It also would be wise to run a Full scan using Windows Defender prior to updating Windows. You can do this from the Settings tab in Windows Defender, which you can access from the Windows Defender applet in Control Panel.

Disable the real-time protection in Windows Defender.

Doing so prior to updating ensures that Windows, as well as your computer's hardware, is starting clean. Most computers are rarely truly restarted they often sleep and hibernate, but are seldom shut down and started up from scratch.

The easiest way is from the power icon, accessible from Settings on the charms menu (swipe from the right and then Settings, or WIN + i). You don't want to find yourself dealing with a problem caused by a tiny security update pushed two months ago during a major operating system update like Windows 8.1.

Issues with Windows Update are relatively common. If you've never checked for updates manually before, you can do it from the Windows Update applet in Control Panel. Apply all Windows updates and then restart your PC after they're done installing, even if you're not prompted to.If you're not sure what it is, there are software programs that can help you find it, or look on the DVD or in the email that you received when you first purchased Windows 8. The Windows 8.1 upgrade process will check to see that you have the minimum space necessary for it to do its business, but here's your chance to make sure there's plenty of wiggle room before being warned about it. Make sure that at least 20% of the space on your primary drive is free.These suggestions are based on years of experience troubleshooting and solving various problems seen during software installations, Windows updates, and service pack installs-all very similar to this Windows 8.1 update. The following is an ordered list of tasks you should consider completing prior to starting the update process. Learn how to upgrade to Windows 11 from Windows 8 if you need help. It's recommended that you update to Windows 11 because Windows 8.1 stopped receiving security updates in January 2023.

Updating windows 8 to 10