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Update 7/19/2021: Windows eight.1 is long outdated, but technically supported through 2023. If you need to download an ISO to reinstall the total version of the operating system, you tin can download ane from Microsoft here.

If y'all are all the same using Microsoft Windows eight.one, nosotros recommend you at to the lowest degree begin considering what Os yous will use in the time to come. Information technology's mid-2021 and Win viii.1 will shuffle off the mortal coil in January 2023. You can yetqualify for a free upgrade to Windows 10 if you ain a valid Windows 8.i license, despite the fact that Microsoft formally ended its upgrade program five years ago. Additionally, Windows 10 has the aforementioned system requirements as Windows 8.i, so if you tin can run the latter, you tin can besides run the onetime.

Even though Windows 11 has been announced, upgrading to Windows 10 has several advantages. First, Windows 11 may not support your hardware if information technology'due south old enough to still be running Windows eight or Windows 8.one. Windows 10, on the other hand, was uniform with virtually everything Windows 8.1 would run on. Windows 10 volition besides be supported through 2025, which gives you an extra two total years of support before needing to figure out an alternative solution.

If you are somehow still stuck on Windows eight.0 and do not want to go to the hassle of a full OS swap, we recommend running Windows Update immediately and downloading all bachelor patches for your system, including the Windows 8.ane update, which will likely be offered to y'all by default. If you want to download only the Windows 8.1 update files, you can do so here.

Original story beneath, from 2013:

Windows viii.1 has been released. If yous're using Windows eight, upgrading to Windows 8.1 is both easy and free. If you're using another operating system (Windows 7, Windows XP, Os X), yous tin 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 eight.one for free, follow the guide below.

How to download Windows 8.1 for free

Windows 8.1 boxIf you lot don't want to wait for October 17 or eighteen, there are two options for downloading Windows 8.ane: Y'all can obtain a copy (and a license key) from a friend/colleague with an MSDN, TechNet, or DreamSpark (student) subscription, or you tin can download a Windows 8.1 RTM ISO from your favorite file-sharing website (The Pirate Bay, Mega, etc.)

While we're non going to write a guide on how to obtain Windows eight.i RTM from non-official sources, we will at least tell y'all to check the SHA-1 hash of the ISO that yous download to make sure that it's legitimate. If you hit upward 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 utilise File Checksum Integrity Verifier (FCIV) on the ISO, the hash should match. If information technology doesn't, presume the ISO has been compromised and download another. (But practice make sure that y'all're checking the right SHA-1 hash on the MSDN website; your ISO might exist mislabeled).

The other easier, and completely legal, option is to download the Windows eight.1 Preview from Microsoft. It'south non as snappy as the final (RTM/GA) build, though, and has quite a few bugs/missing features. Bear in listen that if you lot get downwards 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.i for free

Once you have the Windows eight.ane ISO on your difficult drive, the installation process is painless. Before yous begin, y'all should consider backing up your important files and documents, merely it's not actually necessary. Yous should also ensure that you have enough of complimentary hard drive space (20GB+).

Windows 8.1 setup processIf you're already running Windows eight and yous downloaded the RTM ISO from somewhere other than the Windows Store, you tin install Windows eight.1 by mounting the downloaded ISO in Explorer by double-clicking it, then running the installer. If you're on Windows 7, XP, or (anoint your soul) Vista, yous'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 appointment, installing Windows viii.ane is as unproblematic every bit visiting the Windows Store and downloading the free update.

In both these cases, the upgrade process should exist very smooth, with your apps and settings fully preserved. If y'all upgrade from Windows viii.1 Preview, however, y'all will lose your installed apps, unless yous first run a cversion.ini removal utility.

Once you've installed Windows 8.1, you should check out our extensive drove of Windows eight.1 tips and tricks, and be sure to check our Windows 8.1 review and hands-on impressions to ensure that y'all're making the most 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 article. It has since been updated with new information.