How to Update Windows 8 to 8.1 Update

Windows 8.1 update is officially out and its a recommended update by Microsoft to install on all Windows 8.1 computers and RT devices. If you are already using Windows 8.1 then the update will appear from Windows update in control panel (if it’s set for automatic download and install). For Windows 8 users the update path is slightly different. Here is the step by step guide explains how to update Windows 8 to 8.1 Update.

Do we really need to update Windows 8 OS to 8.1 update? the answer would be ‘YES’.  Earlier Windows 8.1 did not bring much useful features for normal computer users, so that could have been avoided. But the current Windows 8.1 Update is really good and worth installing to get more benefits for desktop/laptop users who use computer mouse mostly. Even it will improve the performance of your computer.

Read more about What’s new on Windows 8.1 update from official site here. Already we have published a guide about the new features we could see straightaway from this update.

Steps to Update Windows 8 to 8.1 Update

1) You must install Windows 8.1 first in order to install the current update on normal Windows 8 computer. Windows 8.1 is a complete free update which can be downloaded and installed from Windows store, follow this step by step guide for it. In case if you do not see the update from Windows store, you may be runningWindows 8 enterprise version, that should be upgraded as shown in this guide.

Confirm the upgrade after installation,

2) Open Windows update from control panel and check for latest updates. You will find severalupdates for Windows 8.1 32 or 64 bit (depending on the installed version). The actual Windows 8.1 Update is KB 2919355 around 800Mb, if you do not see this update number, nothing to worry. Download and install other important Windows updates (make sure KB 2919442 is listed out which required for KB 2919355 update) then restart the PC to take effect.

Again open Windows update and check for updates, I’m sure this time the actual number KB 2919355 around 800Mb will show up, download and install it. After the restart you will be running the latest Windows 8.1 update successfully.

The computer will directly boot into desktop mode and shutdown and search icons would appear next to user name as shown below.

Also you could notice other changes which mentioned earlier.

Windows 8.1 users must install latest KB 2919355 to get further security updates from Microsoft, therefore its not recommended to skip this update for any reasons.

How to Uninstall Windows 8.1 Update

Even though this is a compulsory update, but incase if its giving some trouble due to non compatibility or any issues during the upgrade process or existing applications are misbehaving then you can consider uninstalling it.

Go to Control Panel, Programs and Features select ‘View Installed Updates’ on left top corner which will list out the installed updates on your computer. Look for the update number KB 2919355 and click uninstall.

We expect this guide would be helpful on how to update Windows 8 to 8.1 Update and uninstall it whenever required.

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What’s new in Windows 8.1?

Windows 8 certainly had consumers using touch oriented devices happy. However, it failed to make an impact on devices featuring a keyboard and mouse interface, which is the lion’s share of devices using Windows 8. As a result, many were unhappy with the not-so-friendly interface for keyboard and mouse. All apart, Windows 8 is certainly a much more lighter and fluid OS than the Windows 7, not to mention the faster boot time.

Let us scan through the major changes bought about in Windows 8.1

The Savior, the Start Menu

The new version that is Windows 8, comes with what you may call a satisfactory substitute for a start menu placed at the lower left corner of the screen.

The absence of a start menu is one of the biggest nemesis present in Windows 8. The new version that is Windows 8, comes with what you may call a satisfactory substitute for a start menu placed at the lower left corner of the screen. A left click on it will cause a start menu to pop up, you can run or search applications by typing there. It is not the same start menu we saw in Windows 7. Right clicking on it will lead to shortcuts to the Control Panel, Search, Task Manager and other system tools.

Boot directly to Desktop

Another irritating aspect of Windows 8 is booting leads you to the metro tiled menu but not to your desktop. What user did not like is pressing the windows key every time to switch to desktop. Windows 8.1 has the solution, with an ability to boot directly to desktop.

Xbox Music Redesigned

Xbox Music gets a more refined interface. The left panel allows you to surf different artists and play songs from your playlist and the right panel lets you stream content, watch videos etc.

Snap View function

Now run more apps simultaneously on the same screen. Run up to 4 apps at once provided you have enough screen resolution (2560 x 1440 pixels). You can even connect another monitor to run around 8 apps at once.

Upgraded Search Bar

The search bar has been spiced up with new features. Now get universal results from files, SkyDrive, apps and web. You can also play music directly from the search bar. On searching artists, it provides all their albums on the right panel and a large photo of the artist on the left.

Personalization

Now personalize the Start Screen and Lock screen through a variety of colours and themes available. This basically let’s you customize your desktop to your liking.

Improved Camera App

Now, the camera app is not the same bogus app that was used just to crop pictures, it now comes loaded with photo editing tools too.

New Windows Store App

The market looks much more pleasing than before with precisely spaced tiles.

Overall, the Windows 8.1 may not be a giant leap from the previous version, but it is definitely a step closer to making user experience better on non touch devices.

Sources: CNET and official windows website

 

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Windows 8 Pro Upgrade Requirements,Features and Price In India

Windows 8 is the current release of the Windows operating system, produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablets, and home theater PCs. Development of Windows 8 started before the release of its predecessor in 2009. Its existence was first announced at CES 2011, and followed by the release of three pre-release versions from September 2011 to May 2012. The operating system was released to manufacturing on August 1, 2012, and was released for general availability on October 26, 2012.
Windows 8 introduces significant changes to the operating system’s platform, primarily focused towards improving its user experience on mobile devices such as tablets to rival other mobile operating systems (such as Android and iOS), taking advantage of new and emerging technologies (such as USB 3.0, UEFI firmware, near field communications, cloud computing, and the low-power ARM architecture), new security features (such as malware filtering, built-in antivirus software, and support for secure boot, a controversial UEFI feature which requires operating systems to be digitally signed to prevent malware from infecting the boot process), along with other changes and performance improvements.

Windows 8 Pro Features And Specifications:

This is the version of Windows that Microsoft is driving the market right now. It has almost all the features of Windows 8. The only thing missing bits are best used by clients of the company. If you buy a computer with Windows 8 or you want to upgrade the operating system on existing equipment, this is the version to buy.
Hardware requirements: Microsoft has said that any computer that is running Windows 7 can run Windows 8 with ease. If you want to be specific, the company says that a machine should have:
1GHz or faster processor, 1GB RAM (32-bit) or 2GB RAM (64-bit), 16GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20GB (64-bit), DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver. For Modern UI apps a screen with a resolution of 1024×768 pixels is mandatory.

Windows 8 Pro Price In India Is Rs. 4,000/- Till 31 march 2013 after that it will cost Around Rs. 11,000/-

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Use Windows 8 Themes with Previous Versions of Windows

The official Windows Themes directory at windows.microsoft.com hosts some beautiful themes for your Windows desktop. Some of the newer themes – like these dual-screen panoramic images – are however compatible only with Windows 8 machines.
If you aren’t planning to make the upgrade to Windows 8, the good news is that you can still extract the wallpaper backgrounds of these Windows 8 specific themes and use them on older Windows PCs.

Also see: Use Windows 7 Themes on Windows XP or Vista
The Windows theme files have a .themepack extension but the Windows 8 specific themes are distributed as .deskthemepack files. Internally, this is just another archive format that you can easily open using the free 7-zip utility.
Install the 7-zip utility and then download any of the .deskthemepack files from the Windows Themes gallery. Press F2 to rename the theme file and change its extension to .7z (you can just append .7z to the file name). Now you can right-click this files and extract the included wallpapers to your desktop.
Now you can either use these background individually or put them in one folder and then open Desktop Background under the Control Panel. Browse for the folder containing these pictures and select the ones that you would like to use on your desktop.

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Some More Answers around Windows 8

This week’s WSJ column answers some common questions that you may have around upgrading to Windows 8.

I also did a little Q&A with Microsoft India which is shared below:
Q. I am planning to assemble my own PC from scratch. Where do I get a full license (System Builder Edition?) of Windows 8?
A: You can buy a retail copy of Windows 8 for Rs. 11,999.
Q. If I buy a Windows 8 machine, can I downgrade to Windows 7 or Vista later?
A: PCs purchased preinstalled with Windows 8 Pro will have the option to downgrade either to Windows 7 Professional or Windows Vista Business.
Q. I have a laptop computer and a desktop computer at home. Do I need to buy separate Windows 8 licenses?
A: Yes, you need separate licenses.
Q. Can I deactivate my Windows 8 license and transfer it to another computer?
A: Yes – by completely formatting your drive.
Q. If I buy a TechNet / MSDN license, am I allowed to use them on a personal computer?
A: The TechNet/MSDN license is for the developers only and can be installed on a machine used for coding.
Q. I am a student and don’t have a Credit Card or PayPal. How do I buy an Windows 8 upgrade license?
A: If you have VISA or Master Debit card, you can pay through that. Alternately, if you are a current Windows user, you can buy a retail copy of Windows 8 Pro for Rs. 3,499 at retail stores. The promo is available till 31st January 2013.
Q. Windows 8 ships with Windows Defender. Would you recommend installing any other anti-virus program to better secure the computer?
A: Windows 8 provides enterprise-class security capabilities that help keep PCs more secure against malware intrusion and better protected with easy-to-deploy data encryption as well as strong access control to resource. If you wish, you can choose to install your own third-party anti-malware products with the ability to turn off Windows Defender. That said, if Windows 8 senses that the device is unprotected for a length of time, Windows Defender will automatically start to ensure the device is protected.
Q. Is Surface coming to India anytime soon?
A: Currently, Surface is only available in eight markets including Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and the United States.

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Microsoft Windows 8 Upcoming New and Exciting Features

Microsoft Windows 8 is the latest release of Microsoft Corporation. The final version is still officially not released as of today, and currently users can use the Windows beta version. This version of Windows is user friendlier than any other previous versions. It is mainly developed for computers and laptops, supporting touch screen features. Though, it can be easily used in traditional computers and laptops, as well. Let us take a look at the features of upcoming windows 8.
You can find more information about Windows 8 guides, news and how to run it on virtual environment, here in our Windows 8 guides page.

Touch Friendly:

Windows 8 generally has been developed for the tablets. However, it supports both x86 based computers and Arm Tablets. Windows 8 is an upgraded version of Windows 7. However, Microsoft has applied an animation-enabled user interface in the last Windows version. You can move to go through, tapping to zoom on icons.

Tiles-based User Interface:

Windows 8 is something new that we actually see in the latest smart phones and web pages. In Windows 8, tiles are used in place of desktop icons. It keeps you updated of all the current events happening around. For example, tiles applied for social networking always shows you all the latest updates of social networking site, while the other tiles applied for a weather report keeps you notified of the weather forecast at the same time.

Multi Tasking:

Multi tasking has been made easy for use in Windows 8. You can use two apps side-by-side at the same time. To toggle, you need to swap from the left of the screen. There is a new option to resize the display area for app by dragging the bar of the app. Though, you cannot see all your running apps on a single screen in Windows 8.

Charm:

This is another new tool introduced in Windows 8. It has replaced the Start menu bar of the previous Windows versions. You can take up Charm by swiping from the right side on tablets. On a standard personal computer, you would have to draw the mouse on the bottom left corner where Start icon was used to be located.

Windows 8 Control Panel:

The control panel of Windows 8 has been redesigned. It includes newly added options such as Personalize, Users, Wireless, Notifications, General, Search, Privacy, and Share. As the metro style apps are available, everyone can customize the start menu with tiles for apps.

Touch Browsing:

Windows 8 runs with Internet Explorer 10, which is fast, user friendly and can be used for touch navigation. New Windows version has got terrific hardware acceleration, comes along with rapid, gesture based zoom and many other options.

Two touch Keyboard:

Another feature that Windows 8 comes with two touch keyboards. One is traditional keyboard, and another one is a thumb keyboard for non-touch typist. Typing has been made faster and more accurate on a virtual keyboard. When you press on an alphabet, you will get the word suggestions and select one from there. There is spellchecker available that, unlike previous versions, corrects the miss-spelled words automatically.

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A Treat to the Tech Geeks @ Windows 8 Soon-to-Arrive in iPhone5

There have been a lot of rumors for the release of the much hyped and awaited iPhone5. Reports say that the previous version Windows 7 was not compatible with the phones. If these rumors actually turn out to be true, then Apple’s iPhone will be the world’s 1^st Smartphone to be equipped with the themes of Windows 8.
Microsoft is planning to launch this software in the latest iPhone which is eagerly awaited for, especially by tech lovers. It is speculated that Windows 8 will probably be released this year itself, in the month of October or September. Reports also say that this software will be made available in one hundred and nine languages, in more than two hundred and thirty one markets, all over the world. It is truly superb news for all the phone users’ and gadget lovers.

More about Windows 8:

Metro user interface forms the basis of Windows 8, Microsoft Windows’ next version. Windows 8 are a series of OS that are produced by Microsoft, to be used on personal computers, including

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Windows 8 Enterprise RTM on Latest VirtualBox 4.2?

Oracle recently released first beta version of their upcoming desktop desktop virtualization software, VirtualBox 4.2. Improved support for Windows 8 guest OS is one of the major change in this version.
I have tried the latest (leaked)Windows 8 Enterprise RTM version on VirtualBox 4.2 and really experienced the improved display support on guest OS.  VirtualBox 4.2 guest additions works well inside Windows 8 to get multiple screen resolution, auto resize, full screen and seamless mode.
You can read our previous guide about how to install Windows 8 on VirtualBox and requirements for it. If you want to try Windows 8 Enterprise RTM (which was leaked to torrents sites recently), search for ‘MICROSOFT.WINDOWS.8.ENTERPRISE.RTM.X64.VOLUME.ENGLISH.DVD-WZT’ on your favorite torrent site.  You may get two results, and do not download the ‘NON_BOOT’ DVD which requires additional work to make it bootable. Download the correct file which is bootable.
VirtualBox automatically detects and changes the settings while typing ‘Windows 8’ on name field of virtual machine, therefore you do not need to modify most of the settings before power on, except loading the download ISO file.
But there was a slight issue of default display settings. Here is the default display settings for Windows 8.

It Started Crashing!

Windows 8 virtual machine started to crash and close while exiting from full screen mode with above default display setting. That is really strange when Oracle claims that VB 4.2 fixed several 3D issues

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Windows 8 Security [Things to know]

Now we have come up with Windows 8 security tips and tricks. One might almost certainly heard about the exciting changes from Microsoft planned for Windows 8. By incorporating a “touch-first” interface and introducing the Met­ro-UI to PC users, Microsoft is attempting to combine the rich function­ality we have come to expect from our laptops and desktops.  Microsoft is hoping that Windows 8 will also change the game with regard to Windows security.  With Windows 8, Microsoft is raising the bar once again by updating the default security solution provided with the OS, enhancing its reputation-based security, and by adding functional­ity to watch for the deadliest threats.

windows 8 security

These changes are interesting and will undoubtedly change the face of Windows security. And, in the end, every user has something that attackers want, whether that is a password to a bank account, sensitive documents, or even just your network bandwidth. That being said, it is worth taking a closer look at the new security features in Windows 8 to see which threats Microsoft views as the greatest threat to its platform. A clear understanding of these features will show that the changes proposed by Microsoft emphasize the need for solid, up-to-date security software as a key part of the Windows ecosystem. This is why products like Norton Internet Security, McAffee, and Bit-defender  will provide customers with the fastest, most secure Windows 8 experience.

Defender

The first security feature that Windows 8 users will notice is a revamped Windows Defender. In Windows 7, Defender was a basic feature that provided minimal protection against a subset of common threats. Defender did not include behavior-based protection, virus detection and removal, or network intrusion prevention—all key components in a full security solu­tion. In Windows 8, Defender now includes all these components.

Defender is the assurance that customers who would not have installed security software before, will now at least have something basic protecting their machines. Customers who want complete high-performance protection will continue to turn to products like Norton Internet Security, Norton 360, or Symantec Endpoint Protection to secure their machines.

SmartScreen Filter

SmartScreen is a set of sophisticated technologies to help protect you from malicious websites and programs. Whether you’re downloading or running a new program on the desktop, SmartScreen has you covered.

SmartScreen continues to provide protection from phishing and socially engineered malware attacks using URL and application reputation and removes unnecessary warnings for programs and publishers with an established reputation. To add another layer of protection, SmartScreen is now integrated with program launch to screen programs downloaded from the web. It also shows new warnings before higher-risk programs can run and will block known malware.

AppLocker

AppLocker contains new capabilities that enable it to manage both desktop and Metro style applications. IT pros can create security policies that allow or deny specific applications from being run by specific users or groups of users

Boot Time Protection

Another security feature in Windows 8, boot time protection, is not as visible to users as the other changes in Windows Defender and the expansion of Smart Screen technology. By adding new boot time protection features, Microsoft hopes to close a hole in the security profile of Windows 8. In spite of great advances in anti-malware technology, the modern PC remains most vulnerable and essentially unprotected in the few moments after power up and before any countermeasure can launch. Microsoft has tackled this problem head on with the “Secure Boot” feature available in Windows 8.

The normal boot process relies on a chain of control passed from component to component until there is enough func­tionality present to start the host operating system. A typical computer bootstrap process executes the following chain of modules:

BIOS flash -> Option ROMS -> MBR & Volume Boot Record -> OS loader -> OS kernel -> Boot drivers

If malware succeeds in corrupting any point along that chain, subsequent modules can be corrupted in turn. The operating system and all of the loaded applications will be untrustworthy.

Secured boot stops malware in its tracks and makes Windows 8 significantly more resistant to low-level attacks. Even when a virus has made it onto your PC, Windows will authenticate boot components to prevent any attempt to start malware before the operating system is up and running. If the component isn’t correctly signed by Microsoft, Windows will begin remediation and start the Windows Recovery Environment, which will automatically try to fix your operating system.

Conclusion

According to my expectations,  we may see the first WinRT targeted attacks well before the Windows 8 release, or shortly thereafter. Even if these new Metro-UI apps do not end up being an easy target for malware authors, they can rest assured that the threats they wrote for previous versions of Windows will still run on the Windows 8 desktop. Microsoft has made it clear that most applications that run on Windows 7 will run on Windows 8 without any changes. This means that the vast major­ity of malware that runs on Windows 7 will still run on Windows 8 without any modification. The new Windows 8 OS itself is not going to make Windows machines more secure. Microsoft knows this, which is why it has improved its default security product, Defender, installed with Windows 8.

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