Microsoft has announced details of the upgrade to Windows 8 from a previous version of the operating system. The good news is that not only Windows 7 accepts the upgrade, but also Windows Vista and Windows XP. Unfortunately, there are some restrictions on upgrades from older operating systems. As we know, there will be four versions of Windows 8: Standard, Pro, Enterprise and RT. The latter, designed for tablets with ARM processors, and the Enterprise will be available for the business environment only.
Users can upgrade to Windows 8 Standard Edition from Windows 7 Starter, Windows 7 Home Basic and Windows 7 Home Premium, keeping the Windows settings, personal files and the applications installed. This is perhaps the most convenient way to upgrade, through which the user can both change the Windows version and still work without problems (in theory).
Under the same conditions, upgrades to Windows 8 Pro from Windows 7 Starter, Windows 7 Home Basic, Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate will be available. The upgrade to Windows 8 Enterprise is possible only from the computers running on Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Enterprise.
An upgrade from Windows Vista with SP1 to Windows 8 will be possible, but only personal files will remain. Computers with SP1 can store the operating system’s settings as well. Unfortunately, the applications installed on Vista will not carry over to Windows 8, requiring reinstallation. Windows Vista without SP1 installed cannot avail of the upgrade.
Those who are still running Windows XP on their computers can upgrade to Windows 8, but only with the SP3 installed. In these conditions, the operating system will keep the user’s personal files only.
Microsoft has announced that the upgrades in which the interface language is changed will not be possible. Another limitation is the type of Windows. Users cannot upgrade to a 64-bit Windows version from a 32-bit version.
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nice..
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does this means the upgrade can be made through windows update? But sure it require product activation code or some sort. Any idea?
Zulfadli Arshad · you would have to purchase the upgrade either by download or DVD and then select "upgrade". Like all new Windows Microsoft will need to activate the OS online.
Will this release version finally resolve the PAE issue and enable/disable execute bit on previously incompatible CPUs?
Unless Microsoft announces that it fixes PAE, it’s best to try out a stable version of Windows 8.
Well thats the thing there are no stable working releases for Win8 that dont require PAE and NX flag options on CPU….the only version that works with CPUS that dont have PAE NX technology is Windows 8 Developers preview but that is expired.
I have upgraded but there are few bugs in the release preview but I guess that is what you mean by developers edition.
to fix it
By "bugs", what have you experienced so far?
there was a exe error whenever I shutdown my laptop but then I googled it and disabled the fast shutdown feature and it fixed
Thanks for sharing the bug and its fix. Some of our readers, including me, may experience that in the future.
Windows was born with bugs, What do you expect baby?
well if you pay to upgrade, you pay for disaster, u know if you check your email, do internet, download, do office, and so, a simple smart phone can do whatever a win can do + more!
I’m a Linux user, there is no compatibility issue in Linux, everything’s possible (99 percent) and i can do whatever i want to my OS and customize it just the way i like and my TV card with Linux driver (which i bought in 1999, it came with a win98 and Linux driver) still works and i can upgrade Linux to support new things but not loose old stuff and guess what its all possible and absolutely free in Linux!
you know moving to Linux world is like play a guitar for the first time, you need to know basics, you let it go a while, and beep! you’re the master of yourself and nothing like run time error, stupid system requirements, upgrade headaches, service packs, security issues (you paid bill for it, so serve it!) will bother you
think about it
Will Windows 8 pro be multi-language like Windows 7 ultimate?
All Windows 8 editions have the ability to use language packs, enabling multiple user interface languages. This functionality was previously only available in Windows 7 Ultimate or Enterprise. However, in China and a small number of other emerging markets, an edition of Windows 8 without this capability will be offered.
Waqas Khan would you rate Windows 8 above win 7?