Microsoft
released Windows 8.1 for Intel and RT on October 17th, but it didn't receive
much buzz. Many people quietly upgraded without problems, while others upgraded
and regretted it. One of the most frustrated groups may have been early
adopters of Windows 8.1 Preview. In various forums, quite a few users
complained that they couldn't find the Windows Upgrade in the Microsoft Store,
and the information online didn't resolve the issue. After finding myself in
the same situation, I turned to my last resort -- Microsoft support.
This is a
knee-jerk reaction on my part, having worked for years in Microsoft
technologies and knowing how difficult it is to get a live person who can
actually help resolve an issue. But Microsoft has made great strides in
supporting end-user consumers with Xbox, Zune, and other products and
platforms.
Before
trying to contact Microsoft, I took the following steps:
I brought up
the charms bar and selected Settings | Change PC settings | Update and
recovery, and then applied all the updates there until I was notified that none
remained. When the 8.1 update still wasn’t available, I performed a system
refresh from the Update and recovery menu. The reset looked promising. After
rebooting, I checked updates and discovered that the patches either had to be
reapplied or that more were waiting.
When I went
into the Classic desktop, I felt a surge of excitement when I saw that the
Windows 8.1 Preview watermark was gone. Unfortunately, the This PC properties
page revealed that the device was still on 8.1 Preview. To make This PC show on
your Classic desktop on Windows 8, right-click anywhere on the desktop and
select Personalize. In the Personalization control panel, select Change desktop
icons, and in the Desktop Icons Settings view, add a check to the boxes next to
the icons you want on your desktop. You can then right-click on This PC and
select Properties to view the information on the System control panel.
Next, I
tried Reinstall at the Update and recovery menu. The same issues persisted.
More online research indicated that you can make a USB recovery disk with RT.
This is a step that I had unfortunately neglected, because it would have
allowed me to revert to Windows 8.
I visited
the Microsoft Surface Contact Us page, which was easy to find and navigate. I
selected a live chat and was quickly connected to a support person named Conan.
I explained my issue and the steps I had taken, and to my dismay, he said that
he wanted to confirm that all the updates required for Windows 8.1 had been
applied. Though dubious, I decided it couldn’t hurt to play along. The agent
had me hit the [Windows]+[X] keyboard shortcut that brings up a menu with
shortcuts to a variety of destinations, including the Control Panel, which he
had me open. I was then directed to type “windows update” (no quotes) in the
search box at the right top corner of the window (Figure A).
FIGURE A
Type
"windows update" in the search box.
Next, he had
me click Check for updates. To my surprise, this Windows Classic view found a
firmware update that the Modern UI update from the Charms menu missed. Once the
updates were applied and the RT had rebooted, he had me check again. An
additional update was found and applied, and another reboot followed (Figure
B).
FIGURE B
Installing a
firmware update.
I never find
it hard to upgrade my Windows when it was release, I have even won prize for
sharing my start screen with Windows on Twitter (@Windows). This is the message
I received from Windows “U won a prize! Per rules, Valid in US only:
Visit http://bit.ly/17EF03h and redeem by 11/30. Digital code:
xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx”.
However, if you’re having problems finding the 8.1 upgrade in the Microsoft
Store on an ARM- or Intel-based device, these instructions may help.
Article source: http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/tablets-in-the-enterprise/fix-found-for-windows-81-upgrade-problems-on-surface-rt/
