Many Still Can't Download Windows 8.1 from Windows Store
There may be a way to get the Windows 8.1 update if it still hasn't appeared.
Softpedia is still trolling Microsoft's forums looking for signs of Windows 8.1 issues, and has come across a number of posts regarding the update's availability. According to the site, which doesn't point to any specific post, many customers still don't see the Windows 8.1 upgrade in Windows Store even though it was released to all on October 17.
The problem actually began on day one, and was even experienced by several here at Tom's. The problem, at least initially, was that the Windows 8 platform needed to be updated with specific patches released before the update finally appeared on Windows Store. Naturally, one month later, we'd expect that Microsoft would have resolved the issue, but many users reportedly still don't have access despite fully patching their systems.
As a way around the problem, Softpedia points to this page, which provides information about updating from Windows 8.1 Preview to the full-blown Windows 8.1 RTM build. Customers are instructed to click on the "I installed the preview from the Windows Store or I installed the preview using media while Windows 8 was running" in the "Updating to Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1" section, and then hit the "from the Windows Store" link in the expanded text.
The following link should actually launch the Windows Store and load up the Windows 8.1 update, regardless if customers are trying to update on a Windows RT device or a Windows 8 x86-based machine. However this "fix" will not install the update on machines running the Enterprise version of Windows 8.
Although the Windows 8.1 update is praised to be the platform's savior, its arrival hasn't come without issues for many Microsoft customers. As previously reported, some users are experiencing screen lockups; only mouse input works, and forces users to reboot the device. The update has also caused a BSOD for those trying to create a ramdisk. Gamers are also reporting mouse lag in a number of games after installing the update.

Now if only they would think "customer first" and allow those who updated from 8 to 8.1 get an ISO of Windows 8.1. If you ever have a catastrophic failure you must reinstall 8 then download the 3.5GB "patch" and install 8.1 over what you just installed. Yes, it is like installing an OS twice just to get one working copy.
/splat on that nonsense
Maybe people should check their updates first then go to the Windows Store?
Now if only they would think "customer first" and allow those who updated from 8 to 8.1 get an ISO of Windows 8.1. If you ever have a catastrophic failure you must reinstall 8 then download the 3.5GB "patch" and install 8.1 over what you just installed. Yes, it is like installing an OS twice just to get one working copy.
/splat on that nonsense
Pretty much the same for me. Short of Microsoft coming out with DX12 that has some revolutionary changes with 8 or a newer OS. Windows 7 is the new Windows XP as far as I'm concerned.
What I hate about 8.1 is that they eliminated many of the shortcuts that I used to use (right click on an SSID to get to status, etc.) that I used to use all the time and have made it more difficult. I am not 100% sure that the 8.1 is a fundamental update to 8, they simply added/removed different little things, from I can tell, that give it a slightly different appearance and a few things actually work differently than in W8 (running Pro of both, btw)
I am also a little confused why several of my drivers no longer work from 8 to 8.1 and I can't find updated ones for 8.1 on several devices. Also, for some reason 8.1 broke my ability to connect to certain SSID's that were working just fine in 8 and a driver update did not fix the issue.
I guess that I am either missing something OR 8.1 is not the panacea of updates that it was made out to be.
What I hate about 8.1 is that they eliminated many of the shortcuts that I used to use (right click on an SSID to get to status, etc.) that I used to use all the time and have made it more difficult. I am not 100% sure that the 8.1 is a fundamental update to 8, they simply added/removed different little things, from I can tell, that give it a slightly different appearance and a few things actually work differently than in W8 (running Pro of both, btw)
I am also a little confused why several of my drivers no longer work from 8 to 8.1 and I can't find updated ones for 8.1 on several devices. Also, for some reason 8.1 broke my ability to connect to certain SSID's that were working just fine in 8 and a driver update did not fix the issue.
I guess that I am either missing something OR 8.1 is not the panacea of updates that it was made out to be.
8.1 is a change, a change to quite a few things so drivers are not always going to work from 8 to 8.1. You need to go to the manufacture but if they don't provide drivers, there is nothing Microsoft can do really.
XP is meh. It was good. It hasn't been for quite a while. & is still a good OS. Nothing bad staying with it. But 8/8.1 has a lot of great improvements that 7 will never see.
And at some point 7 will become the next XP, such as native GPT support (you cannot boot to a GPT partition in 7, requires if you want a single partition larger than 2TB).
I think you forgot the 2 service packs that came out for Vista and the platform update that pulled a lot of the new features from 7 and integrated them into Vista.
Vista got plenty of love. 7 was just still better.
And people said the same thing about XP being the last good Windows, and 2000/98. And DOS. Its a vicious cycle where people act like in the future Windows will be horrible and fail and yadda yadda yadda.
8 is a great OS. Good improvements to the desktop UI and good improvements under the hood, which is what a OS needs.
Most people are taking one feature and solely focusing on that as if that's all you ever see or use in the OS and therefore it is BAD.
Really wish people would get off the whole Metro thing.
There are a site named : AskVg ~
U will need to update your OS with a Windows Update before u can see it in windows store ~
This is the article :http://www.askvg.com/guide-how-to-upgrade-to-windows-8-1-from-windows-8/
You could do the same thing with Windows 7 right now. Look around for people with problems, post an article about it, imply the issues are widespread and catastrophic, and sit back and wait for the clicks.
The reason why Microsoft doesn't do this is fairly obvious. There are actually people out there that go and buy a new PC or laptop because a hard drive fails and they don't have an installation DVD.
There are of course ways around this obstacle, but many people seem to shy away from these more shady methods even though they have a completely legal product key printed on a sticker stuck to their computer.
I was one of the people who had a hard time upgrading to 8.1 it just wouldnt show. Finally it upgraded and somehow it broke everything WinRT related. Type one letter in the Store app Search and it crashed and no Apps work correctly.
Faced with the option of fully reinstalling 8 and downloading 8.1 to then install the 8.1 update or just reinstalling Win 7 Ultimate. I went back to Win 7.
It was fun, but all in all 7 stands up better. Heres to hoping MS starts listening to its client base or a real "Open Hardware" OS competitor pops up sometime soon.
A pipe dream no doubt.
Downloaded updates for 3 hours, Windows store didn't work, after another 4 hours of a god awful interface and resting my windows password then my account still failing in the windows store gave up and installed Ubuntu.
I'm not going to lie, it wasn't easy at first but it definitely felt more like Windows 7 then Win8 did. Some things like networking and installing my wireless printer were incredibly easy, some things like updating my graphics drivers were time consuming due to the number of libraries I had to download first.
It sure isn't perfect, WINE has qwirks, but I STILL prefer it to Windows 8.
Sorry, hate me if you must, but Microsoft lost me and did this to themselves.
Downloaded updates for 3 hours, Windows store didn't work, after another 4 hours of a god awful interface and resting my windows password then my account still failing in the windows store gave up and installed Ubuntu.
I'm not going to lie, it wasn't easy at first but it definitely felt more like Windows 7 then Win8 did. Some things like networking and installing my wireless printer were incredibly easy, some things like updating my graphics drivers were time consuming due to the number of libraries I had to download first.
It sure isn't perfect, WINE has qwirks, but I STILL prefer it to Windows 8.
Sorry, hate me if you must, but Microsoft lost me and did this to themselves.
As much as I would like this to be true, I have to call BS.
No one is switching to Linux if they initially wanted to transition from Windows 8 to 8.1. No one would want 8.1 and prefer Ubuntu over 8. It just doesn't make any sense. If you preferred Ubuntu over 8, you wouldn't want 8.1.
Do you mean trawling? Because I'm pretty sure they're not deliberately antagonising forum users...
According to Microsoft, Windows 7 is good enough to boot from a HDD bigger than 2TB.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2581408