8.1 Preview- Things to consider first

[prlundberg]

I was wondering if people who have installed the 8.1 preview could start a list of things that may make us want to wait for the final release. For example, I have multiple profiles and don't really want to install the preview if it means I have to re-setup from scratch and then do it again when the final release comes out. Somebody had mentioned the messaging app disappeared, and it appears at least two were bricked.

Obviously it is not the final release and some bugs and issues are to be expected. But I think a list of the major things would be helpful.

Thanks

 

[Narse77]

It looks like Skype is being set up to replace the messaging app. I am very happy I did the upgrade and on the Surface RT you will be able to upgrade the preview to the final version. To me the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. The ability to add SD cards to your library was alone enough for me. It seems much quicker also on my Surface RT.

Note: I am a IT professional so items I fix and never think about may be dealbreakers for normal users.

 

[stmav]

One thing I'd be interested in knowing. How much free space did you need to install, and how much was there after installation.

 

[Tvan15]

You need the 10GB free to do it, but it doesn't use that once it is done. I started with 12.5GB free and ended up with a little over 15GB free once it was done.

 

[prlundberg]

OK I did find the Microsoft FAQ, seems there is a lot of misinformation out there:

Windows 8.1 Preview FAQ - Microsoft Windows

My files, settings, and most apps are not affected according to that on RT. And a refresh will restore to 8.0. So I decided to go ahead and try it. I'm installing now.

I also had read that you needed 10 GB free, so I cleaned up a bunch of stuff. However I only managed to free up 9 and when it downloaded it was less than 3 GB. I see 10 is a requirement on the FAQ but nothing has stopped me yet. I am wondering how the heck I used up so much space in the first place, I don't have hardly anything on it other than Office and a handful of apps. Good thing I have a 64GB SD card I guess.

 

[inteller]

the messaging app is going away? that would really suck because the UI of Skype SUCKS.

 

[HeyCori]

Started with 10 but gained 2GBs after the install.

Some things to consider:

-Reinstalling all your apps for the official release
-Unforeseen bugs could crash your entire system
-Some apps don't work in 8.1 (according to Engadget)
-If this is your only computer
-Other people are dependent on the computer
-You're not tech savvy

 

[latempete]

I saw the reinstall all apps requirement for subsequent releases of windows 8.1. Is that definitely the case? If so, that is a deal breaker.

 

[HeyCori]

Yup, Microsoft confirmed apps will have to be reinstalled.

 

[Pete]

Another thing to consider is the big fat warning on the FAQ page:-

[h=3]Warning[/h]

• If you're currently using Windows RT, you won't be able to uninstall Windows RT 8.1 Preview. You'll be able to upgrade to the final edition of Windows RT 8.1 when it becomes available.

So, if you want to go back to stable (ish) 8.0, you'll have to perform a factory reset and prepare for a little pain...

 

[Narse77]

Yup, Microsoft confirmed apps will have to be reinstalled.

It looks like your apps list is saved in the cloud on skydrive. It seems to set them up to automatically download them once you set it up and signed in. It's somewhat like how it works on Windows Phone 8.

 

[dkp23]

Biggest plus for me is the ability to get the sdcard to recognize in the libraries. No more VHDs and other weird tweaks to get the music/video apps to recognize files. This alone outweights any draw backs for me.

I did the install yesterday, but dind't have much time to mess with it yet, so i brought to work to play around later at lunch. I had 11 gb of space when i did the install and it increased to 13 gb, so a 2gb increase after update. WIll need to go to disk management to see if i can delete any more, but it opened up quite a bit of storage.

Outlook RT is on here which is nice, i like it better than the mail app which wasn't improved. Improvements to the mail app wont come until the final release i think i read. So will use the outlook RT for the time being.

I had a bunch of apps ready to DL since i think the app list is saved somewhere, so i just pressed the arrow on the icon and it downloaded quickly. No more having to go to the store do download everything, much easier.

What i thought the preview had was the seamless background that covers both the metro start menu and the traditional desktop. Is that in preview or in the final release only?

I remember reading about the app list being pulled up from the button, i thought it was a swipe up, but really it is hitting the arrow. This doesnt matter, but confused me for about 15 seconds.

THe surface RT wasn't any much fastter to me in terms of apps opening or browsing, seems to be the same. So i dont think the preview addressed any of the sluggishness when opening apps and browsing.

 

[AR2186]

Biggest plus for me is the ability to get the sdcard to recognize in the libraries. No more VHDs and other weird tweaks to get the music/video apps to recognize files. This alone outweights any draw backs for me.

I did the install yesterday, but dind't have much time to mess with it yet, so i brought to work to play around later at lunch. I had 11 gb of space when i did the install and it increased to 13 gb, so a 2gb increase after update. WIll need to go to disk management to see if i can delete any more, but it opened up quite a bit of storage.

Outlook RT is on here which is nice, i like it better than the mail app which wasn't improved. Improvements to the mail app wont come until the final release i think i read. So will use the outlook RT for the time being.

I had a bunch of apps ready to DL since i think the app list is saved somewhere, so i just pressed the arrow on the icon and it downloaded quickly. No more having to go to the store do download everything, much easier.

What i thought the preview had was the seamless background that covers both the metro start menu and the traditional desktop. Is that in preview or in the final release only?

I remember reading about the app list being pulled up from the button, i thought it was a swipe up, but really it is hitting the arrow. This doesnt matter, but confused me for about 15 seconds.

THe surface RT wasn't any much fastter to me in terms of apps opening or browsing, seems to be the same. So i dont think the preview addressed any of the sluggishness when opening apps and browsing.

As far as the background is concerned, I had to set both the traditional desktop background and the metro/modern background seperately to the same picture (for start screen, i think it is under personalization in the charms bar). Once I did that, the whole experience got a lot better. Really happy with RT8.1 for far

 

[latempete]

It looks like your apps list is saved in the cloud on skydrive. It seems to set them up to automatically download them once you set it up and signed in. It's somewhat like how it works on Windows Phone 8.

Hmmm.. But it is ALL apps correct? I know they sometimes make a distinction between "desktop apps" and "apps". I am using a Surface Pro with Windows 8 Pro and reinstalling all of my Adobe apps and plugins along with Blu-Ray and DVD buring software... (you get the picture) would be like starting from scratch. I would lose all my settings configurations.. If it were just apps from the store that's one thing but all of them? I can't do that.

 

[Bundalings]

I'm not on a Surface but I assume it's the same. It auto reinstalled the metro apps but didn't even touch my desktop apps, so you're safe, latempete.

 

[prlundberg]

Yup, Microsoft confirmed apps will have to be reinstalled.

The last info I saw about this was three weeks ago. In the FAQ and during install, there is no mention of this that I saw. I have my doubts Microsoft wouldn't mention something that important, but they've done worse I suppose. If app progress and settings are stored in SkyDrive I guess it wouldn't be a big deal anyway...

 

[prlundberg]

Well it's up now. Pretty painless operation, took over an hour. All apps and profiles are the same. Some settings like colors and wallpaper were reset but not a big deal.

Not a big change as far as speed, and some updates bring more complications I'll need to figure out later. Like how to save SkyDrive files to the SD card, setting SD contents to public libraries, organizing my favorites in IE11, etc. But overall a nice update, really what 8.0 should have been. IE is noticeably faster on web pages when you go back, which was an annoyance to me. Not on all pages though.

 

[dkp23]

Well it's up now. Pretty painless operation, took over an hour. All apps and profiles are the same. Some settings like colors and wallpaper were reset but not a big deal.

Not a big change as far as speed, and some updates bring more complications I'll need to figure out later. Like how to save SkyDrive files to the SD card, setting SD contents to public libraries, organizing my favorites in IE11, etc. But overall a nice update, really what 8.0 should have been. IE is noticeably faster on web pages when you go back, which was an annoyance to me. Not on all pages though.

To get your sdcard media into the libraries, it is easier now. Just right click on the folder in the sdcard and select include in the folder selected. I was able to do this yesterday with the music and video files.

 

[latempete]

I'm not on a Surface but I assume it's the same. It auto reinstalled the metro apps but didn't even touch my desktop apps, so you're safe, latempete.

Oh, it's not the first install I am worried about. I looked at the FAQ and know that should be fine. It's the "reinstall all apps for subsequent releases of windows 8.1" statement at the bottom of the chart that shows the different versions of windows and what you will keep and what you will lose. Basically, it sounds to me as if I am fine to install the preview but any update after, including the official 8.1 release, will require ALL apps to be reinstalled. If so I just can't do it. I am a hard core computer person and don't mind hiccups but this is my main computer and as such the inconvenience and work involved reinstalling everything would just be too much. If I wouldn't have to reinstall my desktop apps (Adobe Suite, Office,...) then I would jump on this.

 

[StarLog]

will not jailbreak going back to 8.0 painful or not i need to JB this beast