Windows 8.1 Upgrade

Thanks all! We have the 500GB external hard drive we use for the backup. I just didn't wanted to create extra work :)

I did the 8.1 upgrade as well, with no issues, and I do like it better than 8. Adding the Classic Shell that Tom N mentioned made it even better. I'll likely stick to PCLinuxOS as my "daily driver" productivity OS though.

Installed the 8.1 upgrade with zero problems. It is somewhat better than 8. With any upgrade you should backup any critical files, but again I had no issues.

I have learned to like 8.1 over 7. I have made the background of both the standard desktop and the new start screen the same and can switch between them by pressing the windows key on the keyboard or by clinking the windows icon in the lower left corner. By having the backgrounds the same the tiles seem to pop out of the picture and when I click on the program I want it flips back to the desktop seamlessly. I have next to zero icons on the desktop (I'd rather look at the background picture).

I find having my most used applications on the start screen easy to use, and access to less frequently used easier with the tiled interface than the old start button. Could just be me.

The 8.1 upgrade is a "no brainer" but it will take some time. You should do all the 8.0 updates before doing the 8.1 upgrade.

After I upgraded to 8.1 I installed Classic Shell.

Classic Shell™ is free software that improves your productivity, enhances the usability of Windows and empowers you to use the computer the way you like it. The main features are:

Highly customizable start menu with multiple styles and skins
Quick access to recent, frequently-used, or pinned programs
Find programs, settings, files and documents
Start button for Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1
Toolbar and status bar for Windows Explorer
Caption and status bar for Internet Explorer

http://www.classicshell.net/

-Tom, W3TLN

First of all, if you are really worried about losing data, you should be backing it up regardless of doing an update or not.
While the 8.1 update is quite large, it does work for most people. If you have an under 1 year old computer, you can check with your computer vendor about the upgrade.
I did it without any problems. I haven't heard of anyone losing data doing the upgrade. Depending on your internet connection, it can take a while. For most I believe it is under 1 hour. Myself, I wouldn't try the upgrade using a CG internet.