A number of users are still having problems setting up Windows 8.1 Update

May 12, 2014 13:11 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft will officially stop providing updates for Windows 8.1 computers tomorrow, which means that those who are still running this particular OS version on their devices, be they PCs or tablets, need to switch to Windows 8.1 Update as soon as possible.

While deploying Windows 8.1 Update should be piece of cake, especially because it's a mandatory process that everyone needs to do by May 13, it appears that a number of users are still experiencing issues with it due to some errors occurred during installation.

Microsoft has already acknowledged these errors and released several workarounds to help users deal with them but, in many cases, they make almost no difference.

With less than 24 hours left until users need to install Windows 8.1 Update, some are wondering how they can keep their documents up to date since deploying this new OS release is every time interrupted by an error caused by Microsoft's software.

Here's a message posted by one of the affected users today:

“This solution does not work for me, installed in exact order. My computer still stops at 75%, then returns back to restore back to previous, stating ‘Could not complete install’ with no error code. One thing that I noticed after the restore is that my Internet Explorer is completely missing from desktop, quickstart and program listings. Only way to restore is to go into Control panel and set defaults back to Microsoft. Individual reset of Internet Explorer does not work.”

Microsoft claims that making Windows 8.1 Update mandatory was the only option because, in the future, all updates that it's going to release will be entirely based on this OS version. This means that users who do not want to update won't be able to run these improvements, the company added.

Starting tomorrow, Windows 8.1 computers that aren't running Windows 8.1 Update will only see the new OS version in Windows Update, with no other patches and security fixes to be delivered to these machines. As a result, their only option is to deploy Windows 8.1 Update and only then get the rest of their patches to keep the operating system completely secure.

Of course, nobody knows what will actually happen to users who can't install Windows 8.1 Update, so it remains to be seen whether Microsoft is ready to release another fix or simply let those affected solve the problems all by themselves.

Update: Microsoft has just confirmed that it's moving the Windows 8.1 Update installation deadline to June 10.