All about versions of Windows 8.1 and how to legally download the latest image without a subscription
I want to share in one note important, in my opinion, information about the versioning of Windows 8.1 images, and how anyone can absolutely legally download the language version and edition they need. Taking into account the fact that after the release of Windows 8.1, images were reassembled at least five times, the issue of versioning becomes interesting for administrators and enthusiasts.
Recently, I wrote about how you can perfectly legally download the latest Microsoft Office from the Microsoft website - both the corporate version and the box Retail - any languages ​​and products, with all the integrated updates. Today I will tell you how to do the same with the operating system - the tools provided by Microsoft itself.
But first I want to talk about the versions of Windows 8.1. Not about publications - there is a lot of this good in the network, namely about public versions of OS assemblies. After all, it is convenient for any administrator to download an image with all the integrated updates, rather than installing a hundred yourself. And download the image from the Microsoft site, and not a self-made assembly with torrents. All that I will talk about versions of Windows 8.1 is applicable to Windows Server 2012 R2, with the exception of the channel for free download images to reinstall the OS. But let's do everything in order.
The final build of Windows 8.1 (and Windows Server 2012 R2) number 9600.16384 .WINBLUE_RTM.130821-1623 was assembled and signed on August 21, 2013 and became available to partners on August 27, and since September 9, MSDN / TechNet subscribers. The disk label in RTM version images begins with the letters IRM .
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On October 27, 2013, Windows 8.1 became publicly available — in the Windows Store app store, on MSDN / TechNet, and for corporate subscribers. The OS version in corporate VL images 9600.16415 .WINBLUE_REFRESH.130928-2229 includes an update called Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 General Availability Update Rollup . The disk label in GA version images begins with the letters IR1 . On the Internet, this assembly is often called Rollup Update 1 (RU1), and less often more correctly R1. Retail images were not publicly laid out, but were available through the Windows Store in ESD format. The full list of included updates looks like this:
In November 2013, a monthly cumulative update of Windows RT 8.1, Windows 8.1, and Windows Server 2012 R2 update rollup: November 2013 is released , and corporate versions of images with Windows Server 2012 R2 are unexpectedly updated for everyone. Retail versions of the server OS and any versions of the client OS did not receive an integrated update. Assembly number 9600.16422 .WINBLUE_GDR.131006-1505 is known on the Internet as Rollup Update 2 (RU2) and less often as R2. The label of disks in images of this version begins with the letters IR2 . Let me remind you that only the VL assembly of the server OS with this update is officially available. The full list of included updates looks like this:
April 8, 2014 comes Windows RT 8.1, Windows 8.1, and Windows Server 2012 R2 update: April 2014 , - an update designed to bring Windows 8.x popularity on computers without a touch screen. The OS version is 9600.17031 .WINBLUE_GDR.140221-1952. On the Internet, the build is known as "Update 1", "Spring Update" and "U1", very rarely as "R3". The label of disks in images of this version begins with the letters IR3 . In this version, in addition to the main KB2919355, there are several more updates. The full list looks like this:
With this assembly, a edition with BING appeared in the Windows 8.1 family (known as Core Connected - free for OEM manufacturers who do not have the right to change the default search and browser settings under the terms of the agreement. The user, of course, can change everything) and an inexpensive version of Professional Student (known as Pro for Education) for educational institutions - with the full functionality of the professional version.
In August 2014, updated ESD images with version 9600.17053 .WINBLUE_REFRESH.140923-1144 quietly appear in the Windows Store. They do not appear on MSDN / TechNet, and only those who are already familiar with the distribution format of ESD know about their existence (which I will discuss below). The label of disks in images of this version begins with the letters IR4 . Starting with this build, the OS includes the Embedded Lockdown Manager, previously available only in Windows Embedded. By the way, if you update the previously installed OS via Windows Update, it will not appear. The full list of included updates looks like this:
December 15, 2014 on subscriptions MSDN / TechNet and on the download site for corporate subscribers appears version 9600.17483 .WINBLUE_R5.141106-1500 with an integrated update November 2014 update rollup for Windows RT 8.1, Windows 8.1, and Windows Server 2012 R2 . The Internet version is called Rollup Update 3 (RU3), although it is more correct to call it R5, as can be seen from the name of the WINBLUE_R5 assembly branch. The label of disks in images of this version begins with the letters IR5 . The full list of included updates looks like this:
Summarizing the above on versions of OS Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 - at the moment publicly available images have been collected already six times. The most recent are available for subscribers and contain all updates included in the November cumulative OS update. For those who do not have subscriptions, it is more interesting to continue the article, where I will tell you that you can legally download the latest OS from the Microsoft website without any subscriptions. Well, or almost the latest version - at the time of writing, versions R4 are available for free download, but I am sure that public availability of versions R5, which are already available on MSDN / TechNet, is not far off.
With the release of Windows 8.1 to Microsoft, the view on the infallibility of its OS has apparently changed. Now the corporation understands that users sometimes need to reinstall the OS. And how to reinstall the OS on a PC or laptop with a pre-installed system, if no disc was attached, and the dinosaur DVD is already extinct in modern laptops (and servers)? Microsoft now offers to use the tool for creating installation media for Windows 8.1 . You can download the Media Creation Tool (the direct link is valid at the time of writing. If the utility is updated in the near future, you can download it from the page from the previous link). By running the utility on a client computer with access to the Internet (the utility does not work on my server OS, but on Windows 7/8 / 8.1 / 10 it is perfectly executed), you can select the desired OS edition, language and bit depth, and, depending on the speed of your connection with The Internet and the speed of the hard drive, in 10-15 minutes to get the desired image with a fresh version of Windows 8.1 with integrated updates.
When choosing a Russian version, Windows 8.1, Windows 8.1 Professional and Windows 8.1 Single Language are available (“one language version”, which OEM manufacturers like to install on inexpensive laptops). For English, Windows 8.1 N and Windows 8.1 Professional N are also available - without a media player, a version for the European Union. The Russian language pack is perfectly installed on them - if you need the Russian version without the Microsoft media player.
A complete list of all downloaded images (in ESD format) can be seen on the link to the Windows Store site .
You can immediately create a bootable USB flash drive, or download an ISO image from the OS.
The download process took me about 10 minutes on a WiFi connection, checking the image for about five more minutes on my SSD drive.
Unfortunately, the resulting image will not have the correct disk label, and it will be called ESD-ISO regardless of the build. However, installing the OS, you will understand that you have a fairly current version, simply by checking for updates. As I said, at the moment through the Media Creation Tool R4 assemblies are loaded with updates for August 2014. I expect that the utility will soon begin to download R5 images already.
By the way, only in this format is available ARM version of Windows RT 8.1 with updates. An ESD image can be downloaded directly from Microsoft servers , converted to ISO using the ESDtoISO utility, integrated drivers for your Windows RT tablet to be able to make a clean installation. Attention, for Surface RT and Surface 2 it will be more correct to download a ready recovery image from the Microsoft website .
And yet, by installing the Retail version of Windows 8.1 Professional, you can always change its serial number to the client KMS from the TechNet pages and activate the OS with your corporate KMS server, or its equivalent. Do not download unverified images from torrents, especially images modified by enthusiasts with “something” integrated - download them from the original source!
Recently, I wrote about how you can perfectly legally download the latest Microsoft Office from the Microsoft website - both the corporate version and the box Retail - any languages ​​and products, with all the integrated updates. Today I will tell you how to do the same with the operating system - the tools provided by Microsoft itself.
But first I want to talk about the versions of Windows 8.1. Not about publications - there is a lot of this good in the network, namely about public versions of OS assemblies. After all, it is convenient for any administrator to download an image with all the integrated updates, rather than installing a hundred yourself. And download the image from the Microsoft site, and not a self-made assembly with torrents. All that I will talk about versions of Windows 8.1 is applicable to Windows Server 2012 R2, with the exception of the channel for free download images to reinstall the OS. But let's do everything in order.
The final build of Windows 8.1 (and Windows Server 2012 R2) number 9600.16384 .WINBLUE_RTM.130821-1623 was assembled and signed on August 21, 2013 and became available to partners on August 27, and since September 9, MSDN / TechNet subscribers. The disk label in RTM version images begins with the letters IRM .
')
On October 27, 2013, Windows 8.1 became publicly available — in the Windows Store app store, on MSDN / TechNet, and for corporate subscribers. The OS version in corporate VL images 9600.16415 .WINBLUE_REFRESH.130928-2229 includes an update called Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 General Availability Update Rollup . The disk label in GA version images begins with the letters IR1 . On the Internet, this assembly is often called Rollup Update 1 (RU1), and less often more correctly R1. Retail images were not publicly laid out, but were available through the Windows Store in ESD format. The full list of included updates looks like this:
KB2883200, KB2894029, KB2894179 In November 2013, a monthly cumulative update of Windows RT 8.1, Windows 8.1, and Windows Server 2012 R2 update rollup: November 2013 is released , and corporate versions of images with Windows Server 2012 R2 are unexpectedly updated for everyone. Retail versions of the server OS and any versions of the client OS did not receive an integrated update. Assembly number 9600.16422 .WINBLUE_GDR.131006-1505 is known on the Internet as Rollup Update 2 (RU2) and less often as R2. The label of disks in images of this version begins with the letters IR2 . Let me remind you that only the VL assembly of the server OS with this update is officially available. The full list of included updates looks like this:
KB2862152, KB2868626, KB2876331, KB2883200, KB2884101, KB2884846, KB2887595, KB2888505, KB2894029, KB2894179, KB2898514, KB2900986, KB2901101, KB2906956, KB2908174 April 8, 2014 comes Windows RT 8.1, Windows 8.1, and Windows Server 2012 R2 update: April 2014 , - an update designed to bring Windows 8.x popularity on computers without a touch screen. The OS version is 9600.17031 .WINBLUE_GDR.140221-1952. On the Internet, the build is known as "Update 1", "Spring Update" and "U1", very rarely as "R3". The label of disks in images of this version begins with the letters IR3 . In this version, in addition to the main KB2919355, there are several more updates. The full list looks like this:
KB2919355, KB2919442, KB2932046, KB2937220, KB2937592, KB2938439, KB2938772, KB2939471, KB2949621 With this assembly, a edition with BING appeared in the Windows 8.1 family (known as Core Connected - free for OEM manufacturers who do not have the right to change the default search and browser settings under the terms of the agreement. The user, of course, can change everything) and an inexpensive version of Professional Student (known as Pro for Education) for educational institutions - with the full functionality of the professional version.
In August 2014, updated ESD images with version 9600.17053 .WINBLUE_REFRESH.140923-1144 quietly appear in the Windows Store. They do not appear on MSDN / TechNet, and only those who are already familiar with the distribution format of ESD know about their existence (which I will discuss below). The label of disks in images of this version begins with the letters IR4 . Starting with this build, the OS includes the Embedded Lockdown Manager, previously available only in Windows Embedded. By the way, if you update the previously installed OS via Windows Update, it will not appear. The full list of included updates looks like this:
KB2919355, KB2920189, KB2931358, KB2931366, KB2932046, KB2934018 KB2937220, KB2937592, KB2938439, KB2938772, KB2939153, KB2939576 KB2949621, KB2950153, KB2954879, KB2955164, KB2956575, KB2958262 KB2958263, KB2959626, KB2961072, KB2962140, KB2962872, KB2964718 KB2965142, KB2966407, KB2966870, KB2967162, KB2968599, KB2969817 KB2971203, KB2971850, KB2972280, KB2973201, KB2974008, KB2975061 KB2975719, KB2976978, KB2979582, KB2980654, KB2990532, KB2993651 Embedded Lockdown Manager KB2959936 December 15, 2014 on subscriptions MSDN / TechNet and on the download site for corporate subscribers appears version 9600.17483 .WINBLUE_R5.141106-1500 with an integrated update November 2014 update rollup for Windows RT 8.1, Windows 8.1, and Windows Server 2012 R2 . The Internet version is called Rollup Update 3 (RU3), although it is more correct to call it R5, as can be seen from the name of the WINBLUE_R5 assembly branch. The label of disks in images of this version begins with the letters IR5 . The full list of included updates looks like this:
KB2932046, KB2934018, KB2937220, KB2937592, KB2938439, KB2938772 KB2939153, KB2949621, KB2954879, KB2958262, KB2958263, KB2961072 KB2962140, KB2965142, KB2965500, KB2966407, KB2967917, KB2968599 KB2971203, KB2973351, KB2976627, KB2976978, KB2977629, KB2978002 KB2978742, KB2981580, KB2987107, KB2989647, KB2998527, KB3001237 KB3003057, KB3014442, Embedded Lockdown Manager KB2959936 Summarizing the above on versions of OS Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 - at the moment publicly available images have been collected already six times. The most recent are available for subscribers and contain all updates included in the November cumulative OS update. For those who do not have subscriptions, it is more interesting to continue the article, where I will tell you that you can legally download the latest OS from the Microsoft website without any subscriptions. Well, or almost the latest version - at the time of writing, versions R4 are available for free download, but I am sure that public availability of versions R5, which are already available on MSDN / TechNet, is not far off.
How to download Windows 8.1 from the Microsoft website without any subscriptions?
With the release of Windows 8.1 to Microsoft, the view on the infallibility of its OS has apparently changed. Now the corporation understands that users sometimes need to reinstall the OS. And how to reinstall the OS on a PC or laptop with a pre-installed system, if no disc was attached, and the dinosaur DVD is already extinct in modern laptops (and servers)? Microsoft now offers to use the tool for creating installation media for Windows 8.1 . You can download the Media Creation Tool (the direct link is valid at the time of writing. If the utility is updated in the near future, you can download it from the page from the previous link). By running the utility on a client computer with access to the Internet (the utility does not work on my server OS, but on Windows 7/8 / 8.1 / 10 it is perfectly executed), you can select the desired OS edition, language and bit depth, and, depending on the speed of your connection with The Internet and the speed of the hard drive, in 10-15 minutes to get the desired image with a fresh version of Windows 8.1 with integrated updates.
When choosing a Russian version, Windows 8.1, Windows 8.1 Professional and Windows 8.1 Single Language are available (“one language version”, which OEM manufacturers like to install on inexpensive laptops). For English, Windows 8.1 N and Windows 8.1 Professional N are also available - without a media player, a version for the European Union. The Russian language pack is perfectly installed on them - if you need the Russian version without the Microsoft media player.
A complete list of all downloaded images (in ESD format) can be seen on the link to the Windows Store site .
You can immediately create a bootable USB flash drive, or download an ISO image from the OS.
The download process took me about 10 minutes on a WiFi connection, checking the image for about five more minutes on my SSD drive.
Unfortunately, the resulting image will not have the correct disk label, and it will be called ESD-ISO regardless of the build. However, installing the OS, you will understand that you have a fairly current version, simply by checking for updates. As I said, at the moment through the Media Creation Tool R4 assemblies are loaded with updates for August 2014. I expect that the utility will soon begin to download R5 images already.
By the way, only in this format is available ARM version of Windows RT 8.1 with updates. An ESD image can be downloaded directly from Microsoft servers , converted to ISO using the ESDtoISO utility, integrated drivers for your Windows RT tablet to be able to make a clean installation. Attention, for Surface RT and Surface 2 it will be more correct to download a ready recovery image from the Microsoft website .
And yet, by installing the Retail version of Windows 8.1 Professional, you can always change its serial number to the client KMS from the TechNet pages and activate the OS with your corporate KMS server, or its equivalent. Do not download unverified images from torrents, especially images modified by enthusiasts with “something” integrated - download them from the original source!
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/247247/
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