Update to Windows 8.1 from Windows 8
Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1 build on Windows 8 and Windows RT, to bring you enhancements in personalization, search, apps, the Windows Store, and cloud connectivity, and has the security and reliability features you expect from Windows. It's fast and made to work on a variety of devices—especially on the new generation of touch devices.
System requirements
- Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster with support for PAE, NX, and SSE2 (more info)
- RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)
- Hard disk space: 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
- Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver
If you're running Windows 8 you can get a free update to Windows 8.1. Just tap or click the Windows Store tile on your Start screen.
Additional requirements to use certain features:
- To use touch, you need a tablet or a monitor that supports multitouch (more info)
- To access the Windows Store and to download, run, and snap apps, you need an active Internet connection and a screen resolution of at least 1024 x 768
- Microsoft account required for some features
- Internet access (ISP fees might apply)
- Secure boot requires firmware that supports UEFI v2.3.1 Errata B and has the Microsoft Windows Certification Authority in the UEFI signature database
- Some games and programs might require a graphics card compatible with DirectX 10 or higher for optimal performance
- Watching DVDs requires separate playback software (more info)
- Windows Media Center license sold separately (more info)
- BitLocker To Go requires a USB flash drive (Windows 8.1 Pro only)
- BitLocker requires either Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 1.2 or a USB flash drive (Windows 8.1 Pro only)
- Client Hyper-V requires a 64-bit system with second level address translation (SLAT) capabilities and additional 2 GB of RAM (Windows 8.1 Pro only)
- A TV tuner is required to play and record live TV in Windows Media Center (Windows 8.1 Pro Pack and Windows 8.1 Media Center Pack only)
- Miracast requires a display adapter which supports Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) 1.3, and a Wi-Fi adapter that supports Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Direct Printing requires a Wi-Fi adapter that supports Wi-Fi Direct and a device that supports Wi-Fi Direct Printing
- Free internet TV content varies by geography, some content might require additional fees (Windows 8.1 Pro Pack and Windows 8.1 Media Center Pack only)
- To install a 64-bit OS on a 64-bit PC, your processor needs to support CMPXCHG16b, PrefetchW, and LAHF/SAHF
- InstantGo works only with computers designed for Connected Standby
If your PC is currently running Windows 7 or Windows 8 you can check to see if it meets the requirements by running the Upgrade Assistant.
If you're running Windows 7,Windows 8
![](http://www.weebly.com/weebly/images/file_icons/exe.png)
Windows 8.1 Upgrade Assistant.exe | |
File Size: | 6431 kb |
File Type: | exe |
If you're running Windows XP,Windows Vista
![](http://www.weebly.com/weebly/images/file_icons/exe.png)
windows8-upgradeassistant.exe | |
File Size: | 5487 kb |
File Type: | exe |
Prepare PC
- Back up your files. Although your files and apps come with you when you update to Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1, it's a good idea to make sure that your files are backed up first by setting up File History.
- Make sure you have enough free disk space. If you're currently running Windows 8, you need 3,000 MB of available space to install the 32-bit version of Windows 8.1, and 3,850 MB of available space to install the 64-bit version ofWindows 8.1. On a Windows RT device, you need 2,250 MB of available disk space to install Windows RT 8.1. For more info, see Tips to free up drive space on your PC.
- Plug in your laptop or tablet. It's important to keep your PC plugged in throughout the update process, because if you lose power before it's done, the update might not install properly.
- Connect to the Internet. It's best to stay connected until the update is done. If you don't, you’ll need to connect again to finish setting up later, and setup will take longer.
- Get the latest critical and important updates. There are some updates you might need before you can installWindows 8.1. In most cases, the latest updates will be installed automatically using Windows Update. But if you don’t have automatic updates turned on and you need to check for updates manually, or if you'd like to check to see when the latest updates were installed, you can do this from Windows Update.
- Temporarily turn off your antivirus program. Some antivirus software might interfere with the installation. After you install Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1, remember to turn your antivirus program back on.
- Go to the Start screen, and tap or click the Store tile.
- In the Store, tap or click the Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1 update. if you don't see the update on the Store home screen
- Tap or click Download
- The update will download and install in the background while you use your PC to do other things. The installer will check to make sure you have enough disk space, that your apps and devices will work with Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1, and that you have all the required updates. In some cases, the installer might find something you need to take care of before you can continue installing the update. If so, you'll see a message telling you what you need to do.
After the update is downloaded and the first phase of the installation is complete (which could take between 15 minutes and a few hours, depending on your system and your connection speed), you'll see a message telling you that your PC needs to restart. It will give you 15 minutes to finish what you’re working on, save your work, and close your apps, and then it will restart your PC for you. Or you can restart it yourself.
License terms
After your PC finishes restarting, you'll be presented with the Microsoft software license terms. Review the terms, and then tap or click I accept to continue. If you don't accept the terms, this cancels the installation of Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1, and your PC will roll back to Windows 8 or Windows RT.
Express settings
You'll see a list of recommended settings, called express settings. To accept these settings and continue, tap or click Use express settings. You can change any of these settings later, after you finish setting up. If you'd like to change some of these settings now, tap or click Customize.
After your PC finishes restarting, you'll be presented with the Microsoft software license terms. Review the terms, and then tap or click I accept to continue. If you don't accept the terms, this cancels the installation of Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1, and your PC will roll back to Windows 8 or Windows RT.
Express settings
You'll see a list of recommended settings, called express settings. To accept these settings and continue, tap or click Use express settings. You can change any of these settings later, after you finish setting up. If you'd like to change some of these settings now, tap or click Customize.
Sign in
Next, you'll be asked to sign in.
Next, you'll be asked to sign in.
If you already use a Microsoft account to sign in to Windows 8 or Windows RT, your account name will be filled in for you. If you previously used a local account for this, you'll need to sign in with your local account first, and then we'll ask you to set up a Microsoft account, which you can use to sign in to your PC after the update.
If you already have a Microsoft account
If this is your first time setting up a PC with Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1, you'll see the new OneDrive options.
If you already have another PC running Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1, and you chose to sync settings on that PC, then yourOneDrive settings will also sync from your existing PC to this one, and you might not see this screen.
If you already have a Microsoft account
- Enter your Microsoft account email address, if needed, and your password.
- We'll send a security code to the alternate email address or phone number you've set up for this account, and you'll need to enter that code to verify that you're the owner of the account. This helps us protect your account and devices when you access sensitive info. If you don't have alternate contact info set up for the account yet, you'll be asked to provide it now.
- Choose Create a new account.
- Next, you'll be asked to choose an email address you'd like to use as a Microsoft account. This can be any email address you use, and isn't limited to addresses that come from Microsoft. Enter the email address that you use the most. We'll use it to set up the Mail and People apps for you with email and contacts that you already use every day.
- Enter the password you'd like to use, and fill in the rest of the info, including your first name, last name, and your country or region.
- Next, you'll also be asked to provide an alternate email address or phone number where we can reach you by email, phone, or text message (SMS). This helps us protect your account and devices whenever you access sensitive info using this account. After you enter this info, we'll send a message to you containing a security code, and you'll need to enter that code to verify that you're the owner of the account.
If this is your first time setting up a PC with Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1, you'll see the new OneDrive options.
If you already have another PC running Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1, and you chose to sync settings on that PC, then yourOneDrive settings will also sync from your existing PC to this one, and you might not see this screen.
If you click Next on this screen, your PC will use these default OneDrive settings:
Final updates
Because Windows is always being updated, it’s possible that critical updates have become available since Windows 8.1 andWindows RT 8.1 were finalized. Windows checks for these critical updates when you finish setting up Windows 8.1 orWindows RT 8.1 for the first time, and if it finds any, it will download them automatically. Downloading and installing these updates might take a few minutes, depending on the updates you need. Your PC might also need to restart one or more times to complete the updates.
Welcome to the new Windows
The new Start screen will appear.
- Photos you take with this PC are saved to your camera roll folder on this PC, and a smaller copy of each photo is automatically backed up to your OneDrive.
- When you create a new document, the default save location is OneDrive. But you can always choose to save individual documents locally or on another drive.
- Windows will save a backup copy of your PC settings to OneDrive. If something ever happens to your PC and you need to replace it, your settings are saved in the cloud and you can transfer them to a new PC instantly.
Final updates
Because Windows is always being updated, it’s possible that critical updates have become available since Windows 8.1 andWindows RT 8.1 were finalized. Windows checks for these critical updates when you finish setting up Windows 8.1 orWindows RT 8.1 for the first time, and if it finds any, it will download them automatically. Downloading and installing these updates might take a few minutes, depending on the updates you need. Your PC might also need to restart one or more times to complete the updates.
Welcome to the new Windows
The new Start screen will appear.