Working with Windows 8/8.1
Quentin Docter, Jon Buhagiar · 2019
This chapter discusses the working of Windows 8/8.1. Windows 8.1 was released as an update to replace Windows 8 and to make running the operating system on a system without a touch screen easier. The changes from Windows 8 to Windows 8.1 were evolutionary, as opposed to revolutionary, and they could arguably fall under the category of a patch (or a step backward to adapt to hardware). The biggest noticeable difference is that during boot, the operating system checks to see if it is on a touch-capable device. Windows 8 was released in four different editions: Windows 8 (commonly called Core), Windows 8 Pro (similar to Windows 10 Pro in terms of features), Windows 8 Enterprise (for volume licensing), and Windows 8 RT (for preinstallation on tablets). The RT version includes touch-optimized versions of Microsoft Office. All the versions include the Start screen, Desktop, Microsoft Store, Secure boot, and drive encryption. Only the Pro and Enterprise versions support BitLocker and Encrypting File System (EFS). The minimum hardware requirements for a 32-bit installation are a 1 GHz (or faster) processor, 1 GB of RAM, 16 GB of hard drive space, and a DirectX 9 graphics device with a WDDM driver. For 64-bit installations, this raises to 2 GB of RAM and 20 GB of hard drive space.