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Update vii/19/2021: Windows 8.i is long outdated, just technically supported through 2023. If you demand to download an ISO to reinstall the full version of the operating system, you tin can download i from Microsoft hither.

If you are still using Microsoft Windows 8.1, we recommend you at least begin because what Os you will use in the time to come. Information technology'southward mid-2021 and Win viii.1 will shuffle off the mortal coil in Jan 2023. You lot can notwithstandingqualify for a free upgrade to Windows 10 if y'all own a valid Windows 8.one license, despite the fact that Microsoft formally ended its upgrade plan v years ago. Additionally, Windows 10 has the aforementioned system requirements every bit Windows 8.one, so if you can run the latter, you can also run the former.

Fifty-fifty though Windows 11 has been announced, upgrading to Windows 10 has several advantages. Get-go, Windows 11 may not back up your hardware if it's old enough to nevertheless exist running Windows viii or Windows 8.1. Windows 10, on the other manus, was compatible with virtually everything Windows 8.one would run on. Windows 10 will also be supported through 2025, which gives you an extra two full years of back up before needing to effigy out an alternative solution.

If y'all are somehow still stuck on Windows viii.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 eight.1 update, which will likely be offered to you lot past default. If you desire to download but the Windows 8.1 update files, y'all can do and then here.

Original story beneath, from 2013:

Windows 8.1 has been released. If y'all're using Windows 8, upgrading to Windows 8.one is both easy and free. 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 eight.1 Pro), or opt for one of the free methods listed below. To download and install Windows viii.1 for free, follow the guide below.

How to download Windows viii.1 for free

Windows 8.1 boxIf y'all don't want to await for October 17 or eighteen, there are 2 options for downloading Windows 8.one: You lot can obtain a copy (and a license key) from a friend/colleague with an MSDN, TechNet, or DreamSpark (pupil) subscription, or y'all can download a Windows 8.one RTM ISO from your favorite file-sharing website (The Pirate Bay, Mega, etc.)

While nosotros're not going to write a guide on how to obtain Windows 8.one RTM from not-official sources, we will at least tell you to cheque the SHA-1 hash of the ISO that you download to make certain that it's legitimate. If yous hitting up the MSDN Subscriber Downloads folio, and then click Details under the version that you've obtained from elsewhere, you lot'll find the SHA-1 hash. If you lot then use File Checksum Integrity Verifier (FCIV) on the ISO, the hash should friction match. If information technology doesn't, presume the ISO has been compromised and download another. (But practise brand certain that yous're checking the correct SHA-i hash on the MSDN website; your ISO might exist mislabeled).

The other easier, and completely legal, choice is to download the Windows 8.1 Preview from Microsoft. It's not as snappy as the last (RTM/GA) build, though, and has quite a few bugs/missing features. Behave in mind that if you get down this road, upgrading to a real version of Windows eight.1 will require a few more steps (discussed in the next department).

How to install Windows 8.one for free

Once you have the Windows 8.1 ISO on your hard drive, the installation process is painless. Before y'all begin, yous should consider backing up your of import files and documents, but information technology's not really necessary. Y'all should as well ensure that you take enough of free hard drive space (20GB+).

Windows 8.1 setup processIf you're already running Windows viii and you downloaded the RTM ISO from somewhere other than the Windows Shop, you tin install Windows 8.i by mounting the downloaded ISO in Explorer by double-clicking it, so running the installer. If you're on Windows seven, XP, or (anoint your soul) Vista, you lot'll demand to burn the ISO to a USB pollex drive or DVD, or mount the ISO using a tertiary-party virtual drive tool, like Magic ISO.

If you lot already have Windows 8, and you waited for the official release date, installing Windows viii.1 is as uncomplicated as 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 yous upgrade from Windows 8.ane Preview, however, you will lose your installed apps, unless you beginning run a cversion.ini removal utility.

Once y'all've installed Windows viii.i, you should check out our extensive collection of Windows eight.1 tips and tricks, and be sure to check our Windows 8.ane review and hands-on impressions to ensure that yous're making the most of all the new features.

At present Read:

  • Windows 10 Is V Years Erstwhile Today
  • 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.