Microsoft has announced the end of support for Windows 8 and advised all Windows 8 users to upgrade to Windows 8.1. However, many users have reported issues with problems upgrading from Windows 8 to Windows 8.1. To help ensure the upgrade is smooth and error-free we have set out a few common upgrade issues and the solutions to these issues.

Windows 8 upgrade issue 1 – Windows 8.1 install couldn’t be completed

If you are see the “Windows 8.1 install couldn’t be completed” error as in the image above, follow the troubleshooting steps below:

1. Go to the Start screen
2. Right-click to display the App bar
3. On the Apps screen, look for section of apps labeled as Windows system
4. Click on the icon labeled command prompt to open the Command Prompt
5. In the command box that appears, type net stop wuauserv (this stops the update process)
   
6. type net stop bits (resets update components)
   
7. Hit Enter
8. Browse to the C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution folder and delete all the files and folders inside it
9. If you get an error “files are in use” during deletion, restart the system and delete all contents of the above-mentioned folder
10. Now go to the command prompt window again and type the following commands:
11. net start wuauserv
12. net start bits
13. Now, open the Windows Store
14. You should see an offer which says “Upgrade to Windows 8.1 for free”
15. Click on that option and the upgrade window will be launched
16. The upgrade process starts and you need to wait until the process is completed
17. If the process is successfully completed, the computer will reboot and you will get an option to log into your Microsoft account which shows the Windows 8.1 upgrade is completed

Windows 8 upgrade issue 2 – Error code 0x80070714 – Something happened and the Windows 8.1 couldn’t be installed

Microsoft has not yet offered any official solution for this error but some Windows experts have been able to fix this error by performing the following steps:

1. Press Windows + R key
2. In the Run dialog, type msconfig
3. In the System Configuration window, click on the Services tab
4. Look for services related to SQL like, SQL Server VSS Writer
5. Disable the SQL Services
6. Click Apply > OK
7. Try installing Windows 8.1 again

Windows 8 upgrade issue 3 – Windows 8.1 Update is Not Shown in the Windows 8 Store

 If you do not see the Windows 8.1 update option in the Windows store (similar to the above image), follow the troubleshooting steps set out below:

1. Go to the Microsoft website and look for an update with the reference “KB2871389”
2. Download and install this update
3. Restart your computer

You will now see the Windows 8.1 upgrade option in the Windows store.