Unsurprisingly, Microsoft has stopped supporting Windows 8.1. The editor is now only compatible with Windows 10 and Windows 11.
One less and they were left in two. Microsoft confirmed the end of support for Windows 8.1 this Tuesday, January 10, 2023. Therefore, the publisher will no longer offer updates or security updates for the system. Unlike Windows XP or Windows 7, this isn’t a very popular version of Windows, so it shouldn’t affect many consumers.
This is why Microsoft has confirmed that the company will not offer extended paid support for enterprises like it was able to offer for Windows XP or Windows 7. So it really is the end for Windows 8.1.
An important system, but not loved
Windows 8.1 is the latest major release of Windows 8, Microsoft’s unloved operating system that tried to adapt Windows 7 to modern machines like tablets. Remember, it was with Windows 8 that Microsoft offered a touch-friendly Start screen instead of your classic Start menu.
The menu will also return with a Windows 8.1 update before being integrated by default in Windows 10. Also with Windows 8, Microsoft offers its own software distribution system for the first time: the Windows Store, which has since become Microsoft Store. . Ahead of its time, the system also offered synchronization of SMS, music or emails with your smartphone.
It is with Windows 8 that Microsoft implements several security measures that will be reinforced later with other versions of the system such as storage encryption or secure boot. It is also one of the first versions to offer ARM support through Windows RT.
Windows 8 is not completely gone today. Like all versions of Windows, there are traces of it in Windows 11. In fact, Microsoft has never updated some interface elements since then.
replace system
Microsoft now only supports two operating systems: Windows 10 and Windows 11. If you have a machine running Windows 8.1, you must upgrade to one of these two systems or install an alternative. One thinks, for example, of a distribution based on GNU/Linux. Failing that, there is the option to replace your PC.
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