Having upgraded the OS on systems dating back to Windows 3.1, I was surprised to see the hoops MS had me jump through to install the "Free" Windows 8.1 upgrade on a computer that had a factory installed Windows 8.0 system.
The upgrade, only available from the Windows Store, insisted on using the Metro interface.
When the download was complete, the installation began automatically. The entire process took about four hours, with the download taking about half that time.
The installation went through numerous cycles of 0% to 100% always displaying cutsey messages telling me "we're almost there"
When the installation ended, the Metro interface appeared, asking for approval of the terms of service, then wanted me to sign in with a Microsoft account. They make it sound like there's no alternative, but that step can be bypassed by ignoring the sign in. Then MS would like me to accept their "Recommended Settings" but I chose to customize the settings. By doing so I eliminated all of Microsoft's default settings to make Bing my search engine and various settings that would favor MS (sending info etc)
When I finally got through all the settings, the computer defaulted to the Metro screen, even though this computer has Classic Shell installed for the start button and for the classic menu on the desktop interface.
Interestingly MS chose to disable Classic Shell, and put their own "Start Button" that toggles between Metro and Desktop, but I lost the Classic menu.
Even if I started Classic Shell manually, on a restart, Classic Shell was disabled. I needed to run the Classic Shell installation using the "Repair" utility to correct the registry that MS disabled and now it works just fine, thank you.
In addition, Microsoft chose to corrupt another utility I need to communicate with my Linksys router, that needed to be re-installed.
Bottom line, the Windows 8.1 upgrade is not a clean as should be expected, and anyone doing it should be vigilant throughout the operation, and be ready to make some "corrections" once it is installed.
The upgrade, only available from the Windows Store, insisted on using the Metro interface.
When the download was complete, the installation began automatically. The entire process took about four hours, with the download taking about half that time.
The installation went through numerous cycles of 0% to 100% always displaying cutsey messages telling me "we're almost there"
When the installation ended, the Metro interface appeared, asking for approval of the terms of service, then wanted me to sign in with a Microsoft account. They make it sound like there's no alternative, but that step can be bypassed by ignoring the sign in. Then MS would like me to accept their "Recommended Settings" but I chose to customize the settings. By doing so I eliminated all of Microsoft's default settings to make Bing my search engine and various settings that would favor MS (sending info etc)
When I finally got through all the settings, the computer defaulted to the Metro screen, even though this computer has Classic Shell installed for the start button and for the classic menu on the desktop interface.
Interestingly MS chose to disable Classic Shell, and put their own "Start Button" that toggles between Metro and Desktop, but I lost the Classic menu.
Even if I started Classic Shell manually, on a restart, Classic Shell was disabled. I needed to run the Classic Shell installation using the "Repair" utility to correct the registry that MS disabled and now it works just fine, thank you.
In addition, Microsoft chose to corrupt another utility I need to communicate with my Linksys router, that needed to be re-installed.
Bottom line, the Windows 8.1 upgrade is not a clean as should be expected, and anyone doing it should be vigilant throughout the operation, and be ready to make some "corrections" once it is installed.
