Before you start
Objectives: Learn which options are available when upgrading to Windows 8 and how to use the Upgrade Assistant tool.
Prerequisites: no prerequisites.
Key terms: Windows, upgrade, assistant, files, current, OS, settings, users, applications
Upgrade Options
We can upgrade our current Windows OS to the new Windows 8 OS. There are some things that we should consider before we do an upgrade. The pricing of the upgrade option can change at any time, so we won’t discuss it here, but the cost to move from previous versions of Windows to Windows 8 is typically cheaper then buying the regular Windows 8 edition.
When we decide to upgrade to Windows 8, we have to be sure what will happen with our current files and configuration on our current Windows OS. Well the thing is, if we do an upgrade from Windows 7, we will be able to keep all programs, Windows settings, users and files. If we do an upgrade from Windows Vista, we will be able to keep Windows settings, users and files. If we do an upgrade from Windows XP, we will only be able to keep our users and files.
Upgrade Assistant
To ensure that we can run Windows 8 on our computer we should run the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant tool. It will scan our computer to see if it is ready for Windows 8. When we run the Upgrade Assistant it will automatically start checking our hardware, applications and connected devices to see if they’ll work with Windows 8.
Upgrade Assistant
When the scan is finished we will get a compatibility report.
Compatibility Report
Compatibility Details
We can also tell the Assistant what we want to keep during the upgrade.
What to Keep
In the end, the Assistant will provide the option to buy, download and install Windows 8.
Offer to Buy