Skip to main content

Windows 8.1 Update 1 released early

·273 words·2 mins
system-administration tech sysadmin technology windows-8-1
James Pettigrove
Author
James Pettigrove
Cloud Engineer with a focus on Microsoft Azure
Table of Contents

If you are not already aware, Microsoft have been preparing a whole host of improvements to Windows 8.1 entitled “Update 1” (creative huh!). Most of these changes are based around making Windows 8.1 more friendly to those of us using a traditional PC such as a desktop or non-touch notebook. If you are one of those people, and a little daring, there are two ways to get the update earlier than the scheduled April release.

Method 1 - Download and Apply Windows Update packages:
#

KB Arch URL
KB2919442 (Preparation Package) x86 download.windowsupdate.com/c/msdownload/update/software/crup/2014/02/windows8.1-kb2919442-x86_94ee3d715e732ed28c64b8096327375a35f5d211.msu
x64 download.windowsupdate.com/c/msdownload/update/software/crup/2014/02/windows8.1-kb2919442-x64_f97d8290d9d75d96f163095c4cb05e1b9f6986e0.msu
ARM download.windowsupdate.com/c/msdownload/update/software/crup/2014/02/windows8.1-kb2919442-arm_506ed7113697c597c2859d295d562fa4311834ec.msu
KB2939087 (Preparation Package) x86 download.windowsupdate.com/d/msdownload/update/software/crup/2014/03/windows8.1-kb2939087-x86_922410536df105c716a323b0a67956988aa17f40.msu
x64 download.windowsupdate.com/d/msdownload/update/software/crup/2014/03/windows8.1-kb2939087-x64_89d4949cd698c645c7a6e96a012eecab44d5c5e1.msu
ARM download.windowsupdate.com/d/msdownload/update/software/crup/2014/03/windows8.1-kb2939087-arm_53005551079dfe5ad4d03f85768801c794cedb60.msu
KB2919355 (Update 1 Package) x86 download.windowsupdate.com/c/msdownload/update/software/crup/2014/02/windows8.1-kb2919355-x86_de9df31e42fe034c9a763328326e5852c2b4963d.msu
x64 download.windowsupdate.com/d/msdownload/update/software/crup/2014/02/windows8.1-kb2919355-x64_e6f4da4d33564419065a7370865faacf9b40ff72.msu
ARM download.windowsupdate.com/c/msdownload/update/software/crup/2014/02/windows8.1-kb2919355-arm_a6119d3e5ddd1a233a09dd79d91067de7b826f85.msu
KB2932046 (Supplement Package) x86 download.windowsupdate.com/c/msdownload/update/software/crup/2014/02/windows8.1-kb2932046-x86_bfd8ca4c683ccec26355afc1f2e677f3809cb3d6.msu
x64 download.windowsupdate.com/d/msdownload/update/software/crup/2014/02/windows8.1-kb2919355-x64_e6f4da4d33564419065a7370865faacf9b40ff72.msu
ARM download.windowsupdate.com/c/msdownload/update/software/crup/2014/02/windows8.1-kb2932046-arm_fe6acf558880d127aef1a759a8c2539afc67b5fb.msu
KB2938439 (Supplement Package) x86 download.windowsupdate.com/c/msdownload/update/software/crup/2014/03/windows8.1-kb2938439-x86_ac9aca7e41c8e818edbea0a8026189ee086f7aa2.msu
x64 download.windowsupdate.com/c/msdownload/update/software/crup/2014/03/windows8.1-kb2938439-x64_3ed1574369e36b11f37af41aa3a875a115a3eac1.msu
ARM download.windowsupdate.com/d/msdownload/update/software/crup/2014/03/windows8.1-kb2938439-arm_4a536d9ddcd9993cbe4fbc309ebd50a18d65f954.msu
KB2937592 (Supplement Package) x86 download.windowsupdate.com/d/msdownload/update/software/crup/2014/02/windows8.1-kb2937592-x86_96a3416d480bd2b54803df26b8e76cd1d0008d43.msu
x64 download.windowsupdate.com/c/msdownload/update/software/crup/2014/02/windows8.1-kb2937592-x64_4abc0a39c9e500c0fbe9c41282169c92315cafc2.msu
ARM download.windowsupdate.com/c/msdownload/update/software/crup/2014/02/windows8.1-kb2937592-arm_860c83a0cccc0519111f57a679ae9f9d071315e5.msu

Grab each MSU package for each KB article for your flavour of Windows and apply in top to bottom order as shown above.

Method 2 - Edit the Registry:
#

  1. Open up Windows Update and apply any waiting updates

  2. Open up REGEDIT and go to the following key

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows

  3. Now create a new key inside and name it

    SHWindowsPoolS14

  4. Restart your PC

  5. Check Windows Update for Update 1 Package

As always, your mileage may vary so tread carefully and enjoy the update!

Update
#

There are reports Microsoft have stopped the registry tweak from working and removed the files from Windows Update. Fear not, get the MSU package files from a MEGA mirror below:

Thanks to the My Digital Life forum for the links

Related

Post Windows 8.1 Upgrade Cleanup
·240 words·2 mins
system-administration tech sysadmin technology windows-8-1
One of the handy things about performing a in-place upgrade Windows versus a wipe/install upgrade is the option to rollback to your old copy of Windows if things didn’t turn out the way you like.
Windows 8.1 & Server 2012 R2 release dates announced
·153 words·1 min
system-administration tech sysadmin technology windows windows-8 windows-8-1 windows-server-2012-r2
If you have been hanging out for the latest release of Windows for either your home computer or your server farms the wait is almost over.
TechEd '13 Europe is on right now
·178 words·1 min
system-administration tech microsoft sql-server-2014 sysadmin system-center-2012-r2 teched technology windows-8-1 windows-azure windows-server-2012-r2
It’s a fantastic time in tech circles at the moment.