Windows 8.1 Update Now Available
by Ryan Smith on October 17, 2013 9:50 AM EST- Posted in
- Software
- Operating Systems
- Windows
- Microsoft
- Windows 8.1
October 17th is here, and as previously announced by Microsoft Windows 8.1 is now shipping.
Microsoft’s service pack/update for Windows 8 is being distributed through the Windows 8 Store. Microsoft is apparently doing a staggered rollout, so it’s not visible from every copy of Windows 8 right away, but going through a link to the update from Microsoft’s website will bring up the update regardless of whether it’s visible or not. Meanwhile for users on Windows 7 Microsoft will eventually be selling an updated, retail version of the Windows 8.1 package, though that’s not available quite yet.
As a reminder, Windows 8.1 brings with it a number of the changes, including several changes to the Metro/Modern layer such as adjustments to tile management and window snapping, however there are some low level changes that techies will also be interested in. Among other things, Windows 8.1 will ship with support for Intel’s Connected Standby technology for Haswell, Direct3D 11.2, and a revised DPI scaling mechanism that is better suited for driving the high DPI displays that are coming down the pipeline for both Ultrabooks and desktops.
The size of the update will vary depending on the platform, but for Windows 8 Pro we're seeing 3.42GB, so it goes without saying that this will not be a light download.
Source: Microsoft
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Synomenon - Thursday, October 17, 2013 - link
So if I don't have a MSDN account, I can't get a legal full install ISO of 8.1?Doh! - Thursday, October 17, 2013 - link
You can use this to make an iso: http://web.esd.microsoft.com/W81GA/81GF9D695DA9DF8...Shinshin - Thursday, October 17, 2013 - link
Sadly, can't update on my AMD Opteron machine.....Windows 8 works fine so I wonder what they've changed.
Lonyo - Thursday, October 17, 2013 - link
"but going through a link to the update from Microsoft’s website will bring up the update regardless of whether it’s visible or not. "Not working for me, maybe it's a UK thing and they haven't done a global rollout or something?
quagga - Thursday, October 17, 2013 - link
Do you have the KB 2871839 patch applied? Apparently without that, my store couldn't serve Windows 8.1 to me.http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/why-c...
NatePo717 - Thursday, October 17, 2013 - link
It wouldn't update for me. I get an error after reboot. Error 0x80070004 - 0x4000D. Using a Sony Vaio SVS13 with Windows 8 Pro and Windows Media Center. Anyone have any ideas?NatePo717 - Thursday, October 17, 2013 - link
I got it to install. Make sure to disable antivirus before installing!!Hrel - Thursday, October 17, 2013 - link
Tiles 8 Pro* and Tiles Media Center*evilspoons - Thursday, October 17, 2013 - link
Seriously? How many of these "tiles" comments have you left in this article's discussion? Knock it off already.cbm80 - Thursday, October 17, 2013 - link
I eagerly upgraded to 8.1 hoping that the font problems that have plagued Win8 since the beginning would finally be fixed. Nope. Fonts are still broken. Random inconsistent anti-aliasing, font hinting not consistently applied so non-anti-aliased fonts sometimes look terrible, etc. This is not a matter of taste (I'm not complaining about different anti-aliasing, since I never liked ClearType and have it turned off), these are unambiguous BUGS.