Windows 8.1— Is it worth the update?

When the news about Windows 8.1 broke, I was feeling a little excited for a chance to upgrade my Lenovo Idea Pad Touch running on Windows 8. A year ago, Windows 8 was the latest operating system aimed at making touch-screen devices easy to use. It is also aimed for devices that can easily switch between touch and keyboard modes.

Microsoft has made the upgrade to sort out some software patches experienced with Windows 8, which is basically to appeal to more traditional PC users, like me, who want to switch back to the traditional Windows experience.

Among the notable changes are:

• ð        Instead of the usual tile-base app user interface at start up (which I sometimes find annoying), you can boot directly into desktop mode;
• ð        You can also do multitasking as you can now snap more apps side by side;
• ð        Along with the search that will direct into the cloud-based SkyDrive storage, Window 8.1 promises a better cross system;
• ð        And finally, the START button is back! (It irritates me so much not finding having the start button because I need to swipe even when in desktop mode, to shut down my pc.)

To upgrade or not?

I wanted to upgrade on because anyway, its free for those devices running on Windows 8. They say that the upgrade is largely free and installs seamlessly into the device, with some additional features. It won’t cost a dime to upgrade if you are currently running with Windows 8, as you can just download it to make your software run better.

As Windows 8.1 is an upgrade of Windows 8, it is ideally feasible for touchscreen interface. So, you can’t do much with the upgrade if you are running on Windows 7. Anyway, Windows 7 works completely fine with all sorts of application. Eventually though, you’ll get to use Windows 8 since almost all PC running under a Microsoft operating system uses it. However, you need to upgrade only if you need some finishing touches to your touchscreen devices running on Windows 8.

Problems with the upgrade?

I wanted to upgrade to Windows 8.1, but reading some reviews, some users who upgraded reported installation issues, although the upgrade runs without a hitch to majority of users. However, a lot of user has also complained encountering errors during the upgrade. Some of the common errors encountered are: The Boot Configuration Data file is missing some required information; Couldn’t update to Windows 1.1-) xC19001010x40017; and Sorry, it looks like this PC can’t run Windows 8.1.

Well, I’m having second thoughts about the update. Maybe I’ll leave it a few more days before making the decision to update or not. It took me sometime to master my Windows 8 because I’m used to the traditional desktop mode. Also, I missed the START button, somehow I managed to adjust without it. I do not want to be experiencing those glitches right at the moment when I need to finish a lot of things. Maybe after a while, I would consider doing the update.