Windows 8 preview expires after three weeks

Windows 8 Preview

According to foreign media reports, Microsoft's Windows 8 free preview will expire next month, leaving only about three users Week time to upgrade it to the paid version. If they are not upgraded after the deadline, their system will restart every one or two hours.

All three previews of Windows 8, including the developer preview released in September 2011, the consumer preview and release preview released in February 2012, will be available on January 15, 2013. The date expires. The Windows 8 release preview is the third and final version of the operating system. It was launched on May 31 this year, the first five months of the new operating system release date (October 26).

A long time ago, Microsoft announced the treatment of the preview version after its expiration on January 15th:

“ After the preview version expires, you have no right to use it again. This software is out. "The End User License Agreement for the Windows 8 Release Preview writes," you may not be able to access any unsaved data from the expiration date. Any apps you get through the Windows Store will not appear in your upgraded version unless they allow you to re-download or you re-purchase them. You may not receive any other notices. ”

After the expiration date, the preview will automatically restart every one or two hours, and a message will appear on the screen reminding the user to upgrade to the paid version. In fact, these tips will appear from the first two weeks of the due date (that is, from January 1st), alerting the user that the preview will expire soon.

Users with the preview version can upgrade to the paid version, although Microsoft warns that this upgrade will not transfer legacy applications. According to the "Upgrade to Windows 8" page, after upgrading to Windows 8, the developer and consumer preview files will be saved in a folder called Windows.old, which users can find by hand; The upgrade version of the release preview retains the user's personal files, and nothing else is left.

However, experts have found that they can upgrade their distribution and consumer preview to Windows 8 through cheating.

Until January 31, 2013, the Windows 8 Pro upgrade was priced at $39.99 and can be downloaded from the Internet. Once the offer period ends, the price of the upgrade program may rise to $199.99.