MICROSOFT NEWZ!

MICROSOFT GOES PUBLIC WITH WINDOWS 8.1 UPGRADE POLICIES

Summary:
Microsoft is sharing more on how existing Windows 8 and Windows RT users will be able to upgrade to Windows 8.1 'Blue' preview and final.

(By Mary Jo Foley)

With the public preview builds of Windows 8.1 due out later this month
, a number of users are wondering how Microsoft plans to handle the upgrade.
At TechEd North America, officials shared some details on that topic in a session entitled "Windows RT in the Enterprise."
Microsoft officials have said previously that the company
plans to deliver the public preview of Windows 8.1, codenamed "Blue," via the Windows Store
on June 26.Microsoft Senior Product
Marketing Manager Michael Niehaus reiterated that message in the RT in the Enterprise
session on June 4. When the 8.1 preview is available, Windows 8 and Windows RT users will receive a Windows Update
notification. That update will trigger the new bits to show up in the Windows Store, where potential testers will be able to
read the description and choose whether or not to install.
Once the final versions of Windows 8.1 are available, after
their release to manufacturing,those who have downloaded the preview will get the same Windows Update plus Windows
Store notification. While their data and accounts will be
preserved if and when they choose to install the free, final 8.1 release, all their apps must be
reinstalled, Niehaus said.
Even if testers opt instead to roll
their devices back to Windows 8 after installing the preview bits,they still will have to reinstall their apps once they move to the
RTM version of Windows 8.1.

Update: For those wondering
exactly which apps will need to be reinstalled, it depends
whether the tester is running Windows on ARM or x86. On
Windows RT devices, it's the Windows Store/Metro-Style apps that will have to be reinstalled;
for x86-based Windows 8 systems, testers will need to
reinstall both their Windows Store/Metro-Style and Desktop apps, a Microsoft spokesperson said.
Windows 8 users who do not install the preview build and opt
instead to go straight from Windows 8/Windows RT to
Windows 8.1 will not have to reinstall their apps. All settings,
data and apps will carry over, a spokesperson said when I asked.
Users will be able to decide when and if they want to move from Windows 8 and Windows RT to
the 8.1 versions, officials stressed.
Niehaus characterized the Windows 8 to 8.1 upgrade as "a
little better" than how Microsoft handled the Windows 8 test
build to RTM upgrade. A Microsoft spokesperson said the
Windows 8 to 8.1 upgrade would be "comparable" to the
Windows 7 to Windows 8 upgrade
, in terms of how the upgrade dealt with user settings, data and apps.
Niehaus also told session attendees that Microsoft expects
to have a reduced footprint size for Windows 8.1 as compared to
Windows 8. He said the team has been working on removing old components, temporary files and
improving NTFS compression to free up more space on users' machines. He noted that 4 GB of
free space will be needed to install the Windows 8.1 preview
builds. And he said that installation of Windows 8.1 will
not result in the replacement of the recovery partition in
Windows 8.
"If you deleted it, [8.1] won't replace it," Niehaus said.