How to download and install Windows 8.1 for free (updated)

The original story from October 21, 2013 follows below.

Windows 8.1 has been released. If you’re using Windows 8, upgrading to Windows 8.1 is both easy and free. If you’re using another operating system (Windows 7, Windows XP, OS X), you can either buy a boxed version ($120 for normal, $200 for Windows 8.1 Pro), or opt for one of the free methods listed below. To download and install Windows 8.1 for free, follow the guide below.

How to download Windows 8.1 for free

If you don’t want to wait for October 17 or 18, there are two options for downloading Windows 8.1: You can obtain a copy (and a license key) from a friend/colleague with an MSDN, TechNet, or DreamSpark (student) subscription, or you can download a Windows 8.1 RTM ISO from your favorite file-sharing website (The Pirate Bay, Mega, etc.)

While we’re not going to write a guide on how to obtain Windows 8.1 RTM from non-official sources, we will at least tell you to check the SHA-1 hash of the ISO that you download to make sure that it’s legitimate. If you hit up the MSDN Subscriber Downloads page, and then click Details under the version that you’ve obtained from elsewhere, you’ll find the SHA-1 hash. If you then use File Checksum Integrity Verifier (FCIV) on the ISO, the hash should match. If it doesn’t, assume the ISO has been compromised and download another. (But do make sure that you’re checking the right SHA-1 hash on the MSDN website; your ISO might be mislabeled).

The other easier, and completely legal, option is to download the Windows 8.1 Preview from Microsoft. It’s not as snappy as the final (RTM/GA) build, though, and has quite a few bugs/missing features. Bear in mind that if you go down this road, upgrading to a real version of Windows 8.1 will require a few more steps (discussed in the next section).

How to install Windows 8.1 for free

Once you have the Windows 8.1 ISO on your hard drive, the installation process is painless. Before you begin, you should consider backing up your important files and documents, but it’s not really necessary. You should also ensure that you have plenty of free hard drive space (20GB+).

If you’re already running Windows 8 and you downloaded the RTM ISO from somewhere other than the Windows Store, you can install Windows 8.1 by mounting the downloaded ISO in Explorer by double-clicking it, and then running the installer. If you’re on Windows 7, XP, or (bless your soul) Vista, you’ll need to burn the ISO to a USB thumb drive or DVD, or mount the ISO using a third-party virtual drive tool, like Magic ISO.

If you already have Windows 8, and you waited for the official release date, installing Windows 8.1 is as simple as visiting the Windows Store and downloading the free update.

In both these cases, the upgrade process should be very smooth, with your apps and settings fully preserved. If you upgrade from Windows 8.1 Preview, however, you will lose your installed apps, unless you first run a cversion.ini removal utility.

Once you’ve installed Windows 8.1, you should check out our extensive collection of Windows 8.1 tips and tricks, and be sure to check our Windows 8.1 review and hands-on impressions to ensure that you’re making the most of all the new features.

Sebastian Anthony wrote the original version of this article. It has since been updated with new information.

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start button just takes you the metro ui its not even the real start button that we wanted back. Just another example of MS doing the opposite of the consumers desire. Oh well looks like i will just have to keep using start8 for my start button.

Start8 better than Classic Shell’s start menu button?

Oh wow, you have to pay for Start8. I’d just stick with Classic Shell

i actually love start 8 i can make my own menu items that go straight to my networked drives i can create my own personal start button and it performs better than the windows 7 start button in my opinion.

I will upgrade my Windows 7 to Windows 8.1. What I worry about is Windows 8.1 password problem, such as can’t login Windows 8.1 laptop with admin.

Yeah you can, you just gotta enable it in one of the Administrative Tools.

Get Activator free from here boxofcd.com

I also need to update my windows 8, but when forgot my windows 8 login password, one of my friend recommend me using iSeePassword to recover my windows 8 password, works fine!

I downloaded iseepassword for itunes with no success in cracking the password. I had no response or support from Iseepassword they refuse to return my money or reply to any emails when they should honour 30day money back guarantee, people beware before buying.

Use Iobit Startmenu8 its free + customizable.

I would love to see an analysis of how many Win8 users have a Start app installed. Any Win8 user with a start menu should be counted as a Win7 user.

Your kidding right? You might as well say that any Vista user that uses some icon based task bar hack should be considered a Win 7 user.

I would to see a study or data showing that 50% or more of all Windows 7 users use the start menu heavily as compared to desktop and taskbar icons. Every article I read on Windows 8 has all these people commenting basically saying “everyone wants the start menu back.” What’s the exact percentage of those polled who said they want it back? And out of those people I would love to see their detail of just how much they’re actually using it

I want it back. Thanks for Start8, Loki and other applications out there to fill the void.

Why can’t you just pin apps to the Taskbar, or press the Window key on your keyboard and start typing the app you want then press enter? It takes 1-2 seconds, no mouse required. Nodding around in the cumbersome old start menu is retarded at the least. You don’t even need to use it for Document and Pictures etc, when that’s available in the Explorer shortcut which is already pinned to the taskbar. Even faster is the Admin menu (right click bottom left corner), there’s never been a faster way to get to those settings.

“press the Window key on your keyboard and start typing the app you want then press enter? It takes 1-2 seconds,”

Because there was this wonderful invention called the Start Menu which replaced typing commands into DOS. Then Windows 8 decided that searching for your programs was better, and made it stupid, and deciding removing the Start Menu was better.

And you don’t want to pin 20, 30, 40, or 50 or however many programs you might have on the task bar.

What you’re saying is, you don’t want to pin items to start, but you want them pinned to the old start menu, you don’t want to type 3 letters and press enter to find/run and app, but you want to fart around clicking start, all applications, then look up and down for the app you want?. The process of ‘searching’ for apps is no process at all, it’s not like Search in XP which is horribly slow. 8 Search indexes everything so it all happens in a second. You only pin the most important apps to Taskbar that you use in Desktop mode, I have 13, and since open windows share the same icon on the taskbar and use thumbnail previews, the taskbar doesn’t get cluttered. Then Start for other apps or ‘metro’ apps, or type to find. It’s really not hard at all. The misconception is that the Start Menu was taken away….no…it wasn’t, it just went full screen.

There’s a difference between a compact menu, and everything pinned to a task bar.

And no, I know how fast searching for a program is. But what you don’t understand (apparently) is that the Start menu was created to replace having to type commands into DOS.

It’s a step backwards to have to type the name each time you want a non-pinned program. You can start a program in three clicks. Why would I want to keep typing the name over and over to start it? And I don’t want a bunch of crap pinned to my task bar.

With Windows 8 Start, running a program only takes 2 clicks from the desktop, so it’s faster, hell it can even take 1 click if you press the window key on the keyboard, which has easily become second nature for me to do so now. But you prefer to make three clicks? I don’t know how you don’t get the idea behind dividing apps into three priorities. Taskbar for mostly used from Desktop, Start for often used (or metro apps), and type to find for least used….it’s not hard, it’s definitely faster. Good riddance to the old start menu.

Metro was designed for tablets. It’s a crappy UI for mice and keyboard. And the removal of the Start menu was simply to try and force users to use the Start screen.

Having to sort applications into three tiers with three different ways to run them is not only bad design, it’s stupid. With one additional click, you can run them all from one place that doesn’t take up the entire screen.

Windows has used the Start menu for 17 years. You expect people to suddenly embrace it’s removal?

You don’t have to sort applications into three tiers. It was a suggestion, because for some reason you thought the only option was pinning 50 apps to the task bar. The old start menu is not just a clickity click. It is click, all programs, look among ridiculous small font and/or scroll up and down looking through sub folder after sub folder. Start comes in and out so fast you don’t even notice it when you use it the right way. I press the start key, enter a couple of letters and press enter, I barely even notice start appear before it’s gone again. MetroUI is easy with a mouse and keyboard, people just enjoy being in the ‘hater’ category for attention. The majority are getting on with it.

You offered pinning to the toolbar as the solution.

If the Start menu was such a terrible idea, it wouldn’t have survived for 17 years, and receive this much feedback to it’s removal. The only reason it was removed was because Microsoft wanted to force you to use Metro.

Apparently people like you don’t get it. People hate it because it’s a crappy change to something that’s been in use for the Windows OS for almost two decades.

Maybe you aren’t old enough to remember, but typing commands to run programs is what the Start menu REPLACED.

Microsoft is literally going backwards with the “Search for apps to run.”

umm, no. Obviously you don’t understand. What part of Start requires you to type commands to run programs? Since when in CMD did you just type ‘word’ and press enter and it runs without navigating to the directory or having a link? Having 100 programs in the old start menu is no different to having 100 programs in the Start App Drawer. They actually take no more or less time to use either, and having it full screen makes it easier to see.

You may not be typing word.exe, but you are still bringing up where you have to type a command (search term) into, search for that program, and run it singly. You aren’t navigating to the directory, but you are still typing in a command instead of using the Start menu like intended.

Also, calling it “CMD” shows your age, calling what is essentially the DOS prompt “CMD” started with Windows XP.

You have a way you like it, that’s fine. But people need to stop calling the Start menu “stupid” just because you think the latest and greatest from Microsoft is actually a step back in UI functionality and use.

I’ve used PC’s since windows 3.11, before the start menu, age has nothing to do with it. Do you still call it Kentucky Fried Chicken after they changed it to KFC? I never said the old menu is stupid, I said that the Windows 8 way is faster, and it is.

If you have used Windows since 3.11, then you know why the Start menu was created in the first place, to replace having to run commands in DOS.

You said the Start menu was a terrible thing. Terrible, stupid, whatever. If it were so bad it wouldn’t have survived for 17 years. 17 years as a UI element in a computer environment is ridiculous. I can’t think of many other things that have survived that long. And the only reason they tried to get rid of it was to force you to use Metro. They saw how much Apple was making with iTunes and the app store, and they wanted to create one UI for desktops, tablets, and phones. Otherwise you would still be using the Start menu.

And it’s likely by the next version of Windows, we will have a real Start menu back.

So it might be faster for you, but for me, it’s not. It’s a stupid return to typing in programs to run them. And this is from someone who LIKED DOS.

Typing commands to run DOS programs -> Start menu to run programs without commands -> Typing to search for a program, then running it.

That’s not progress.

Toolbar is one option for quicker access to important applications. Why would you want to click three times instead of one?

Putting programs of different importance is actually natural and makes sense. People often carry their wallet with them for quick access, but leave their bag in the car because they don’t expect to need to go into it often. The wallet being your taskbar, and going back to the car to get the lesser used item is Start/All Apps. While YOU want everything sitting there in a cluttered list of shortcuts and subfolders, others don’t want clutter. More people agree with less clutter. The explorer icon pinned to the taskbar gives you quick access to all your files like Docs, Pics, Downloads etc….there really is no need for the old start menu.

What you aren’t getting is that there was NOTHING WRONG with the Start menu. It was changed only to try to force you to use Microsoft’s newest toy, AKA Metro, which is also an attempt to gain some of the app marketshare like Apple has with the iTunes store.

Oh, there’s nothing I don’t get. But the fact remains is that the old start menu was a slow piece of crap way to run apps. If you had your favourite apps pinned to the start menu, then they now get pinned to Taskbar or Start, simple as that. Get over it. If you used the old start menu to get to control panel, right click the lower left corner and all your advanced settings are there. If you used the old start menu to get to your documents etc, then you now click the brown explorer icon that was already pinned to the task bar when you first got Windows 8. It is all LESS clicks, LESS time consumed, MORE productive. Why people want to hold on to the slow way boggles me.

“was a slow piece of crap way to run apps”

I don’t understand how the concept of three clicks is slower than clicking on a search box, and TYPING the name of what you are looking for.

Maybe if you weren’t familiar with your Start menu. Maybe if you had so much crap on it, installed every single thing you ever ran across, and never sorted it by name (right-click, sort by name), and never bothered to actually maintain it, it might take you awhile to find something.

You also seem to forget, your most-used programs pinned themselves to your Start menu. One click, and there was the list. One more click, and it ran.

The Explorer shortcut is fine, and that was introduced in Windows 7, not 8.

You also act like the Start menu was the ONLY way to get into something. Opening up My Computer, your documents were right there, too. Or were you unaware that you could reenable desktop icons that Microsoft have used between Windows 95 to Windows 2000?

The old start menu is slower. In Windows 8 you don’t click a search box, you don’t type the full name of what you want. You simply tap the window key and type 2 or 3 letters, and press enter. Have you actually tried it? I will release a video and post a link here to show you how fast Windows 8 really is when you know how to use it. I am aware that Explorer was introduced in 7, you assume I haven’t used every version of Windows since 3.11. Also, if you could point out where I ACT like the start menu was the only way?, and you just got my point anyway, there have always been multiple methods to accessing the information you want, like My Computer, Desktop icons, keyboard shortcuts etc, so…..you didn’t really need the start menu. If you’re so chuffed about re-enabling desktop icons which is a simple setting that everyone knows, why are you pissed that the start menu is gone?

Nothing is going to convince you otherwise. Maybe the Start menu is slower for YOU. But it’s not for me. I would rather have all of my programs listed in one place than have to search for then each time I want to run them, or pin them all to my task bar, cluttering it up.

I know exactly how the process works. It’s dumb to me. The entire point of a GUI is to avoid having to type commands. So the logical (according to you) faster way is to type your program’s name again?

And no, Explorer wasn’t introduced in Windows 7, the Explorer shortcut PINNED to the taskbar was. Explorer goes back to Windows 1.0.

You missed my point. You acted like everyone relied on the Start menu for everything. Where did I get that? Your constant examples of how the Start menu was “slower” when accessing something. I didn’t go to my documents folder from the Start menu in Windows XP. I went to it from the documents folder under My Computer. I never said I dislike reenabling them. It’s the first thing I did.

You are FINE to like something better, but you cannot dismiss one of the most important UI elements in computer OS GUI history just because you prefer typing the names of your programs.

Anyone can run applications faster with 8 Start faster that you ever will with the old start menu, children, elderly, wives…you’re defending something that will no longer be without 3rd party apps. You’re more than welcome to stay in the past.

I think that’s the biggest problem, some people, yourself included, only see a problem with the Start menu because it’s now “old” and been replaced.

If Microsoft reintroduces the Start menu exactly like it was, in the next version of Windows, what then?

There is no problem as such with the old start menu, it’s just a slow means of doing things. I never ran applications from the start menu, only ever pinned to start or quick launch because I like fast, I don’t like pissing around. I still have some 7 machines at home that still get used, I am not incapacitated because they have start menu’s, hell I’ve only been using 8 since the RC, what do you think I had before then? I just didn’t use the start menu the slow way, and that is clicking through menu after menu to get to an app, then you click it, the menu goes away, then you do the process again for the next application. Do that several times in a row multiple times throughout the day and you soon appreciate pinning, whether it’s pinning to the old start menu, quicklaunch, taskbar or Windows 8 Start.

Have you ever heard of Spotlight in Mac OS? That feature is no different, and is something I use often, as opposed to Go –> Applications –> Look for app, double click app. Command+Space+calc+enter = 2 seconds and you have the calculator. Perhaps I should post a challenge video on youtube, a set of tasks to be completed, the fastest wins. You use your Start Menu All Programs system, and I use pinning/type to find etc. There is absolutely no doubt that you will not come out on top. I will also have a very clean and tidy, uncluttered UI at the same time

…where did I imply that explorer was introduced in 7? I don’t know where you keep getting this “typing commands” to run your applications. Typing 2 or 3 letters and pressing enter is in no way the same as navigating to and running applications in dos. And type to find is only for applications you don’t run often, otherwise you would have them pinned to start or the taskbar if you needed quick access to them. If you’re on 7 right now, then you’re already used to pinning on the taskbar….it’s not cluttered. Clicking Start –> All Apps in Windows 8 (if you insist on the slow way) is no different to clicking Start –> All Programs in XP/Vista/7, so there’s really no point in your whining. They haven’t taken that away from you. You can even press a letter, yes one letter, and it will sort/shorten the list. You didn’t access computer/documents from the Start Menu, so really what are you missing? Looks like nothing to me. My points are simply: 1. Windows 8 is faster, performance and finding/running applications. 2. Windows 8 is not hard. 3. get over it. You are free to use old editions of windows to suit your gripe, no one really cares, we just don’t want to hear your whining because we have moved on.

It’s similar. You keep missing this. The Start menu was designed so you wouldn’t have to type anything at all.

Now you do. So it goes back to typing things. Very similar to running commands.

“Cluttered” would be putting all my programs I use on the task bar.

You keep insisting the Start menu was slower. Maybe for YOU. Stop acting like no one had a different experience with it than you.

“no one really cares, we just don’t want to hear your whining because we have moved on.”

That’s the main point of this, you are a dumbass if you think it doesn’t matter. Microsoft wouldn’t have tried returning the Start button (and didn’t return the Start menu, thus avoiding the complaint) if it didn’t matter. Windows 8 didn’t get all the criticism over its removal because it was an outdated feature. Just because you personally accepted Microsoft’s idea of what is better does not mean it really is, or that it’s more modern. You obviously don’t work in UI design, because splitting your UI into multiples is one of the first things you don’t do. If Microsoft weren’t attempted a three-device monopoly and their own app store, we still would have had the Start menu. And what would you have said then? Nothing, because you wouldn’t have known the Start screen existed.

If the Start menu was so slow, why didn’t you replace it by now? Programs have existed for years which allowed you to do that.

Some people think newer is always better, and in this case ignored Window 8’s pitiful adoption rate. Vista’s was even better. Apparently you are one of those people, too.

As far as hearing me, you keep replying to me. I am rather sick of replying to someone who just won’t get it. I have said multiple times (twice now) you are fine to like something different, but don’t dismiss a feature as being old and outdated just because you like the new one better.

Firstly, I never used the old start menu, because it is a slow means of running applications. I always used quick launch, keyboard shortcuts, or desktop icons, or pinned to taskbar from 7. The fact is, typing 2-3 letters and pressing enter is faster than clicking three times through the old start menu, there’s nothing you can do about that, If they change it all back to the old way, nothing changes for me, I used type to find in the start menu since vista anyway. If you have so many important programs that you use so often that they all wont fit on the taskbar (must be 20+), then you’re having a retarded time clicking three times navigating through the old start menu per application you want to run. I often run several applications at once, easily tapping along the taskbar in a matter of seconds and they’re all open. You are not efficient, you prefer the long way, good luck with that, I wouldn’t hire someone like you, I run an efficient team. Go get a mac already.

You just can’t not help replying, can you? You cannot accept that someone else might be faster doing something a different way. Some way you now consider old and inefficient.

You are arguing the difference of ONE click is that big of a deal.

“Navigating.” See, I have a feeling you had to open the Start menu and search for what you wanted to run every time. Me, I know where the programs are. I don’t need to hunt. I click on it, I open their folder, I run them.

I get the feeling that you cannot accept people doing things other than your way isn’t slow or inefficient, that people can hold different opinons of you, or that the “latest and greatest” isn’t necessarily so for everyone, or all three.

Please don’t keep replying giving me shit about how the Start menu is slow and old and tired and worn out and crappy and whatever the hell have you. If it was such a terrible feature, it wouldn’t have lasted 17 years, and the demand to bring it back wouldn’t be so strong. People have different opinions and skills (apparently) than you do, so just drop it.

If you wouldn’t hire someone over their program shortcut preferences, you are a moron.

You just can’t help replying, can you Drakkenfyre? Even if you know where your applications are in the start menu, it’s still the slow way. The reason I wouldn’t hire someone like you, is not because you like the old start menu, but because you fail to adapt. The old method that you use to run applications will NEVER be slower than the new ways. You failed to adapt in vista, you failed to adapt in 7, now you are forced to in 8, you can’t handle it. You are not efficient at using a computer. I sure hope you’re not some computer technician or work in IT, your failure to adapt would be very concerning in an ever changing technological industry. If you were a mechanic, you would be telling people to take their automatic transmissions out of their new cars and put in manual gearboxes.

First off, YOU keep replying to me.

“You failed to adapt in vista, you failed to adapt in 7, now you are forced to in 8, you can’t handle it.”

Yes, because someone preferring a primary OS feature that’s been a main part of the UI for 17 years is “failing to adapt.”

You are one of those people who cannot accept that someone else may have a different opinion. Your opinion is correct, and no one else’s is. That shows something about your attitude. You want to talk about “not hiring” someone? I don’t think a boss would like someone who’s so inflexible they insult other people just because they have a different opinion from them.

And where do you see “forced” ? I am not buying the piece of shit. See, that’s the great thing about building your own computers, you aren’t forced to use whatever OS the OEM uses. Windows 8 has already become the next Vista. It’s a version that’s going to be skipped until something better comes along. It has the worst adoption rate of any Windows since Windows 95. Windows XP held on for 14 years, and some people STILL use it, Microsoft isn’t dropping full support for Windows XP until next year. Windows 7 isn’t going anywhere. Windows 8 is going to be known as the failure it is, and the next version will likely restore a properly working Start menu.

You don’t know me. Stop trying to act like someone’s preference for something that, oh, I don’t know, has been around probably almost your entire life is the sole deciding factor in their knowledge. Stop acting like an asshole.

…and then when 9 and 10 comes along with no start menu, you will not buy that too? Before you know it you’ll be 10 years behind simply because you want to do things the slow way, some smarts you got there buddy. We install 8 on every new machine we build, and provide “5” minutes of tutoring the changes when we deliver to their home, and the customers are happy, they adapt, they don’t call back because they don’t know what to do.

You aren’t quite grasping this, are you? Microsoft wouldn’t remove it again after seeing the reaction the first time.

And even today, most applications and games are written for Windows XP. I bet you could get 10 years out of Windows 7 no problem.

You confuse “don’t want to fall for their bullshit” as “cannot adapt.” Fourth time I am saying this, if you are happy using the touchscreen-centric UI which is a piece of shit on a keyboard and mouse, all so Microsoft can try to force you to go thru their own store and them make a percentage of the profits, go ahead. But stop insulting people just because they prefer something you don’t. And stop assuming just because something is older it’s inferior. You can name a thousand things, and in many cases software, too, where an older version was better than some “superior” version that screwed stuff up. Good example, video game consoles. There are consoles out there that are 40 years old, but still work fine. Meanwhile you might pull an XBox360 out and it die in a couple of weeks, because Microsoft got cheap on the solder in the construction.

I also think you are lying, or at least lying to yourself. If you think ALL of your customers are happy with Windows 8, you are a moron. As someone who’s been using Windows since 3.1, it’s a pain in the ass. I cannot imagine someone with little to no technical skill being “happy” or even able to use Windows 8 correctly if they were used to a previous version. I have seen people have trouble with Windows XP to Vista. So anything to Windows 8? I don’t think so. I think you are misjudging your customers there. There’s a big difference between “unable to adapt” and “changes made for no damn reason”, unless you think hiding menus in invisible buttons in the corners is smarter than placing them all on one central settings panel.

You are one of those people who if someone disagrees with you, they are wrong, no matter what it’s about. You got some ego on you, and I am sick of replying to your ass over a preference that tons of people, including a good number in this commenting section, express. People have been complaining about the removal of the Start menu since it happened, and they will continue complaining about it. And it’s because they have a legitimate complaint. Just because you take whatever shit Microsoft hands you and act like it’s the best thing in the world does not mean everyone does. Stop acting like a f!#$king ass.

No need to get heated man. You’re getting all steamed up over nothing. If you could kindly point out where I have insulted people? You are wrong, there are many windows 8 users that are happy with it, you just choose to only find those who don’t like it. There are plenty of people who hate XP, Vista and 7. Just put yourself out there and look on the other side of the fence, actually look for people who like it, and you will find them. Most people we setup computers for are even surprised when we show them features that are several years old in windows, so people really are missing the boat all by themselves. Why are you upset, when the start menu isn’t even gone? You still have Start, you still have All Apps, you just don’t have all the sub folders that make for an extra click anyway, you already said you accessed mycomputer / documents etc via ways other than the start menu, perhaps you like seeing the little picture at the top? Hmm, nope, even that’s there. maybe you like getting to control panel through the start menu? nope, that’s there, actually there’s an extra way to access the control panel, via win+x (or right click start). The fact is, we do everything we always did on previous editions of windows, and we’re doing it faster now. That’s evidence right out of a business.

Almost every reply of yours is an insult. You continuously imply that if someone could not “adapt” (confusing “adapt” with “prefer”) to Windows 8 that they were stupid, slow, or were out-of-date.

I never said NO user didn’t like Windows 8. I said you were lying to yourself if you thought ALL of YOUR users completely understood and were happy with Windows 8 with only 5 minutes of instructions.

You have continuously acted like using search is the ONLY acceptable way to run programs, and doing anything else is slower, and preferences don’t exist, doing anything else means the person is an out-of-touch illiterate.

Windows 8 has been panned for many of it’s stupid UI decisions, and regardless of how much you love it and act like it’s the best thing that’s hit consumer OS GUIs since Xerox created the first one, it does several things that are basic “don’ts” in a UI class (like splitting your UI into two parts) and nothing will change that.

Windows 8 will continue to be the slowest-adopted OS by Microsoft since Windows ME, and as long as they continue with their normal “users have to adapt to us instead of us listening to the user” attitude that Microsoft has started to display several years ago, it won’t change.

Flick me your email, or an email, i’d love you catch up with you in the future when things don’t turn out like you think.

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i’d love you catch up with you in the future when things don’t turn out like you think. so good and i am glad to see all of this while watching simultaneously..

And you seem to forget that you are the one who first replied to me….

And no, Explorer wasn’t introduced in Windows 7, the Explorer shortcut PINNED to the taskbar was. Explorer goes back to Windows 1.0.

You are FINE to like something better, but you cannot dismiss one of the most important UI elements in computer OS GUI history just because you prefer typing the names of your programs.

Why can’t I just use a start menu, which was perfectly fine for its purposes? Why does there need to be change for the sake of change? Why do I need a touch-centric UI on a device that uses a mouse?

Since Vista, Microsoft introduced a faster way to get to your apps in the start menu….a lot of people still chose to do things the slow way, so now you’re being forced to do things the fast way because after 8+ years people still won’t accept the change. It wasn’t instant, it’s been coming over the years, with integrated search in explorer, start and control panel….

Preparation is the key to the best of the latest features. Of Windows 8 Product Key operating system. Installing the OS on their computer to enjoy all the features. Of this operating system. Windows 8 Product Key high-quality graphics and exciting features.

You are talking as a home user. Ask users who use their pc for business purposes what they say about that ugly metro style. It is a good idea if you could seperate the tablet environment from the business environment.

No, I am talking as a business user, and a home user. All pc’s at my company use Windows 8 for a wide range of tasks such as accounting, invoicing, tech support, graphics and web design, programming, sales and more. Windows 8 is easy as, everyone gets their work done and fast. 8.1 also lets you skip Start on boot, but we don’t even do that, it’s not hard to click Desktop, or launch your first desktop application from Start then it takes you to Desktop anyway.

This is nice web amazing look..

extreme tech is a nice web name its so and good:-)

“Nodding around in the cumbersome old start menu”? The things you described take longer.

You really think that? Single clicking a shortcut on the taskbar is slowing than…what? Right clicking the start button to get all the administrative tasks in one place is slower than…what? Typing calc then pressing enter is slower than clicking start->all programs->accessories->calculator?…I think not. You should actually use windows 8+ and see for yourself.

Then they don’t really know how to use the Start menu that was introduced in Vista and continued in Windows 7.

I think you are hearing a very vocal minority that likes to complain about the lack of a start menu.

What you’re saying is, you don’t want to pin items to start, but you want them pinned to the old start menu, you don’t want to type 3 letters

No, what I’m saying is I’d like to see the data on how much people really use the start menu. I’ve seen a lot of people from my experience in IT Support that say they don’t want 8, but when I watch them use 7, they’re barely using the start menu. I don’t know many novices who pin stuff to start.

umm you right click and it brings up start menu, left click takes you to metro view. windows 8.1 blows away 7 in performance and benchmarks and is very easy to use after the first week of WTF am I looking at where are the system menus. lol but hey after that ur good

Trying to explain how simple 8 is to these dorks is a dead end street. They want slow menu’s, classic desktop icons and 30 second+ boot times. I

If you love Start8 so much why are you bitching? Your later comment praises how much better it is then the traditional Start Menu, so it seems you wouldn’t be happy even if M$ brought back the traditional start menu. In which case it sounds like you are complaining just to complain.

I will upgrade my Windows 7 to Windows 8 Udemy high paid courses free

Alternatively you can go to the pirate bay and torrent this shit for free. Only a fool would pay hundreds of dollars for this mess of an OS.

Or you could just keep running Win7 and wait till the next new one comes out. ;)

Yeah I’m still on 7, can’t see a valid reason to “upgrade” to 8.

I have upgraded to Win 8, because of minor improvements like file copy, task manager, etc.

But the first thing I did after installation was to disable the Metro UI and bring the start button back using 3rd party application.

So to me, its just a better Windows 7, since I never see the metro crap.

That seems to be what a lot of people are doing. Really we shouldn’t have to though.

How do we know what a lot of people are doing without any type of analysis. I don’t know of a single Windows 8 user outside of the people I communicate with through sites like this that are using any type of start menu replacement. Even the people I know who work in IT or actually use their PC for some type of professional work, are not using it whether Windows 8 is on their main PC or their additional one. I do contract work with two big companies with a lot of computers/employees. I work full-time for a college, and I worked for a career/trade college before here. Most people I know, have come in contact with, or have discussed with other people aren’t using one and have been able to get used to Windows 8 just fine.

Define “a lot”. Yes, people who aren’t happy with the Windows 8 UI are using start menu replacements, that’s why they were developed.

You know what? Fuck off. Come back when you have actually tried Windows 8/8.1.

Exactly, been using windows 8 and its perfectly fine and with 8.1 its even better. Its a very stable OS currently, haven’t had any real issues with it. I needed some time to get use to it and that was it. Runs much faster than windows 7 on boot and everywhere else. As you said, people are bitching without even having it for at least 3-7 days.

Do you have access to a chart that shows how long people have tried Windows 8 for? Or are you just stupid?

Nope, don’t need a chart and i don’t care whatsoever if you try it or not. You can always stick to windows 7 while i enjoy dx 11.2 whit an actual graphics card that supports it. You will have no choice at a point to upgrade to win 8 and will be left with no other options further down the line. So why be an asshole now and being rude to people? How about another “Fuck Off” just like my friend kamranm said?

Just stupid it is then…

“while i enjoy dx 11.2 whit an actual graphics card that supports it.”

Please enjoy the handful or two of games that might offer additional features, and it never take off.

If Microsoft has learned one thing, it’s that by separating DirectX by Windows version, they will never make a newer version universal.

Most game developers still develop for DirectX9, and DirectX10/11 things are optional. Because they aren’t going to develop only for an API which has a much, much more limited marketshare. Unfortunately for Microsoft, they keep trying to force gamers to upgrade to get the newer version.

And with Windows XP being limited to DirectX9, that’s the one they aim for. It wasn’t until this year that it finally lost it’s dominate OS position.

So, basically you are saying that businesses need to absorb the down time and expense of training people on an interface that was designed for tablets and phones and that that is OK.

It nearly takes no time at all to get use to it if you were using a win 7 OS. It has a desktop as well, remember that? The only freaking difference was a silly start button and all the bitching by some idiots started for that stupid thing. I wouldn’t hire anyone to begin with if he or she was not smart enough to use a simple windows OS. Pay them to train them for this simple thing? pfff Not a fucking chance.

When you make an assumption, you make an ass out of you…and umption.

That’s a real solid argument you have there…

I’ve tried it. It sucks.

I was talking to VirtualMark…and no it doesn’t suck. It’s just you not liking change.

I have yet to see more than 5% of workstations running W8 in any company I support.

The ones that are running W8 are 90% of the time laptops that were purchased “in an emergency” at BestBuy or some other retail store because they needed something ASAP.

W8 is a horrible interface for business.

What is it that businesses specifically need that 8 can’t give them? They still have the desktop, multi-tasking, cascading windows, administrative controls, software compatibility, file management, a choice of browser. I don’t see the big hole. No, companies aren’t going to update to 8 all of a sudden, but that’s not because they don’t like it, it’s because there’s no huge point if they’re already running well on the OS they have. When they do eventually have to upgrade, they will still get their work done, their software should still function the same.

I have yet to see more than 5% of workstations running W8 in any company I support.

The ones that are running W8 are 90% of the time laptops that were purchased “in an emergency” at BestBuy or some other retail store because they needed something ASAP.

W8 is a horrible interface for business.

In my workplace all the pc’s use Windows 8 for all sorts of things like accounting, graphics design, invoicing, web design, programming etc. No mods, just stock. No one complains, work gets done fast, no one has issues using 8 and the computers cold boot in 6-8 seconds.

Start8 offers a program that enables you to make use of Metro Apps in traditional, resizable windows. This is the best of both worlds as some of the Metro Apps – especially the News Reader types – are actually useful, but certainly not worth using at the expense of multitasking.

You need to try it to experience the difference. I just bought an ASUS laptop with Win 8 installed and I’m amazed by its 2-sec wake-up time, the touch gestures, the free (and paid) apps on Windows Store, etc. :)

Yeah that does sound good, I just wish they’d sort the UI out.

Thank the SSD for that speed.

And then when they bring out Windows 9, and it incorporates many same features of 8, and then adds to it in a similar fashion, they will be even further behind and will make the process of migrating in several years a lot harder….the end result may be that they buy a Mac because they’re scared of Windows now, and then after a month of owning the Mac and realising how shit it is and all the software they cannot run, they’ll end up just giving in to the new Windows anyway. We all learned to tie our shoelaces, it’s not hard to learn a couple of new features which actually make using the computer faster.

This is a cycle with windows. They make a New OS, everyone hates it, They make a new OS, everyone likes that one, They make a new OS, everyone hates it, etc. By the time windows 9 or 8.7 or somewhere along there comes out they will have figured out the things that people hated the most and fixed them, people will skip base 8 entirely and adopt that one, and then everyone will immediately forget they spent a year or two bitching about how much they hated MS.

Nah, MS would have to pay for me to to even consider using this garbage.

It’s a mess of an OS but yet you still feel like using it? I am confused by your logic.

When did I say that I feel like using it? No wonder you’re confused…

Hundreds? Yes, that would be a fool, considering how many places sell it for less than $100, including Microsoft.

I was just going by the price quoted on this article.

I paid 40 bucks for Windows 8 around the time it came out. I’ve never had it crash on me, and it runs everything faster than Win7 did.

I’m getting tired of reading people’s claims that Windows 8 runs programs faster than Windows 7. All the benchmarks I’ve seen are within 1-2% of each other, except for boot and resume times which are indeed faster on 8.

Show some benchmarks, or you’re talking crap.

You just named two: boot and resume times are a lot faster. That’s significant.

Sure, it’s significant if you don’t do any work on your computer, instead opting to spend all day turning it on and off again.

Anyhow, you said it runs everything faster yet still haven’t provided any proof. So I’ll just assume you don’t understand what facts are.

You don’t need me to hold your hand while you do a Google search, do you? The first result I got back said 8 was faster than 7. Do your own research.

Ah, so you’re saying that you don’t know what a benchmark is?

I’ve done my research, read my post above, moron.

Ah, so you’re saying that you don’t know what a benchmark is?

I’ve done my research, read my post above, moron.

That’s pretty much only a benefit to laptops and or tablets. Which is what the OS is optimized for. As for Desktops, I haven’t turned mine off in more than 4 years, barring power outages and extended vacations (To prevent PC death in a power outage).

So you account for the majority of people right? My father and step mom turn their PC off after every usage. With the old PC they had, no joke it took about 5 min or more for XP to boot an be usable. Us geeks may leave the PC on 24/7(with few exceptions) but do not mistake us for the casual user.

You’re comparing apples to watermelons there. XP may as well have been designed in the Nixon era for all the advancements since then. Also a clean install of XP will boot in 30 seconds or less, even today. Much of that boot lag was probably either hardware based, because their rig was riddled with the remains of viruses and spyware, or the drivers were sorely out-dated and they installed non-compatible software on top of it.

*EDIT: My storage machine is still running a single core 3.4 GHZ P4 with XP and it boots up in about 40 seconds, I just timed it. If you can’t wait 40 seconds, you should probably just leave it on.

*EDITx2: My Girlfriends laptop with windows 8 takes longer to boot than said XP machine. She doesn’t turn that off either, and she’s very casual.

MS to Windows 8 user: For your loyalty in buying W8 when everyone said it was crap you get 8.1 for free!!

MS to Windows 7 user: Since you want to keep doing a desktop-only existance you can stay with W7, we already have your money for that and sooner or later your PC will die and you will be assimilated xD

MS to Windows Vista/XP user: LOL, eventually you will need to buy a new PC with W8.1 preinstalled whether you like it or not, so we can wait you out.

MS to Android or iOS user: while you are here by mistake, won’t you try out this nice subscription-based Office 365 thing we are selling? It can work in five different devices and you can get it dirt-cheap if you are a student or similar cases.

MS to Linux user: ehhhhh….what are you doing here man, this is Windows.

For free. Let me know when they’ll pay me to install it and I might be interested, depending on their offer.

I’m considering moving to CentOS, I have already installed it, it is free, and I am tired of dealing with Microshaft’s BS and buggy software. I had Windoz 7 Ultimate (upgrade version), it crashed and would not recover, had to go out and buy another version because I had gotten rid of the previous, (required for upgrade) Windoz version. What a chintzy way for a company to do business, requiring that you keep your previous version OS! Linux will eventually take a lot of Microshaft’s business . . . it is just a matter of time.

Everything has bugs, and MS will just write a Linux operating system, since it’s open source and all. *shrug* Upgrades are always buggy, and why you would buy the Ultimate version is beyond me. Also, why would you ever get rid of your install gear? That’s just dumb, you could build a new computer tomorrow and put your old OS on it for free. I’m still running XP on one of my less useful machines because I had it laying around. PLUS if you called them with your original code, they could have just issued you a new code for the whole install. >.> Due diligence.

Why someone would buy the Ultimate version is that difficult to discern? I guess you do not know the OS you advocate so well then. Do you also keep every car you ever owned, every book you ever owned, every TV you ever owned, every computer you ever owned as a back up? Microshaft is not a consumer-oriented company, never has been and never will be . . . . just stick with them long enough and you will eventually find that out.

NO, but I do keep the keys to the car I am driving….

I run Windows 7 Pro. Having worked for MS myself, I can tell you that the Ultimate version was basically for idiots who only buy the highest price thing. Tell me, what features did you think you were paying for over Pro or Home version? Did you just want a really fancy box?

Cause it takes so much room to save a 20 digit CD key and a single CD. I have a very small box which contains the CD key and CD of every OS, Program, and Game that I didn’t hate going back over 10 years. Did you throw out your taxes and then whine when you got audited by the government too? Oooh, they should have saved my personal information FOR ME, BOOO HOOO. Take some responsibility for your actions man.

Ok, now we will see who the real idiot is. My reason for buying Windows Ultimate was because it supports multiple languages, like Russian, Greek, French, Spanish, German . . . . Which the lesser version does not . . . . Now who is the idiot?

I dunno, you’re the one who paid extra and then couldn’t even figure out how to install windows.

Try again . . . . never said a thing about not being able to figure out how to install windows.

Uhh, as much as I like to bash Microsoft, you can’t blame them because you threw away the software key….

No intent to disparage Linux from here. Never used it and don’t need to, though my understanding is that it’s a good OS (plural, I guess, given how many variations there are). But some of the users that keep spouting off on these sites with their unwarranted supercilious feels of grandeur because they’re ‘above’ using Windows or OSX are usually good for a laugh. I mean, good lord man, how long have we been hearing all of this bleating about how Linux is going to overtake the world? Years? And their share of the market is STILL in the lower single digit range? Perhaps some day in the future Linux might become fairly well established with the average every day user, but in the mean time, you and your sort can take your bleating elsewhere, ’cause ya’ll get no respect here.

“unwarranted supercilious feels of grandeur” Believe me, I was not trying to feel you with grandeur.

by the time it is released, the only people still using windows will be Microsoft employees alone, many manufacturers have already dumped Oem windows on favor of Android or Linux alternatives on desktop pc’s

I personally haven’t seen any Android gaming PCs, nor have I seen Android business PCs, either…

i can’t remember all of them, but Acer now make an android Desktop, as for Linux their are quite a few with Ubuntu pre installed as the default OS i think DELL is the biggest well known brand that offers this, then u have system 76, Linpc and think penguin and many more..i think i couple of years Microsoft will lose more and more ground to competing OS on the X86 architecture

I know of lots doing Linux. But Android doesn’t seem like an operating system suited to desktop hardware, I know it was popular on netbooks and small laptops, but I don’t think it’d scale above that.

You’re looking at:

A. People don’t like to change which is why they hate win 8

B. People don’t want to learn new things, etc hate win 8

C. People won’t have compatible programs, and will have to start from scratch entirely, or port REALLY crappy low res programs from their cell phones, like Itunes lets you do to ipads.

D. All Linux PCs are “budget” or “educational” and often run on single cores or other outdated hardware from a decade ago. You can buy one for 200 bucks, or you can go to your computer surplus store, buy a 5 year old computer for 50 bucks, and install Linux on it free. Yes, cheap. Yes, affordable. No, not for gaming.

I am OK with change.

Windows 8 is just a HORRIBLE Interface. It is a phone/tablet interface. It has no place on an enterprise desktop.

Yeah I’m not a huge fan of the design, without the touch-feature it basically looks like they blew up all the icons so senior citizens could see them. But honestly, a shortcut is a shortcut and 70% of computer users barely run more than 4 things ever on their computer. Internet, games, music, word processor, done. You can rearrange the icons so that the 4 things you want are right there, and then you’re just doing that and who gives two shits about the interface? It’s more a back-end nightmare for support surely, but that’s just because it’s different and you have to relearn the tweaking technique. That’s the only reason I haven’t upgraded, aside from not particularly needing to. Can probably run Win7 for another decade.

I am OK with change.

Windows 8 is just a HORRIBLE Interface. It is a phone/tablet interface. It has no place on an enterprise desktop.

Well, that’s odd considering both Windows 7 and Windows 8 market share have grown and almost all analyst say they see demand for a lot of the Windows 8 devices coming out from Dell and others to end the year.

Strange, Windows 8 developer preview surpassed Linux in the first month. Windows 8 currently has more users than Mac and Linux combined. So, what were you saying?

I guess thats why PCs sales are up

and Mac sales are dropping like a rock?

check out IDC latest reports

Still don’t understand why people don’t like W8,well I guess I do but I like it better than 7, it’s faster cleaner looking and I don’t get what the hell so hard about using it? Fuck I don’t know shit about computers and I can use it! But hopefully they will make it better for everyone in the next version.

you probably don’t know shit about doing work on computers either. That is the problem. One cannot do much work on Win8 because of the exclusivity of an application using the screen, and the need to pop back and forth between win7 and win8 worlds. win8 is for the media and app consumer, not the word processing, database, spreadsheet, scientific simulation user.

Are you sure youve used Windows 8? Desktop applications behave no different to windows 7 and earlier, no exclusivity as you put it. Are you talking about MetroUI apps? Metro apps arent ‘work’ apps for running your business or word processing etc thats what the desktop applications are for, nothing has changed except the means by which you launch the applications. and actually launching/accessing application is faster in Windows 8, by either clicking a tile which is already in front of you when you login, or by simply beginning to type what you want and it appears then press enter. If youre doing ‘real work’, with desktop applications obviously, why is it that you are stuck with one app on the screen? Cascading windows havent gone anywhere, alt+tab still works, taskbar with preview tabs still work. launching a new app is as simple as pressing window key then start typing the app then press enter or click the tile. productivity has not been lost, you can do everything faster than before. We do programming, web design, accounting, invoicing, email, design on all Windows 8 machines at work…no ones complaining, and work is getting done faster.

If you’re using desktop applications, why would you be switching back and forth? I’ve never had to switch back and forth for any reason, and I’m able to do the same things on my Windows 8 laptop that I do on my Windows 7 desktops at work and home. I’m running Office 2010 and 2013. I’ve never had a single Word or Excel problem. My only problem I ever really had with Windows 8 once I figured out how the interface work was no like Metro IE, which that’s not much of a problem once I stumbled on the setting to keep tabs and address viable, and that I missed having multiple windows on the screen at a time. But to be perfectly honest I really was rarely using that last one. I used to miss the start menu until I realize that on none of my Windows 7 systems do I actually click on the start button. Sometimes I go a whole week never clicking the start button

Desktop shortcuts, so many. The start menu is for if you have to find paint or system restore or something.

“Fuck I don’t know shit about computers and I can use it! “

Thats the problem. You dont know shit about computers, and there’s no shit you need to get done on them. Nothing other than surfing the net and watching porn anyway, right?

And yet I’ve still seen anyone who needs to “get things done” say exactly what application works for them or that they can open in Windows 7, they can’t open in Windows 8. How many applications are most people actively working it at one time. Also, start menu, desktop, taskbar, voice command, command prompt; once you get into an application who cares how you had to get it open.

I run Steam (games and chat), Ventrillo (Voice chat), various MMOs 2 at a time, Fraps (Game recording software), Firefox with 10-20 tabs, and windows media player (Mp3s) at the same time. This is highly complicated to manage without a start-bar, which I drag back and forth between my two screens to whatever feels nice at the moment.

People complaining about the stupid Start button again? Grow up. Anyone tried using the terrible OS X (ewww that stupid dock) or the OS X rip off that is the Ubuntu Unity interface. GAG!. Both are horrible at workflow and navigation with those stupid pervasive top menus you can’t easily switch between. Windows is much better even though it has some stupid stuff too.(yes dweebs I know all about how to use OS X, the terminal, Linux etc etc and all it’s different interfaces some of which are awesome). Windows 8’s modern interface on a tablet is smooth and awesome and makes me hate my iPad and Android devices for not being as integrated or useful. And for all the people thinking Linux will ever get anywhere on the desktop you are living a lie that’s been going on since 1994. It’s not happening. No one will let there be any real standards for package installation and management, a real modern replacement for X Terminal, or an interface that works well enough for mass appeal. Its open nature means all the nerds will never agree and keep making their own stuff. Nerd Unity for a real Linux alternative to Windows would be a miracle. After that you have to market it to people so they’ll know it exists and then convince all the software makers to support it. Good luck.

People telling us that a sh*tty OS is pretty good, again? Grow up. And when you do, you’ll understand that some people need a desktop, and that some people have different needs from yours.

Dont know about Linux, but I’ll you what has been going on since 1994…..the Start menu.

The desktop is still there, all of it. It runs better than Windows 7 and works with every app I’ve thrown at it. If you want you can uninstall all the metro apps or change any file associations so you never use them or see them. With 8.1 you can boot to the desktop and with 5-10 minutes of your time you can configure it so that the scary Metro screen won’t haunt your nightmares. Currently have about a dozen users running it in the office and so far everyone likes it, even the 60+ year old office lady that doesn’t like change. I don’t know what particular need it won’t do for you. I guess if you can’t adjust or learn new things like you had to do just to go from XP to 7 you’ll just be left behind. Push comes to shove find something you do like in a Mac or try Linux. As long as it does what you want who cares. Not trying to be a Windows evangelist but there’s really nothing wrong with Windows 8 that can’t be worked around or ignored or configured so that it does everything Windows has always done.

There is a desktop in Windows 8

You can’t get Windows 8 from Dreamspark..I just checked.

a public service, that!

The download is on the windows website for FREE I just downloaded it.

could you send it to me? i cant get it on there

Been using Windows since ’95. But I say its high time all the Linux devs get together and create a easy to use OS, with a Windows 7 like UI. Linux is free. Its usually hard to beat free, but MS (and Apple) did it because Linux has always looked like something for developers rather than average users.

So many people flogging the Linux horse. Yeah Linux works out for some, a very small some, people downgrade from Windows to Linux, then a few months later, if not weeks, they come crawling back. Its a fun novelty, but Linux lacks quality and simplicity to be a great home operating system. When you come to realize what you can’t do with Linux and the lack of quality software titles (like with Macs), compared to Windows, it comes in to perspective.

When was the last time you tried Linux? Lacks simplicity? Are you joking? Windows is far more complicated. Lacks software? Like what?

For starters it lacks tens of millions of games, it doesn’t have the leading office suite, most end-user software for linux is shit. Hey don’t take my word, ask 95% of the population of the world why they don’t use it. Even OSX is better to use than Linux for home and office, and people aren’t flocking to that either. Linux is free, there is nothing stopping people from moving to Linux, most people just don’t want a cruddy OS.

When was the last time you tried Linux? Lacks simplicity? Are you joking? Windows is far more complicated. Lacks software? Like what?

way too much bitching, yet we will all update, so what’s the point of being a drama queen

I’ve skipped at least 3 iterations of windows. I’m perfectly willing to skip this one too.

a senior windows 8.1 developer decides to live for free & sleep full-time at Microsoft while developing Windows Blue 8.1. a true story on kickstarter.com/projects/seattle/sleeping-in-seattle

Ok – I must be a moron or something. If I’m reading the article right, it sounds like its saying just go out and download the 8.1 preview release and install that. Poof – you have 8.1 for free (even if you’re on Win7 now). The Preview would expire after a period of time or not function properly (that’s why its called a preview). So why would anyone do that? Or is this article saying how to get the 8.1 upgrade for free if you’re already on 8? Did I read it wrong? Or did they really just say “go get a pirated RTM copy and install that?”

“On October 18, the rest of the world (Windows 7, XP, OS X, etc.) will be able to buy a boxed copy at great expense ($120 for the normal version, or $200 for Windows 8.1 Pro).”

So the truth finally comes out. Windows 8.0 was the beta release, and this time they actually gave us a discount for participating.

nothing new for MS, Apple, Unix, IBM, Linux. where u been ?

The above was intended as a joke. But, how is this not new for Microsoft? Normally they charge full price. I (and I’m sure a lot of other tech reporters) had hoped they were going to adopt a lower price for their yearly release schedule. I guess they changed their mind. Or else what I said above is actually true. i.e. They new Windows 8.0 was too controversial and/or rough around the edges for anyone to buy at full price.

$120 is merely a stupidity tax. I paid 40 bucks for Win 8 a year ago and will get the upgrade for free. The minor inconvenience of not having a start button was well worth it.

Why don’t anyone come up with an opensource Windows similar to MS Windows. MS Office has many substitutes but not Windows. Aren’t there any good software developers who can do this ?

linux . its not the developers, its the lawyers

You are talking about ReactOS, which is barely known compared to Linux and can’t seem to gain enough developers to keep up with Windows. It takes an immense amount of time to create an OS with 20 million lines of code, so probably the majority of programmers who are willing to donate their time to an Open Source OS have already adopted Linux.

nothing wrong with vista, i used it perfectly for 5 years. and for the 8 whiners, just get “classic shell” , its free open source, and your problems are solved and the rest of us can finally live in peace.

“Update from Windows 8.1 Preview to Windows 8.1

Thank you for using Windows 8.1 Preview. The final versions of Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1 are now available online and in the Windows Store.

The preview is no longer available for download. You must install the final version of Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1

before January 2014 when the license the preview will expire. If you’ve

been using the preview, you should update to the final edition as soon

as possible to avoid an interruption in using your PC.” MS site.

Honestly, I think I’d prefer having the start menu to the start button. Having an invisible start button in the corner of Windows 8 is aesthetically nice and is a small stupidity filter to weed out those unworthy of using a modern operating system :-) The old start menu, on the other hand, was really useful and is a lot easier to use than that tacked-on start page that looks like it was designed to appeal to preschoolers. Charms? Really? Do we look like sugar-addicted leprechauns to you?

Is this article really suggesting how to illegally obtain Windows 8? It is one thing to let people think of that and do it on their own, it is another to promote it.

A mainstream article on how to steal software? How about an article covering how to pay thousands of people for years of effort to write software when “customers” think those people should work for free.

1) This is one of ET’s most ridiculous posts. The “free” methods of acquiring Windows 8.1 are ludicrous at best and offensive at worst.

2) If restoring the Start button stops all the whining about a great product, great!

3) It’s worth the asking price; if you don’t think it’s a value proposition, that’s no excuse for pirating…unless of course you are taking first hand lessons from the government which obviously believe the end justifies the means.

OMFG. I forget how much W8 sucks. Trying to use the 1 test system we have for this HORRIBLE interface and I’m 5 minutes in and still can’t get to the Windows UPdate because of this POS interface.

We will not be deploying Windows 8 in any of the networks we manage. This tablet/phone interface is not suitable for the business desktop environment.

Is there going to be a problem if I dual-boot 7 and Ubuntu right now? Or will I easily be able to just write over 7?

I would upgrade anyways. The worst that I can see hapening is GRUB being over written. In which case Boor-Repair Disk should fix that up in no time.

Grub being overwritten is just about exactly what I was afraid of…

Where were you the last time that happened to me?

Possibly a windows geek instead of a linux geek. But hey wheres the fun in not living and learning lol. ;) Parted Magic might have a similar tool but I tend to prefer Parted Magic for HDD/SSD problems and Boot-Repair for grub type issues. It has worked wonders for me!

Oh, I’ll “live” eventually, but I feel like I should at least wait until the semester is over.

Fair enough, although I think you are being overly paranoid as boot-repair should fix you up quick and easy. Either way enjoy a new tool for your collection. :)

Is there going to be a problem if I dual-boot 7 and Ubuntu right now? Or will I easily be able to just write over 7?

Hey Guys if you are UNABLE to find out the Update in Windows STORE the see this VIDEO GUIDE :

It will be helpful.

Hey Guys if you are UNABLE to find out the Update in Windows STORE the see this VIDEO GUIDE :

It will be helpful.

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I upgraded my PC before expiration of Windows 10 free upgrade, But encountered some technical problems such as; Daily updates, hanging, black screen, driver not found and some other configuration issues, That’s why I checked on Google, If I may downgrade back to windows 7 ultimate, But did not find any solution, So I had to done clean installation of my OS with losing all data settings.

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вторник, 12 декабря 2017 г.

How to download and install Windows 8.1 for free (updated)

How to download Windows 8.1 for free

How to install Windows 8.1 for free

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вторник, 12 декабря 2017 г.

How to download and install Windows 8.1 for free (updated)

How to download Windows 8.1 for free

How to install Windows 8.1 for free

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вторник, 12 декабря 2017 г.