How will we update Windows 8 Release Preview to Win 8?

[mikemyers]

I have Windows 8 Release Preview running very nicely on a Toshiba laptop. I'm very pleased with the performance, and have found work-arounds for the things I miss from Win 7.

When the official release becomes available in October, will it be possible to "upgrade" RP into the official version, or will I have to start at the very beginning and re-load all my programs?

 

[Deleted member 217926]

If it's like Windows 7 you will have to buy a copy of Windows 8 and do a clean install.

 

[The_Prophecy]

As was the case with Windows 7, you will need to wipe the system out and do a clean install.

 

[randomizer]

If you want an Upgrade edition, you'll need to install Win 7 (or earlier) before installing Win 8 as well.

 

[mikemyers]

So you guys don't expect there to be any way to purchase Win-8 and then to "upgrade" from the Release Preview? Presumably, this means every program I now use will need to be re-installed?

 

[Supermuncher85]

So you guys don't expect there to be any way to purchase Win-8 and then to "upgrade" from the Release Preview? Presumably, this means every program I now use will need to be re-installed?

Correct this has always been the case.

 

[mikemyers]

I guess I don't see much of a problem.

I'll be in India when the real Win-8 comes out - I wonder if I'll have any problems buying it there? Or, is it likely that I'll be able to purchase it over the internet? I guess I'll worry about that in a couple of months.

 

[SchizTech]

There will be an "upgrade" feature which saves files, settings, and/or programs depending on what you're upgrading from. All three are supported when upgrading from 7, but if upgrading from the RP only files can be kept. If you've installed the RP over a copy of 7 you can use the upgrade feature, saving money but not being able to save system settings and apps. The upgrade needs to see a valid key for 7, Vista, or XP to install; this key would still be there if you upgraded to the RP from an earlier version but not if you did a fresh install of the RP.

 

[mikemyers]

Upgrade price: $40
Upgrade on fairly new computer: $ 15
Price of Win-8 on DVD: $70

Anyone know the expected price of a "new" full version of Win-8 downloaded from Microsoft?


I assume Windows Easy Transfer will work for me....


The first PC I will try it on is my Toshiba laptop. It came, years ago, with Win-Vista Home. Presumably it will qualify for the Win-8 upgrade, but the hard drive has been modified, and only has Win-8 Release Preview now. It does have the sticker on the bottom of the computer with my Product Code, or whatever that is.... so hopefully that's enough to get me the upgrade price.

We're not talking about all that much money anyway - Win-7 pro was $200 as I recall, and that is more like "real money" to me.

After thinking about it for a while, the "fresh install" is probably what I'd rather do, especially if Windows Easy Transfer will simplify getting back all my files - but even if it didn't, there's nothing critical on this computer. I'm just using it for testing things, including "Mouse Without Borders".

 

[SchizTech]

Even if you do a fresh install with the upgrade license key (which is quite possible and legal), the installer must first see a valid, activated copy of an earlier version of Windows there before it formats the disk (or at least the key thereof). If you upgraded from Vista to the preview of 8 you'll be fine but if that preview of 8 got there as a fresh install it won't activate. Since you have a valid Vista key on the underside of the Toshiba you could always grab/burn a Vista disk and use that code to activate Vista for no charge (you already paid for it when purchasing the laptop) before upgrading to 8.

 

[mikemyers]

You're reminding me of things I haven't done for many years. Yep, that all makes sense. I'm not sure how to do this.

Toshiba started out as a standard Satellite, with a single huge disk. After I got disgusted with it for several reasons, it got upgraded to Windows 7 by a friend of mine. It didn't really seem any better, and I more or less gave up on the laptop. It sat in a drawer for a year, as i couldn't see any reason to invest even more money in something I no longer saw any use for.

Then, after I decided I really wanted to try out Win-8, I tried to upgrade from 7 to 8, but I couldn't find a way to do an "upgrade"; everything I read was how to do a fresh install. So, I did the fresh install of 8, but since I now had the opportunity to do so, I split the drive into two partitions.


I'm sure I can use the software that came with the computer to rebuild it "as new", but that is going to re-combine drive C into a single partition.....

What would you advise?

 

[pjmelect]

Microsoft has stopped the work arounds that worked on the pre-release of Windows, such as the start menu and booting straight to the desktop etc. I would hold off installing the final version until fixes for this have been developed.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

No upgrade paths from any type of beta.

 

[mikemyers]

Good advice - are you sure they've done that though? Last I remember, it was a rumor, and people were saying Microsoft would never do so.

I don't mind the Metro screen, but I have no desire to use it.

If I can't get a version of Windows that works efficiently on a non-touch-screen computer, I will give up on Microsoft and wait for a pirated version that has been "fixed".

Microsoft better remember one thing: "The customer is always right." I they won't let me us a PC as, well, a PC, that would be pretty pathetic.

If what you say is true, and Microsoft is constantly going to be doing whatever it takes to prevent users from having the "start" button, maybe it's time for me to go back to Linux.

(You guys seem to know this much better than I do - with a Toshiba laptop, with a single disk drive and two partitions, is there any reason why I can't put Windows 8 on one, and install Linux on the other? Does Win-8 play nice with this kind of dual-boot system?)

 

[macbookproi5]

is this os worth the upgrade

 

[Deleted member 217926]

is this os worth the upgrade

Not to me. I plan on skipping it. It will be slightly better for mobile and touchscreen devices. I am still very happy with Windows 7 and see no need to upgrade.

 

[mikemyers]

Based on the feedback here, I think the answer to the original question is that no, one won't be able to "upgrade" from the trial programs to the official release version, but instead will use something like "Windows Easy Transfer" to allow you to keep all your data, and re-install programs.


As a second issue, is it a good idea to upgrade from Win-7 to Win-8, as I see it, it's a matter of trade-offs. Win-8 starts and stops faster, allows you to easily refresh your OS if you need to, doesn't seem to "slow down", and makes for what I think is a greatly improved computer. This is based on three installations, the last one on a 2008 laptop that came back to life with Win-8 on it. The trade-off is that we lose a lot of things that we've gotten used to with previous versions of Windows. Maybe "lose" isn't the right word, as one by one, people are finding ways to get Win-8 to work the way they want it to, despite the changes made by Microsoft.

(Given the choice, I'd rather have a Win-7.5 which kept all the benefits of Win-7 along with the performance improvements of Win-8.)