I’ve now upgraded 4 machines to Windows 8.1.
3 desktops, 1 laptop. (2 triple boot, 2 dual boot)
Here are my early notes.
***Check back here as this post may be updated over the next few days.
Prep
1 – All apps and drivers updated to latest versions.
2 – All Windows updates installed.
3 – Full backup done using True Image.
4 – Disabled Start8 (C:\Program Files (x86)\Stardock\Start8\Start8tweak.exe).
Install
From store. Download was slow, Microsoft servers getting hammered.
Zero installation issues.
First Boot
2 of 4 machines had an error on first boot:
1 – Creative sound driver needed to be reinstalled. Action Center / Maintenance Center found and installed it.
2 – Laptop kept trying to load a driver that didn’t exist. Deleted via Autoruns.
Ran Windows Update
A few updates available.
Cleanup
Ran CCleaner. Ran cleanmgr > Clean up system files > Previous Windows installation(s)
*Warning – See How to remove the Windows.old folder
Before you use Disk Cleanup, make sure that all of your files and settings are where you expect them to be.
Deleting the Windows.old folder can’t be undone.
SSD Settings
As I had found earlier (Windows 8.1 RTM And SSDs) Windows 8.1 IS NOT optimizing itself for SSDs. This is a direct result of pulling WEI / Winsat assessment.
– All 4 machines SSDs were correctly identified as such (check defrag).
– All prefetch settings were:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters
“EnableSuperfetch”=dword:00000003
“EnablePrefetcher”=dword:00000003
– ran winsat formal, rebooted. Prefetch settings changed to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters
“EnablePrefetcher”=dword:00000003
The EnableSuperfetch value was removed.
Backup
Made 2 images. 1 using Windows System Image Backup, 1 using True Image.
Miscellaneous Notes
– Had to re-enable autologin ( netplwiz )
– MS tries to get you to use a Microsoft account. As I noted earlier, Skip it by choosing Create a new account > Sign in without a Microsoft account .
– Dual/Triple-Boot. All OS’s were found and loaded to boot manager. Ran EasyBCD to get it to manage the bootloader again.
– Haven’t had time to check other tweaks.
– Expect tweak guide in 5 to 7 days.
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