upgrade to windows 8.1 pro

I currently run windows 7. I'm thinking about upgrading to 8.1 pro. Will all the hardware on my rig run on windows 8.1 pro? Will I have problems if I upgrade?

Thanks. Ill check.

Hi Tboy72,

I would not update to 8.1.  Win 10 will be a free update for Win 7, 8 and 8.1.  No need to update to 8.1 and then to 10.  If your copy of Win 7 is up to date, you can get a free update to 10.

Frank


Edited by FrankW - 25 Apr 2015 at 8:59am

Yes, at this point I'd say wait for 10 as well, but your hardware should run 8.1 with no issue.  Ever since Windows 7, which actually was better with the same hardware than Vista, I haven't seen any hardware creep that we saw in the past, where each generation of Windows required newer, faster hardware.  At this point, as long as you have 4GB or RAM and at least a dual-core proc, you shouldn't really see much difference in performance between 7, 8, 8.1, or 10 (maybe).  There might be a slight difference, but not very noticeable.

I got the 8.1 and have it set up to appear and behave as close to Windows 7 as I can get it. I have not noticed any degradation of performance.

Now a few months ago it was said to just leave automatic updates on and 10 would be pushed out. Yesterday I got an email from MS asking for me to "sign up" for 10.

I think I will be sure to not sign up and also to turn off automatic upgrades. I want to see what 10 will be like 1st even if I have to pay for it if I eventually decide I want it.

My fear is it will not be possible for it to behave like 7 at all. MS is earnestly trying to push for an eventual cloud based and mobile platform to serve all. If that means they give up a few dollars now to capture a captive audience, that's what they will do.

Very suspicious.....

Originally posted by Tboy72 Thanks. I appreciate it. What I was wondering though was why is Microsoft giving free upgraded to those with windows 7 and 8? Won't they be losing a lot of profit?

I would say there are at least a few reasons:

1) Adoption of Windows 8/8.1, especially in the enterprise, has been far worse than they hoped.  Windows 7 was adopted by enterprise in a much bigger way, and even though Windows 8 was available when XP support fell away, most businesses went to 7 rather than 8.  Now, I am not sure what the cost to enterprise will be on Windows 10 as the "free" upgrade is directed at consumers, but getting that out there to more people more quickly will probably help push adoption by enterprise.

2) Windows 8 (and to a lesser extent, 8.1) has a Vista-like reputation amongst those who aren't so technologically savvy, and even among many of those who are.  By all reports and early word-of-mouth, Microsoft is going to bring us Windows 8 R2 with Windows 10, just like Windows 7 was basically Windows Vista R2.  If we see that kind of jump in quality and reputation that Windows 7 had, then Microsoft will have another carrot—another quality OS like 7—to offer the enterprise, where they make most of their money.

3) Windows as a service.  Offering 10 free is probably their first step to making Windows a service rather than hard upgrade every few years, just like they're doing with Office 365.  It is likely, but not guaranteed, that at some point in future, Windows will be offered on a subscription basis, where you get OS updates and the latest features just like you do with a lot of applications these days.  Sending Windows 10 as a free update to 7 and 8/8.1 gets people used to receiving OS upgrades via this new model, rather than the traditional, boxed, hard upgrade one.

4) Windows 10 for all devices.  Tied in to my previous point, Windows 10 will be closer to Microsoft's vision of a single OS for all devices, thinking which has been spurred by the mobile revolution and which they took a step towards with Windows 8.  The mobile model for OSes is what we see in point 3, with pushes of updates as they become available.  In mobile, you don't buy an upgrade package and then either upgrade or do a clean install yourself: you just take the more incremental OS updates as they come along, with (ideally) little to no interruption of your workflow and how your PC or other device runs.  It just keeps going on, just like your smartphone or tablet does after an update.

I'm sure there are other reasons, but these are ones that strongly come to mind for me.