I am beyond words at the moment.

Was running Windows 8. Got a copy of Windows 8.1 RTM from MSDN. Did an in place upgrade. All went smoothly.

What do I see when I log in, Windows is NOT activated anymore, ALL of my programs are gone!!! Office, and everything else I had installed is gone!

Its all still there in the \Windows.old folder but do you think I can use any of it? Nope.

So....

1.Everyone please beware this doesn't happen to you,

2. Is there a way to go back to the previous installation of Windows where everything worked?

not a good day...

• Edited by S.Kwan Wednesday, September 25, 2013 9:44 PM

I am beyond words at the moment.

Was running Windows 8. Got a copy of Windows 8.1 RTM from MSDN. Did an in place upgrade. All went smoothly.

What do I see when I log in, Windows is NOT activated anymore, ALL of my programs are gone!!! Office, and everything else I had installed is gone!

Its all still there in the \Windows.old folder but do you think I can use any of it? Nope.

So....

1.Everyone please beware this doesn't happen to you,

2. Is there a way to go back to the previous installation of Windows where everything worked?

not a good day...

Windows 8.1 is a preview. It is a work in progress. This is why this happen.

You will have to install Windows 8 back to get thing to work again or wait until MS fixes all the bugs and problems with Windows 8.1.

Hi,

Did Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 use the same language? You cannot upgrade or keep your Windows settings, personal files, or applications if you are performing a cross-language installation. You can only keep your personal files during a cross-language installation by using Windows 8 Setup.

In terms of the situation, please try to use Windows 8 product key to activate Windows 8.1 for test.

For Windows.old file, you can retrieve files from the Windows.old folder. Refer to the link below for more details.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/restore-files-upgrade-windows-old

Here is another KB that about How to restore a Windows 7-based computer to a previous Windows installation by using the Windows.old folder, you can just take it as reference.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/971760/en-us