Upgrade from Consumer Preview to Final Release

blackhawk1928

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Hi,
If I have Microsoft Windows 8 Consumer Preview or whatever it is called...will I have to reinstall the entire thing when I buy the real released version that is coming out soon?...Or can I download an update and just put in my activation key or something.

I searched all over and no concrete answer came up. Thank you for any help!

Edit: I found somewhere that was said Microsoft claimed any pre-release installs were all a dead end. Can anybody confirm?
 

pauls3743

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If I remember correctly, the jump from Windows 7 Consumer preview to the released version was a clean install and I think it'll be the same for 8. Although, I'll be waiting until Microsoft get their act together and release a half decent version (one that works with the Start Menu and doesn't have hidden menus) before I switch over from Windows 7.
 

nbelote

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Oct 5, 2009
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Before I give you the link, here is a warning:

Any upgrade from a beta version of a product, such as an upgrade from Windows 8 Customer Preview or Windows 8 Release Preview, is bound to have inherent bugs and glitches, some possibly system-crashing. It is best to do a clean install regardless of the ease of the process. It is unsupported by Microsoft and I highly doubt any of us here will be able to help you sort out said issues.

Anyway, here it is:

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9230479/Bloggers_show_how_to_upgrade_Windows_8_previews_to_RTM