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Student version of Windows 8.1?

T

TylerCopey

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 6, 2014
2
0
Hi so I just got a brand new RMBP 2.3Ghz with the dedicated graphics and I'm looking to run windows 8.1 on it. Since I am a college student I apply for the student discount however on windows it has two versions. Windows 8.1 Pro for Students but in the details it says it is only an upgrade from windows 7. Then there is the Windows 8 Pro Upgrade – Student Offer which is an upgrade from xp/vista. So what if I want to use bootcamp... which one would I get? They are both the same price. Thank you for your help and here is the links to the products:

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store...o-Upgrade-–-Student-Offer/productID.264954100

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/Windows-8.1-Pro-for-Students/productID.288769600
 
maflynn

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,486
43,410
Both are upgrades, so you'll need to have an older OS. One looks like its for win7 to win8 an the other is just a generic windows 8 upgrade.
 
G

gtanner00

macrumors member
Apr 21, 2014
73
0
So does Microsoft offer a student discount if windows 8 (or 8.1) which can be clean installed to either bootcamp or parallels without an existing operating system. If not, can you use it as an "upgrade" from a trial download?
 
satcomer

satcomer

Suspended
Feb 19, 2008
9,115
1,973
The Finger Lakes Region
TylerCopey said:
Hi so I just got a brand new RMBP 2.3Ghz with the dedicated graphics and I'm looking to run windows 8.1 on it. Since I am a college student I apply for the student discount however on windows it has two versions. Windows 8.1 Pro for Students but in the details it says it is only an upgrade from windows 7. Then there is the Windows 8 Pro Upgrade – Student Offer which is an upgrade from xp/vista. So what if I want to use bootcamp... which one would I get? They are both the same price. Thank you for your help and here is the links to the products:

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store...o-Upgrade-–-Student-Offer/productID.264954100

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/Windows-8.1-Pro-for-Students/productID.288769600
Click to expand...

Check your campus store. Some Colleges have Microsoft 8 at drastic cuts.
 
maflynn

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,486
43,410
gtanner00 said:
So does Microsoft offer a student discount if windows 8 (or 8.1) which can be clean installed to either bootcamp or parallels without an existing operating system. If not, can you use it as an "upgrade" from a trial download?
Click to expand...

Nope, though with win7 there was a work around. I'm not sure of that still exists in win8. The cost difference isn't huge, 69 vs 107. I'd say just bite the bullet.
 
M

Manic Harmonic

macrumors 6502
Dec 4, 2011
299
1
I don't know if you can "upgrade" from a trial download of Windows 7 without activating it first, but I can tell you from experience that you can "upgrade" from a trial version of Windows 7 that has been activated with Windows Loader. .. I won't go into any more detail about that because you can easily find out about it via Google.

You should also just be able to do a fresh install by using one of these keys during installation: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj612867.aspx
 
G

gtanner00

macrumors member
Apr 21, 2014
73
0
Manic Harmonic said:
I don't know if you can "upgrade" from a trial download of Windows 7 without activating it first, but I can tell you from experience that you can "upgrade" from a trial version of Windows 7 that has been activated with Windows Loader. .. I won't go into any more detail about that because you can easily find out about it via Google.

You should also just be able to do a fresh install by using one of these keys during installation: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj612867.aspx
Click to expand...
I don't understand what that link means. can you elaborate?
 
M

Manic Harmonic

macrumors 6502
Dec 4, 2011
299
1
gtanner00 said:
I don't understand what that link means. can you elaborate?
Click to expand...

Windows 8.1 asks you for a serial upon installation. Iirc the one included with the upgrade won't let you do a fresh install, but you can use one of the Microsoft provided ones in that link to complete the install, and then use the serial that came with your upgrade to actually activate it once it's installed.
 
innominato5090

innominato5090

macrumors 6502
Sep 4, 2009
452
71
If you are a CS student, you should check whether your university offers windows for free through the Dreamspark program.
 
G

gtanner00

macrumors member
Apr 21, 2014
73
0
innominato5090 said:
If you are a CS student, you should check whether your university offers windows for free through the Dreamspark program.
Click to expand...
found out that was true for me just yesterday. It looked like last time I checked Dreamspark didn't offer windows 8 in their package. now they do and any engineering student can access it through their school login credentials.
 
S

SVTmaniac

macrumors 6502
Jan 30, 2013
417
737
I did a clean install of Student 8.1 just the other day. It worked just like any other version.
 
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