Windows 8.1: The Missing Manual

Installing Windows 8.1

Once you’ve decided to take the plunge and install Windows, you can begin the countdown.

Preparing for the Installation

If you’ve made all the plans and done all the thinking described so far in this chapter, you have only a short checklist left to follow:

• Update your virus program and scan for viruses—then turn it off. If you’re updating an existing copy of Windows, turn off your virus checker. Also turn off auto-loading programs like non-Microsoft firewall software and Web ad blockers.

• Confirm that your computer’s BIOS—its basic startup circuitry—is compatible with Windows 8.1. To find out, contact the manufacturer of the computer or the BIOS.

  Don’t skip this step. You may well need to upgrade your BIOS if the computer was made before mid-2006.

• Gather updated, Windows 8.1–compatible drivers for all your computer’s components. Graphics and audio cards are particularly likely to need updates, so be sure to check the manufacturers’ Web sites—and driver-information sites like www.windrivers.com and www.driverguide.com—and download any new drivers you find there.

  WORKAROUND WORKSHOP: When No Windows Disc Comes With Your PC

  It’s becoming increasingly common for computer manufacturers to sell you a new PC without including an operating system DVD. (Every 11 cents counts, right?) The machine has Windows installed on it—but if there’s no installation CD or DVD or flash drive, what are you supposed to do in case of emergency?

  Instead of a physical Windows disc, the manufacturer ...