14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft yesterday released the new Windows 8.1 Preview and even if the update is available as a free download for all Windows 8 users, not everybody can install it.
For some reason, a number of Windows 8 consumers cannot deploy Windows 8.1 Preview, even though the update shows up in the Store after deploying the original patch.
We’ve contacted Microsoft for more information on this and it appears that it’s all because of different language packs, so the company recommends users to wait until an official fix is released and only then deploy Windows 8.1 Preview.
“The base language of your OS (the language chosen during setup) is outside one of the 13 supported languages for Windows 8.1 Preview. Please note that any other language or non-specified version (such as English (United Kingdom) and Portuguese (Portugal)) are not included among the supported languages,” Microsoft explains.
At the same time, Windows 8.1 Preview doesn’t work if you’re running Windows 8 Enterprise and the only way to deploy the update is to get the standalone ISOs and create a dual-boot configuration.
The funny thing is that Microsoft is yet to make the ISOs public, so you have no other option than to wait for an official fix.
When it comes to Windows RT, there’s basically no workaround since you’re not allowed to install from an ISO file. Microsoft’s recommendation? Simply wait until a patch is rolled out.
“If one of these conditions applies to you, Windows 8 customers will be able to install Windows 8.1 Preview using the ISO image once they become available. However if you have Windows RT, you cannot install from an ISO file – you can only install Windows RT 8.1 Preview if your original OS language was one of the 13 supported languages,” the company said.
Read our Windows 8.1 Preview launch live coverage here or check out more details on the download process.