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Update 7/19/2021: Windows 8.1 is long outdated, but technically supported through 2023. If you demand to download an ISO to reinstall the full version of the operating system, you can download one from Microsoft here.

If you are still using Microsoft Windows 8.1, we recommend you at least begin because what OS you will apply in the future. It's mid-2021 and Win viii.1 will shuffle off the mortal coil in January 2023. Y'all can stillqualify for a free upgrade to Windows 10 if you own a valid Windows 8.1 license, despite the fact that Microsoft formally ended its upgrade program five years ago. Additionally, Windows 10 has the same organisation requirements every bit Windows viii.ane, so if y'all can run the latter, you tin can likewise run the former.

Fifty-fifty though Windows 11 has been announced, upgrading to Windows 10 has several advantages. Outset, Windows xi may not support your hardware if it'southward sometime enough to however be running Windows 8 or Windows 8.1. Windows 10, on the other hand, was compatible with virtually everything Windows 8.1 would run on. Windows ten volition also be supported through 2025, which gives you an extra 2 full years of support before needing to effigy out an alternative solution.

If you are somehow however stuck on Windows 8.0 and do not want to go to the hassle of a full Bone swap, we recommend running Windows Update immediately and downloading all available patches for your system, including the Windows 8.1 update, which volition likely be offered to you by default. If you lot want to download just the Windows 8.1 update files, y'all can practice so here.

Original story below, from 2013:

Windows viii.1 has been released. If you're using Windows 8, upgrading to Windows viii.1 is both easy and costless. If you're using another operating system (Windows seven, 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 costless methods listed below. To download and install Windows eight.1 for free, follow the guide below.

How to download Windows 8.1 for complimentary

Windows 8.1 boxIf you don't want to await for October 17 or 18, in that location are ii options for downloading Windows 8.1: You tin 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 eight.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 viii.one RTM from non-official sources, nosotros volition at least tell you to cheque the SHA-ane hash of the ISO that y'all download to make sure that information technology'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 and so apply File Checksum Integrity Verifier (FCIV) on the ISO, the hash should match. If information technology doesn't, assume the ISO has been compromised and download some other. (But do brand 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. Information technology's not as snappy as the final (RTM/GA) build, though, and has quite a few bugs/missing features. Bear in mind that if yous go down this road, upgrading to a real version of Windows 8.1 will crave a few more than steps (discussed in the next section).

How to install Windows 8.i for free

Once you have the Windows eight.1 ISO on your hard bulldoze, the installation process is painless. Earlier you begin, you should consider backing upwardly your of import files and documents, but information technology'southward non really necessary. You should also ensure that you lot have plenty of free hard bulldoze infinite (20GB+).

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

If yous already take Windows 8, and y'all waited for the official release engagement, installing Windows 8.one is equally simple every bit visiting the Windows Store and downloading the complimentary update.

In both these cases, the upgrade process should exist very smooth, with your apps and settings fully preserved. If you upgrade from Windows 8.i Preview, nevertheless, y'all volition lose your installed apps, unless you first run a cversion.ini removal utility.

Once yous've installed Windows eight.1, yous should cheque out our extensive collection of Windows 8.1 tips and tricks, and be certain to bank check our Windows 8.1 review and hands-on impressions to ensure that you're making the nearly of all the new features.

Now Read:

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  • Microsoft May Stream Win32 Apps to Windows 10X from the Cloud
  • Microsoft Working to Sunset Windows Control Panel

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