Windows 8.1 clean install?

Megalith

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Is this going to be necessary, or will it be safe to simply upgrade over Windows 8? Or is it too early to tell?
 
I would consider it like a service pack. Personally I have no issue doing an in-place upgrade to 8.1 but I will be sure to back things up first.
 
If you installed the 8.1 beta preview, you will have to do a clean install.

Upgrading from Win8 to 8.1 will probably be just like a service pack. Some people will inevitably have somehow gotten their 8.0 install into a state that will cause the 8.1 upgrade to fail, often by being paranoid and disallowing all updates to 8.0, or having malware that prevents updates to 8.0.
 
+1 to what Sp33dFr33k said. 8.1 is technically an update, not an upgrade like Services Packs and should be able to install on top of an existing installation without the need to reinstall anything but as Sp33dFr33k said backup first to be safe.
 
Unless MS posts an .iso online I don't see how you could upgrade to 8.1 as a clean install. Unless of course you want to buy a brand new disc!
 
I would consider it like a service pack. Personally I have no issue doing an in-place upgrade to 8.1 but I will be sure to back things up first.

This. It IS a service pack, done by the same WSE (Windows Sustained Engineering,) division that's done prior service packs to Server2008/Win7 and previous Windows before that.

Calling it 8.1 instead of SP1 is a clever marketing and legal maneuver to change perception and obviously its working since people are eating it up.
 
Calling it 8.1 instead of SP1 is a clever marketing and legal maneuver to change perception and obviously its working since people are eating it up.

Not sure why so many people are hung up on it not being called a Service Pack. The changes in 8.1 are more extensive than any Windows Service Pack ever, including XP SP2. So it's not enough to be a whole new version but more than an SP, so it's dot release update which makes sense given the amount of changes.
 
This. It IS a service pack, done by the same WSE (Windows Sustained Engineering,) division that's done prior service packs to Server2008/Win7 and previous Windows before that.

Calling it 8.1 instead of SP1 is a clever marketing and legal maneuver to change perception and obviously its working since people are eating it up.

It is bigger than any SP I remember. Even XP SP2.
 
so when are they going to release 8.1 in DVD form?...since it's such a substantial upgrade I would think they would want users to install 8.1 clean versus having to go through the standard Windows 8 install first
 
so when are they going to release 8.1 in DVD form?...since it's such a substantial upgrade I would think they would want users to install 8.1 clean versus having to go through the standard Windows 8 install first

Hm, let me think... (consults crystal ball...) I'm going to go with October 17, 2013.
 
I imagine that for existing Windows 8 users, Windows 8.1 can be installed through Windows Update, like any previous edition's service packs.
 
Hm, let me think... (consults crystal ball...) I'm going to go with October 17, 2013.

wasn't sure if they were offering a DVD version right off the bat...I thought they were going to require everyone to download it during the initial release...but good to know...I might just use the 8.1 public preview until it expires in January 2014 and then decide whether to 'upgrade' from Windows 7 or not
 
Based upon everything thus far, there will probably be 3 ways to get it. The first is via Windows Update. The next will be via the Windows Store. The final will be on their site where you can get ISO and different versions for offline installs.
 
I tried the leak last night and it didn't like my Windows key (mine is an upgrade key). So, for us upgraders, you're probably going to have to go the patch/Win Store route rather than a clean ISO install.
 
I tried the leak last night and it didn't like my Windows key (mine is an upgrade key). So, for us upgraders, you're probably going to have to go the patch/Win Store route rather than a clean ISO install.

Clean install with a generic key (google) then once setup finishes slmgr /ipk your key and reboot it should be actiated now
 
Clean install with a generic key (google) then once setup finishes slmgr /ipk your key and reboot it should be actiated now

That did the trick - thanks! Oddly enough that never seemed to work with the MS Preview of 8.1, but it worked fine with the 8.1 ISO.

Thus far it's pretty close to the preview, although some of the apps (mail and people) are definitely newer versions. After using 8.0 for the last few days, 81. feels much better with how intuitive the new "All programs" section is. Just that one change alone makes a huge difference.
 
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