Last sunday I upgraded my notebook from Windows 8 enterprise (from MSDN) to Windows 8.1 enterprise  (from MSDN).

If you have a PC with a “normal” Windows 8 installed, no problem! You’ll see a new upgrade in the Store and you just need to make a click to install it. You can find here a clear explanation from Microsoft. perhaps it’s better you make a backup of your PC on an external hard disk before making the upgrade, even thought the installation program should create a restore point anyway (I suppose): anyway you can easely creaste your backup using the System Image Backup item on the bottom left of the System and Security/File History of the Control Panel, as shown in the following figure.

Backup function of Windows 8

Different if you have a MSDN version of Windows 8 installed. In that case you don’t have an upgrade from the Store but you need to download from MSDN the .iso file of the new release with a new registration code.  In the following you can find some considerations that perhaps could help you!

First of all you need to download the installation file of the same language version, otherwise you won’t find the installation option that allows you to leave all your applications installed, but only the ones to make a completely new installation or only leave your personal files.

For example I had  at the beginning on my PC a Windows 7 in italian, then I upgraded with an MSDN Windows 8 enterprise (I needed to download the italian version) and suddenly changed the language preferenced to English (installing the specific language pack). Now that I upgraded to 8.1, I supposed that I could download the english version, having now my Windows 8 with the english language … but, as I said, in that case there is not the installation option that allows you to mantain the installed applications. So I downloaded the italian version and, as expected, I could choose that first installation option that, I’m sure, you want too!

Windows 8.1 installation options

After the installation, the preference language is again the one of the installation, in my case italian, and I had to install again the english language and set it as the default one for my user, as prompted in the following warning message during the installation: I remind you that in Windows 8, every user of the computer can choose his preferred language, also a different one from any other.

You need to install again the default language if different from the installation one

At the end you need to insert the activation code, as stated in the right down string on the desktop. You need to click on that warning to go to Control Panel\System and Security\System and insert the key you find in you MSDN subscription. If, as it happened to me, that link let you navigate to the start screen and not to the setting page where you can insert your key … don’t panic! It is sufficient to make a reboot and everything will work fine 🙂

Remind that at the end, if everything is OK, you can delete some files related to the previous Windows 8 installation, going to Control Panel\System and Security\Administrative Tools and running DiskCleanup as administrator.