Can You Download Windows 8.1 For Free?

How to Download and Install Windows 8.1 for Free (Updated)

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Update vii/19/2021: Windows 8.1 is long outdated, simply technically supported through 2023. If you need to download an ISO to reinstall the full version of the operating system, you can download one from Microsoft hither.

If you are nevertheless using Microsoft Windows 8.1, nosotros recommend y'all at least begin considering what OS you volition use in the future. Information technology's mid-2021 and Win 8.one will shuffle off the mortal coil in Jan 2023. You tin stillqualify for a free upgrade to Windows ten if you own a valid Windows 8.one license, despite the fact that Microsoft formally ended its upgrade programme five years ago. Additionally, Windows 10 has the same system requirements every bit Windows 8.1, so if you lot tin run the latter, you lot tin can besides run the sometime.

Even though Windows eleven has been announced, upgrading to Windows x has several advantages. Get-go, Windows 11 may not support your hardware if it's former enough to still be running Windows 8 or Windows 8.one. Windows 10, on the other hand, was uniform with nigh everything Windows eight.1 would run on. Windows 10 will besides be supported through 2025, which gives you lot an extra two total years of back up earlier needing to figure out an alternative solution.

If yous are somehow still stuck on Windows 8.0 and practise not want to go to the hassle of a total Bone swap, we recommend running Windows Update immediately and downloading all available patches for your system, including the Windows viii.1 update, which will likely be offered to you by default. If you desire to download just the Windows 8.ane update files, y'all tin practise and then hither.

Original story below, from 2013:

Windows 8.1 has been released. If you're using Windows 8, upgrading to Windows 8.ane is both easy and free. If you lot're using some other operating system (Windows seven, Windows XP, OS X), y'all tin can either buy a boxed version ($120 for normal, $200 for Windows 8.1 Pro), or opt for one of the free methods listed beneath. To download and install Windows 8.1 for gratuitous, follow the guide beneath.

How to download Windows 8.one for free

Windows 8.1 box If y'all don't want to wait for October 17 or xviii, there are 2 options for downloading Windows 8.1: You tin obtain a re-create (and a license key) from a friend/colleague with an MSDN, TechNet, or DreamSpark (student) subscription, or you tin 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 8.1 RTM from non-official sources, we will at to the lowest degree tell you to check the SHA-ane hash of the ISO that you download to make certain that it's legitimate. If you hit upward the MSDN Subscriber Downloads folio, and so click Details under the version that you've obtained from elsewhere, you'll find the SHA-ane hash. If y'all then use File Checksum Integrity Verifier (FCIV) on the ISO, the hash should friction match. If it doesn't, assume the ISO has been compromised and download another. (But do make sure that you're checking the right SHA-one hash on the MSDN website; your ISO might be mislabeled).

The other easier, and completely legal, choice is to download the Windows 8.1 Preview from Microsoft. It's not as snappy every bit the final (RTM/GA) build, though, and has quite a few bugs/missing features. Comport in mind that if you get down this road, upgrading to a real version of Windows 8.ane will require a few more steps (discussed in the next section).

How to install Windows 8.1 for free

Once you have the Windows eight.1 ISO on your hard bulldoze, the installation process is painless. Earlier you begin, you should consider bankroll up your of import files and documents, simply it's not really necessary. Y'all should also ensure that y'all have enough of costless hard drive space (20GB+).

Windows 8.1 setup process If you lot're already running Windows 8 and you downloaded the RTM ISO from somewhere other than the Windows Store, you can install Windows 8.1 by mounting the downloaded ISO in Explorer by double-clicking it, and so running the installer. If you're on Windows 7, XP, or (anoint your soul) Vista, you'll need to burn down the ISO to a USB pollex drive or DVD, or mount the ISO using a third-party virtual drive tool, like Magic ISO.

If you already have Windows viii, and y'all waited for the official release engagement, installing Windows 8.1 is as simple as visiting the Windows Store and downloading the free update.

In both these cases, the upgrade procedure should be very shine, with your apps and settings fully preserved. If you upgrade from Windows eight.1 Preview, however, you lot will lose your installed apps, unless y'all kickoff run a cversion.ini removal utility.

Once y'all've installed Windows 8.one, you should check out our extensive collection of Windows 8.1 tips and tricks, and exist sure to cheque our Windows eight.1 review and hands-on impressions to ensure that you're making the virtually of all the new features.

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