Windows 8.1 Update Download and installation guide
Windows 8.1 Update 1 has been officially released. The
easiest way to update is to visit PC Settings (available from the new
right-side Charms bar), and click “Update and recovery.” If you want to
download the standalone Windows 8.1 Update 1 files, follow the instructions
below.
Microsoft has officially announced that Windows 8.1 Update 1
will roll out on April 8. You can install the update today, however, by
downloading the files directly from the Windows Update servers. This is
slightly naughty, but the files are legitimate and final — these are the exact
same update files that you would get if you waited until April 8.
How do you do that, for free? Just follow these simple
instructions.
How to download and install Windows 8.1 Update 1
As always, we have to preface this with the usual
disclaimer: Downloading Windows updates from anyone other than Microsoft is
risky. At the very least, you should ensure that the SHA hash of the downloaded
file matches by using the Microsoft File Checksum Integrity Verifier (a free
tool). If you have any important documents on your computer, you should back
them up, too (this should be an unnecessary precaution, though; Update 1 is
just a bunch of patches, rather than a complete reinstallation).
So, there are two routes to obtaining Windows 8.1 Update 1.
First, you can try the official download links from Microsoft, which worked at
the time of publishing. If they don’t work, you may find some working
third-party download links in the comments below, or you can search the
internet for the files yourself.
Updated: It’s now April 8, so if these download links don’t
work, just wait for the update to appear on the official Windows Update.
Official Windows Update download links:
64-bit:
32-bit:
ARM:
Alternatively, if you don’t like direct downloads, you can
always hit up the Windows Update website and follow the instructions there.
Once you’ve downloaded Update 1, you will have six separate
patches that need to be installed in a very specific order. Your computer will
need to reboot a few times during the process.
KB2919442
KB2919355
KB2932046
KB2937592
KB2938439
KB2934018
Windows 8.1 Update 1 Desktop. Note how Metro apps can now be
minimized to the taskbar. There’s no sign of ‘Update 1′ in the system info
window, interestingly.
And that should be it! If you’re a mouse-and-keyboard user,
you will find that Windows 8.1 Update 1 makes the Metro interface a lot more
palatable. Whether this will move you to actually use the new Start screen, I’m
not so sure. Unless there’s a Metro-style app that you really want to use, you
will probably still find yourself on the Desktop, using a third-party app to
bring back the Windows 7-style Start menu. Still, on the rare occasion that you
find yourself thrust into the new Metro interface, Update 1 makes the whole
experience feel a little less you’re being brutally plucked out of one
operating system and unceremoniously dumped in another. So that’s good.
On the Desktop side of things, Update 1 doesn’t do a whole
lot. I’m sure there will be some small, useful tweaks, but the main changes
appear to be better support for high-PPI displays, and audio/video files will
now be opened in Photo Viewer and Media Player respectively, rather than
bouncing you into Metro. For the 23 people using Windows 8.1 on a tablet,
Update 1 adds a Search button to the Start screen, and some of the stock Metro
apps have been updated/improved. Thrilling stuff. Microsoft’s hunt for Windows
8 market share continues.
