Windows 8.1(Blue)Free Update

Official Microsoft ISO download links in 13 languages

Windows 8.1 Preview ISO files - Microsoft Windows

Very quick 11MB/s download speed.

 

Files ownership / remove watermark How to remove watermark 8.1 Pro Preview Build 9431.
First backup original files.

 

Ahhh thanks, gotcha. Well I guess the right clicking on the taskbar icon works well enough for me because I stay within and strictly use programs pinned to my taskbar 99% of the time. But if someone doesn't want to clutter up their taskbar I could see why the W7 way would be missed.

 

Is there a thread for people who might or might be using the new Microsoft Outlook email service? I'm considering leaving Gmail permanently and switching to Outlook but I'm have a lot of difficulty with setting up these stupid folders and even simple things such as just logging into my email.

Why must I type in [email protected] rather than just put my stupid user name without the "@outlook.com".

Anyways the reason I ask is because I have new laptop with Windows 8 coming soon and I'm trying to decide if I want to create a username with my email address (and if I can configure it to show my name like all previous versions of Windows did).

 

Honestly, 8.1 fixes my complaints with one thing, giving the option for the start button to go straight to an "All Apps" menu. It is similar enough to the start menu for my liking. Coupled with the fact that I access almost all of my apps through my taskbar, and all of my documents are in the cloud, Win 8 has almost become serviceable for me. It is still kind of strange to use on my multi-monitor desktop, but at this point, I feel it is something I can adapt to without major complaints.

 

Don't switch to Hotmail/Outlook then. What's the benefit?

They ask you to type the full address because a Hotmail/Outlook accounts could end in @hotmail.com, @live.com or @outlook.com. But ya, they should append those domains in a list for you to choose from.

 

But didnt they switch all hotmail accounts to outlook accounts? So there really isn't need forcthat

 

Any words on better mult-imonitor support?

 

Overall, I like the new UI changes in 8.1 such as the start button, booting straight to desktop, disabling the top right and left hot corners and using the desktop wallpaper as the start screen background. I have little use for the Metro apps and prefer to stay on the desktop.

A few problems I have are that they removed the System Image backup function; a feature I used a few times in both Vista and 7 when upgrading hard drives. Is there any other way now in 8.1 to do the same function? Or will I have to rely on 3rd party solutions from now on?

Also, 8.1 seems to have broken Skyrim as it crashes to desktop everytime I try to load the game and I'm not the only one that has this problem.

 

If you have a @hotmail, it stays as @hotmail. I tried to log into my HotMail account with @outlook, it didn't work.

The didn't force all the HotMailers and Win Livers to switch to OutLook on launch day, so there's a small chance that @hotmail and @outlook have duplicates. Forced domain switch doesn't work if this happens.

This is another example of the non-throw-able heavy luggage MS keeps picking up along its way. Beside the mail domains I mentioned, MS also has a long list of regional domains like @hotmail.it and @live.cn, all of which must keep working after the service switches branding.

Google, on the other side, only has @gmail.com and @googlemail.com, and the two are interchangeable. With their "I don't give a damn when throwing my services out of the window" attitude, it's no surprising if they announce shutting down of @gmail.com next month and force everybody to switch to @failmail.xxx.

 

Here's a update I read so far....

Obviously not free enough of problems to start with doesn't bow well.

 

Yeah I've noticed a few quirks here and there but nothing too substantial.

The most annoying one for me right now is an inability to watch YouTube videos in full screen mode while using Chrome. It works for Internet Explorer, but I never use IE to watch YouTube videos because I hate having to watch commercials.

 

Why do you type in @outlook.com? Because the same login page also processes email addresses ending with hotmail.com and live.com. Gmail's login page is only for addresses ending in gmail.com.

I prefer outlook.com to gmail (I have both and I currently have all my email forwarding to the former). To create folders, right-click on "folders" on the left side of the screen and add a folder. You can add subfolders by right-clicking on a folder and chooing to add a subfolder.

Good thing it's a beta instead of a retail release.

 

Actually Consumer Preview not beta. It is what it is...............

Windows 8.1 Preview ISO files - Microsoft Windows

 

It is what it is. And "what it is" has a betta fish on the boot screen. Decide for yourself why they put that there.



With Windows Blue comes a new Betta fish - Neowin

 

Unfortunately the Windows Experience Index option, which usually detects the SSDs, is missing on Win8.1 Preview.

Running the Win8.1 Optimizer will defrag the SSDs which is extremely bad.

To get Windows 8.1 to detect the drives as SSDs you will need to do a Win8.1 Preview - Manual execution of the Windows Experience Index.

Run the Powershell as Administrator

Type in "WinSAT diskformal" and hit the Enter

Now run the Win8.1 Optimizer again.

Drives will be detected as SSDs and not defraged.

The information is from station-drivers forum.

www.station-drivers.com • Afficher le sujet - Windows 8.1 Preview ISO files

 

Ah Copy and paste, even they refer to this as client preview not a beta version just that the fish will still be there.

 

Yeah, I noticed that too and ended up running winsat formal because I knew the command existed. I can't remember if WEI was missing from the Windows 8.0 preview though. I think it was, but I'm not certain.

 

Have you found a command to enable boot into Safe Mode using the F8 key?

The "bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy legacy" command that worked in Windows 8.0 and the leaked 8.1 build 9385 doesn't work in the Preview.

 

This will work in Windows 8.1 Preview if you run it with an elevated Command prompt not Powershell.

bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy legacy

If you want to return the boot menu back to normal, you can use this command:

bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy standard

I used it and it works fine.

 

Thanks:thumbsup:

I forgot where the option to change from admin power shell to admin command prompt was.

Another senior moment.

 

So I ran into my first major problem with 8.1...

I am unable to play any games. Any time I try to run one, I get a DirectX error and the game shuts down. Most of the time it cites a compatibility problem, so I'm assuming it is just because 8.1 does not have any supported DirectX drivers?

 

What GPU are you running?

If you can't fire up ANY game, it's definitely a driver/API problem.

 

It's the GT 640M LE. And it definitely was a driver problem..After finding Nvidia's Windows 8.1 driver that it released yesterday I got everything working again. Unfortunately it sounds like for a majority of people their driver is not working.

 

You don’t look that old. LOL!
Just glad I am able to give something back to the forum. I have gotten a lot of help here through the years.

 

Great I'll try that since I also have the 640m le and skyrim wouldn't load at all.

Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk 2

 

Windows Update updated my NVIDIA Geforce driver from 325.71 to 326.01
________

You can also install DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer

Some games need this.

The Microsoft DirectX® End-User Runtime provides updates to 9.0c and previous versions of DirectX — the core Windows® technology that drives high-speed multimedia and games on the PC.

Download DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer from Official Microsoft Download Center

 

Games work fine on my PC, for the record, but I run an AMD 7870. It's not a problem with DX and Win 8.1.

 

Windows 8.1 Preview introduces DirectX 11.2, which brings a host of new features to improve performance in your games and graphics apps.

DirectX programming (Preliminary)

Microsoft Rolls Out DirectX 11.2 But It

 

If you want wide adoption of a standard by programmers you need to release it too a large amount of hardware. Albeit you may see it on the new xbox etc. maybe hardware wise there will be enough machines to make using this viable.

 

Sounds like DirectX 11.2 is strictly a software update and no specific hardware required. Would suck otherwise for all the adopters of the new nVidia 700m series.

 

What I meant was by restricting it too 8.1 all that existing hardware that could use it out there can't..........

 

And if 8.1 is a free update to 8, this isn't anything new compared to 11.1.

 

Jun 30th, 2013 - Classic Shell Version 3.6.8 is released

It adds support for Windows 8.1 Preview and has a brand new Classic Shell logo.

Classic Shell - Start menu and other Windows enhancements

 

When I installed Windows 8.1 Blue, I had a problem with itunes recognizing my iphone 4 (6.1.3 ios).

It would charge, I could still access photos from the desktop, but I could not sync it to itunes.

I uninstalled the most recent itunes (11.0.4) then downgraded to itunes 10 and still could not sync it. I booted an image of windows 7 to see if the problem was a hardware issue with the phone, and windows 7 had no problem recognizing and syncing with itunes, I decided to reinstall windows 8 all over again without installing windows 8.1 blue and the problem is gone.

Just wanted people to know if they run into this problem.

 

Liked some of the features like being able to boot right to the desktop and having the metro interface open right on the desktop; however, two of the first programs I tried crashed, so back to 8 for me for now.

 

Is Microsoft offering a website to download the official Windows 8 iso? I don't want to download the 8.1 (Blue) Preview....I just want a legitimate copy of Windows 8 that I can do a clean install with and I didn't know if they had a specific website that I'm not finding like they did for Win7.....

 

If you bought a Windows 8 OEM copy from a retailer and lost your disc, then MS will happily let you download one. If it was installed by a computer OEM and came with said computer, they'll tell you to contact that OEM. There is no piggybacking on the digital river servers like for Vista and 7 if that's what you were asking.

 

So I have to call HP then it looks like. This is just ridiculous.

 

Technically, the Vista and 7 isos weren't available to the public, but you could still access the download links. If you had asked MS for a Windows 7 iso in the same situation, they'd have told to contact your laptop's OEM too.

It sucks, I'll give you that.

If you know someone with a technet, msdn or dreamspark subscription, you could get the iso from them. It's not 100% kosher, but you have a legally acquired product key and that's what matters.

 

yes i am having the same problem will wait for final release of windows 8.1

 

Yes i am having the same problem is there a workaround for it or just wait for windows 8.1 final to come out

 

Someone confirm for me wasn't 8.1 the update to 8 a final release with updates coming? The O/S I doubt comes in Final release it is retail or OEM and that is all there is no Final release. The O/S is always being windows updated so there is no Final release as there will never be one....

 

It is a preview, not full release. Once fully released it actually will be a free update available via the windows update dialogs....................

 

So I went ahead and purchased a retail version of Windows 8 Pro from Microsoft directly. I got it for a really really good price that I couldn't pass up. So now I'm in the process of downloading the iso file through the upgrade program after it verified my license number.

My question is this.....the iso file that I downloaded....would that work in the future if I wanted to perform a clean install of Windows 8 Pro on another PC (but with a different license)? That is if I bought another laptop from a manufacturer such as Dell and wanted to do a clean install on a replaced HDD or SSD.

And if that's correct it would be prudent for me to burn the iso to a DVD so I can preserve it just in case.

 

It should, the ISO's are not randomly generated to match your present key. It may however be a pro, even language and bit size, only iso.................

 

You will definitely be able to use it to upgrade another Windows 7 install, not sure you'll be able to use it for a clean install.

 

I just used it as a clean install so that's not a problem. I do have one problem though. I did a clean install on my Samsung 840 Pro SSD.

However I made a slight mistake and I installed it on 1 big unallocated drive. According to this thread:

Windows 8 Forums

Go to Step 8....according to that guide I should have hit "New" and then "Apply" on the partition screen where it has "Disk 0 Unallocated Space". Then hit "Next".

The result will be the disk is formatted as GPT with 4 partitions. Then I should have selected the "Primary" partition 4.

Partition 1 - Recovery
Partition 2 - System - The EFI System partition that contains the NTLDR, HAL, Boot.txt, and other files that are needed to boot the system, such as drivers.
Partition 3 - MSR - The Microsoft Reserved (MSR) partition that reserves space on each disk drive for subsequent use by operating system software.
Partition 4 - Primary - Where Windows is to be installed to.

Instead I have 1 partition...1 whole drive with the OS installed. 450GB free of 470GB.

Do you think I should go back and do it the other way? Are those partitions absolutely essential for the optimum performance of Windows 8 and the SSD?

 

Does it work? If the system boots to Windows, then you don't have to worry about it, as the install process took care of all the extra partition-making for you. As an example, Windows 7 creates a 100MB partition as part of the install process.

 

Excellent, I have both a USB with the .iso somewhere and a DVD of the upgrade media, so no need to hunt for a .iso should I want to make a clean install.