The installation media for Volume Licensing (VL) versions of Windows 8.1 can do in-place updates over existing Windows 8 installs, so admins won't need to download the update again for every PC that needs to be upgraded. So a small business with 20 PCs to upgrade, for example, will have to do them one at a time via the Windows Store – so that's 20 separate 3.5GB downloads.Įnterprise customers have it a little easier. "Consumers" here really means any copies of Windows 8 that weren't purchased through Microsoft's Volume Licensing programs. It actually goes further than that, though. No ISOs will be made available, so each device needs to be updated individually via the Windows Store. One thing MS support are good for is, if they think you should be entitled to use that key, providing phone activation. The Windows Store is the only way for consumers (non-enterprise, non-IT Pro) to download and install Windows 8.1. If the 8.1 Pro key wont activate your upgraded system, then it wont activate a clean install either. El Reg asked Microsoft for clarification on this point and this is what we were told: Fortunately, you can keep using your PC while the files come down in the background and if the download is interrupted for any reason, you can pick it up from where it left off by starting the update again from the Windows Store.įurther complicating matters, however, if you have multiple devices to upgrade, you won't be able to download the update just once and apply it to all of your machines.
Note, also, that the update has only just shipped, so Microsoft's servers are swamped and downloads may be slow going. For most customers, the Windows Store is the only way to get the update (click to enlarge)
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