它是支持 Windows Media Center 的最后一个 Windows 版本,因为随着 Windows 10 的发布 Microsoft 停止了对此应用程序的支持。它也是能够创建 MS-DOS 8.00 启动盘的 Windows 的最后一个版本,因此可以包含任何形式的 MS-DOS,并在零售时随 DVD 版本一起提供,因为 Windows 10 及更高版本的物理零售副本附带 USB 闪存驱动器(尽管一些 OEM 仍然在 DVD 上提供某些版本的 Windows 10)。
Windows 8.1 (codenamed Windows Blue) is an operating system by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on 27 August 2013 and made generally available on 17 October 2013 as a free upgrade for Windows 8 users. Although the operating system was marketed by Microsoft as a major update for Windows 8, Microsoft's traditional support policy treats Windows 8.1 similarly to a service pack.
Mainstream support ended on 9 January 2018, while extended support ended on 10 January 2023. Windows 8 users were given the option to upgrade to Windows 8.1 in order to receive support within 2 years since its release.[3]
It is the last version of Windows to support single-core processors and the last perpetual release of Windows NT 6.x.
The "All Apps" view was added to the Start screen.
Added Device Encryption for compatible hardware.
The snapping functionality for Metro apps was updated.
Added new sizes for Start screen titles.
Internet Explorer 11 was introduced. The Metro UI version also received some updates.
Introduced Assigned Access which allows the computer to be locked to running a single Metro app.
Changes to the search function.
Windows Store received an updated user interface and added the ability for apps to automatically update.
Added support for Wi-Fi Direct, Miracast, tethering and NVMe drivers have been added to the operating system.
Text and GUI elements can now scale up to 200%. Additionally, scaling settings can now be setup independently on each display in multi-monitor configurations.
Clicking the File Explorer icon in the taskbar will take the user to This PC instead of Libraries, unlike in Windows 7 and 8. Additionally, Libraries are disabled by default, but it can be re-enabled by right-clicking on the navigation pane and choosing "Show libraries" or "Show all folders".
The Windows Experience Index has been removed. However, the command-line tool to determine the rating values (WinSAT) is still included.
Several features from Windows Easy Transfer have been removed such as the ability to start new transfers directly, the ability to transfer data from Windows XP and Windows Vista and the ability to use the Easy Transfer Cable and network connection transfer methods.
The ability to shutdown the operating system by dragging the lock screen image toward the bottom of the screen (by executing the slidetoshutdown.exe manually) was added.
Revamped the settings app with increased integration of features previously located in the control panel.
New customization options for the Start screen.
New Metro applications introduced, with many existing ones updated.
Redesigned PC Settings. Additionally, this app is now displayed on the apps list and can now be pinned on the Start screen.
Update 1
When the user hovered over the top of a Metro app, a title bar appears with minimize and close buttons.
Right-clicking on the Start screen opens up a menu instead of touch-oriented controls at the bottom.
By default, the tiles for This PC, PC Settings, Documents and Pictures are pinned to the Start screen.
The "Go to the desktop instead of Start when I sign in" feature in Taskbar and Navigation Properties first introduced in the original release is now enabled by default.
Metro apps can now be pinned to the taskbar.
Power and Search buttons have been added to the start screen.
It is also possible to enable the power button on a tablet by going to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ImmersiveShell\Launcher registry key, then create a new DWORD value named Launcher_ShowPowerButtonOnStartScreen and set it to 1, then restart Explorer.
Added dividers between apps in the "All Apps" view in Start.
Two new SKUs have been introduced, "Windows 8.1 with Bing" and "Windows 8.1 Single Language with Bing", to boost sales of Windows 8.1. These SKUs were only available to OEMs and were reduced in price compared to the regular Core SKU.
Microsoft recommends Windows 8.1 to be installed on a system with a processor with a speed of at least 1 GHz, at least 1 GB (2 GB for AMD64 versions) of RAM, 16 GB (20 GB for AMD64 versions) of hard drive space, and at least a DirectX 9-based WDDM display adapter.[5] The AMD64 version of Windows 8.1 drops support for processors without the CMPXCHG16b, PrefetchW and LAHF/SAHF instructions, as attempting to boot the AMD64 version on these processors may result in an UNSUPPORTED_PROCESSORbugcheck due to the lack of the instructions that the updated files (including the bootloader) require.
Windows 8.1 is officially compatible with Intel processors up to 6th generation. On 7th generation (up to 10th generation), Windows 8.1 is not supported due to lack of Windows Update and Intel Graphics, however, hacks have been made to get both working.[7] For 11th generation and 12th generation, no known hacks have appeared for Intel Graphics, but the chipset drivers for 10th generation, 11th generation, and 12th generation have been confirmed to install without any issues.