found that cisco problem unsolvable.

The Cisco VPN software issue is not limited to Windows 8.1.

 

[Chiropteran]

Having issues with 8.1 on my bargain priced lenovo G505 laptop. It installs fine, and works for a bit, but as I install drivers to clear all the errors from device manager it inevitably reaches a point where it just fails to load windows upon reboot.

It will start to load, and show the little circle thing showing that windows is loading, but then it will just sit there for 15 minutes + at least. Normally a reboot takes a few seconds, I have a fast SSD in this laptop.


edit: figured it out. The AMD SATA driver packaged with the AMD driver from Lenovo seemed to be causing the problem. Installed everything except the sata driver and all is good.

 

[corkyg]

I downloaded the 8.1 ISO file from TechNet, and burned a regular DVB for the installation. That went well. There were three choices for the installation. Since I had a perfectly fine tuned and operating 8.0 system complete with Start8 version 1.2, I chose the direct upgrade option. I quickly learned that 8.1 REQUIRES a new 8.1 key. Just happened to have one handy. The rest of the installation took about 45 minutes, and was all automatic.

The process also included a very confusing phase where I had to input my MS Live ID and password. When done, this appeared on the Welcome screen, and a password login was required. I since have fixed this and now have autologon and a welcome to my real name.

It also blessed me with the Libraries, Homegroup, and Skydrive icons on the desktop. I got rid of those in short order.

The next challenge was getting my RoboForm autofill password app to work. That took a while.

As of now, all seems to be good - am posting this using the newly installed 8.1. I'll keep playing with it for another day or two, then clone it to my reserve drive.

Good luck with yours!