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Right now, I am a newbie almost ready to install ubuntu alongside windows 8 on my laptop soon, and have gone through most of the things I need to plan. Lately, I noticed that Microsoft is preparing Windows 8.1 as a free update to windows 8 users. What I would like to know, is when I install ubuntu on my computer, will I still be able to update windows to 8.1 (Same goes for other operating systems if I ever decide to install other distros)? I definitely will want the update to Windows 8.1 instead of Windows 8, so I need to know if I need to wait until 8.1 is released, or if I can go ahead and install ubuntu right now.

The bottom line is: Will I be able to upgrade Windows 8 to 8.1 with ubuntu installed on my system, or do I need to remove it in order to do that?

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    Close voters: This is borderline on-topic, and since it has good answers I think we should consider letting it stay.
    – Seth
    Sep 10, 2013 at 3:06
  • @Seth +1. It's useful and practical information for Ubuntu users.
    – Richard
    Sep 10, 2013 at 12:51

2 Answers 2

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An update should be possible. The only problem I can think of, is that Windows might overwrite your bootloader. In this case, you would have to manually reinstall Grub with a live disk to obtain your dual-bootable system. This process is explained here. Boot-repair is a very-easy-to-use GUI tool to do this.

As it has not been released yet, no one can guarantee this. It would be best for you to wait a few day after it has been released and read some feedback of fellow Ubuntu users.

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Microsoft Windows 8.1 will be available from Windows Update. This will not damage the MBR or boot loader. You can upgrade safely without having to worry about reinstalling Grub or fixing Ubuntu.

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