The ISO is currently available for MSDN subscribers only

Dec 16, 2014 12:06 GMT  ·  By

Even though so many eyes are focused on Windows 10 and the features that it's going to bring to us in mid-2015, Microsoft still wants to get Windows 8.1 right, so new updates arrive on a monthly basis for users and organizations running it.

This time, the company has published on MSDN new Windows 8.1 ISOs containing the November 2014 update rollup, which basically means that users can now install this particular OS version from scratch without having to install tons of patches through Windows Update.

The new ISO is available in both English and other languages and comes in two different versions for x64 and x86 system configurations.

Currently available for MSDN subscribers only

At this point, this new ISO is only available for those with an active MSDN subscription, so unless you're a paying company or developer, there's no way to download it. Of course, there's always the less legal way, but this involves additional steps that not everyone is willing to make.

And still, there's no need to hurry up because, most of the time, Microsoft also releases these ISOs to the general public only a few days of weeks after the MSDN launch, so expect them to become available to everyone in the near future.

Why do I need an ISO?

If you're a system administrator that manages several computers running Windows 8.1, the answer is pretty much obvious. The ISO comes in handy when trying to reinstall the operating system from scratch, without having to go through the same painful updating process every single time.

As for consumers, the reason is very similar, as installing Windows 8.1 or even Windows 8 on your PC and waiting for several hours to complete the download and installation of all updates is definitely a really painful process.

At the same time, let's not forget those who had trouble with a number of updates which failed to install on their computers. What's more, there are people running Windows 8 on their PCs who are still struggling to update to Windows 8.1 because of installation issues, so such an ISO would clearly come in handy.

Of course, there are some disadvantages as well because you might lose some of your files, app, and settings, but at least you get a fully functional operating system that's in tip-top shape.

Keep in mind that these ISOs are only available for MSDN subscribers for the time being, but we'll let you know when they are released for everyone else.

MSDN downloads (5 Images)

The new ISOs are available only for MSDN subscribers
ISOs are available in multiple languagesWindows 8.1 ISO details
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