I asked Microsoft about this issue way back in late May, when I had my second Release Preview briefing. At the time, I was told that Microsoft had not typically supported upgrading from near-final versions of Windows (the Release Preview would have been tagged as a Release Candidate, or RC, in previous versions) to the final version. That said, they were looking into doing something for users, would perhaps support migrations. (Which I’ll explain in a moment.)

Microsoft wasn’t being coy. They really weren’t sure at the time what they could support, and didn’t want to set unrealistic expectation. But given the sheer number of people using the Release Preview, it’s notable that they’re supporting this at all.

You may recall from previous articles, or from Windows 8 Secrets, that Microsoft has changed the way they describe the processes by which we move from the one version of Windows to the next. In the past, we used the following terms to describe the different ways in which you could install Windows:

Clean install, where you install—or reinstall—Windows from scratch.

In-place upgrade, where you upgrade to a newer version of Windows from within the older version, retaining most of your settings and applications, and all of your documents and other data files.

Migration, by which Setup backs up your settings and/or data first, then clean installs Windows, and then reapplies your settings and/or data to the new OS.

In Windows 8, these types of installs can all still occur, though they’re not all available in all circumstances. More important, Microsoft has significantly changed how it communicates these choices in the Setup user experience.

That is, if you run Windows 8 Setup from within a previously supported version of Windows—Windows XP with Service Pack 3 (SP3), Windows Vista, Windows 7, or, yes, the Windows 8 Release Preview—the choices you get will vary from OS version to OS version. These choices appear at a stage of Setup called Choose What To Keep, which occurs right after you agree to the End User License Agreement (EULA).

While there are four possible choices, depending on the OS from which you’re starting, you will only see two of them if you run Windows 8 (RTM) Setup from the Windows 8 Release Preview. And these choices indicate that Microsoft has, indeed, elected to support a minimal migration from the last pre-release milestone of this system to the final version. Those choices are:

Personal files. Here, any documents and other files that are stored in the Users folder (C:\Users\ by default) will be carried forward to the new install. So you will lose installed Metro-style apps (though you can get them back easily enough by signing in to the same account in RTM and visiting the Windows Store), installed desktop applications (which you’ll need to manually reinstall), and any OS, app, and application settings (though many system-level settings are synced through your Microsoft account if you are signing in that way as recommended).

Nothing. Here, nothing is saved, and Setup will perform a clean install.

So there you go: Microsoft does support a minimal migration from the Windows 8 Release Preview to the final, shipping version of Windows 8.

Should you take advantage of this feature? Honestly, if you’re using a Microsoft account to sync settings already, and have configured the SkyDrive desktop application to reconfigure your Windows 8 libraries already and store important documents and other data files in the cloud, you may be better off just doing a clean install. Of course, you perform either of these install types at your own risk, and be sure to back everything up ahead of time either way.

You may recall from previous articles, or from Windows 8 Secrets, that Microsoft has changed the way they describe the processes by which we move from the one version of Windows to the next. In the past, we used the following terms to describe the different ways in which you could install Windows:

Clean install, where you install—or reinstall—Windows from scratch.

In-place upgrade, where you upgrade to a newer version of Windows from within the older version, retaining most of your settings and applications, and all of your documents and other data files.

Migration, by which Setup backs up your settings and/or data first, then clean installs Windows, and then reapplies your settings and/or data to the new OS.

In Windows 8, these types of installs can all still occur, though they’re not all available in all circumstances. More important, Microsoft has significantly changed how it surfaces these choices in the Setup user experience.

That is, if you run Windows 8 Setup from within a previously supported version of Windows—Windows XP with Service Pack 3 (SP3), Windows Vista, Windows 7, or the Windows 8 Release Preview—the choices you get will vary from OS version to OS version. These choices appear at a stage of Setup called Choose What To Keep, which occurs right after you agree to the End User License Agreement (EULA).

While there are four possible choices, depending on the OS from which you’re starting, you will only see three of them if you run Windows 8 (RTM) Setup from Windows Vista (SP1 or higher). Those choices are:

Windows settings and personal files. Here, some Windows settings, as well as any documents and other files that are stored in the Users folder (C:\Users\ by default) will be carried forward to the new install. So you will lose installed desktop applications (which you’ll need to manually reinstall), and any related application settings. This type of install is considered a full migration.

Personal files. Here, any documents and other files that are stored in the Users folder (C:\Users\ by default) will be carried forward to the new install. So you will lose installed Metro-style apps (though you can get them back easily enough by signing in to the same account in RTM and visiting the Windows Store), installed desktop applications (which you’ll need to manually reinstall), and any OS, app, and application settings (though many system-level settings are synced through your Microsoft account if you are signing in that way as recommended). This type of install is considered a partial migration, since Windows settings are not carried forward.

Nothing. Here, nothing is saved, and Setup will perform a clean install.

Put simply, Microsoft supports migrating from Windows Vista to Windows 8, but not an in-place upgrade, which would have includes installed applications and their settings.

Frankly, I think the number of users who will upgrade from Windows Vista to Windows 8 is fairly small, and that most people interested in upgrading would have previously upgraded to Windows 7. (Most existing Vista installs are likely in corporations, and they will not be running interactive Setup to upgrade to Windows 8 as described here.) But it’s nice to know what’s possible, just in case you do have a fairly modern PC running this older OS.

You may recall from previous articles, or from Windows 8 Secrets, that Microsoft has changed the way they describe the processes by which we move from the one version of Windows to the next. In the past, we used the following terms to describe the different ways in which you could install Windows:

Clean install, where you install—or reinstall—Windows from scratch.

In-place upgrade, where you upgrade to a newer version of Windows from within the older version, retaining most of your settings and applications, and all of your documents and other data files.

Migration, by which Setup backs up your settings and/or data first, then clean installs Windows, and then reapplies your settings and/or data to the new OS.

In Windows 8, these types of installs can all still occur, though they’re not all available in all circumstances. More important, Microsoft has significantly changed how it surfaces these choices in the Setup user experience.

That is, if you run Windows 8 Setup from within a previously supported version of Windows—Windows XP with Service Pack 3 (SP3), Windows Vista, Windows 7, or the Windows 8 Release Preview—the choices you get will vary from OS version to OS version. These choices appear at a stage of Setup called Choose What To Keep, which occurs right after you agree to the End User License Agreement (EULA).

While there are four possible choices, depending on the OS from which you’re starting, you will only see two of them if you run Windows 8 (RTM) Setup from Windows XP with Service Pack 3 (and yes, SP3 is required). Those choices are:

Personal files only. Here, any documents and other files that are stored in the Users folder (C:\Documents and Settings by default) will be carried forward to the new install. So you will lose installed desktop applications (which you’ll need to manually reinstall), and any OS, app, and application settings. This type of install is considered a partial migration, since Windows settings are not carried forward.

Nothing. Here, nothing is saved, and Setup will perform a clean install.

Put simply, Microsoft supports migrating from Windows XP with SP2 to Windows 8, but not an in-place upgrade, which would have includes installed applications and their settings.

As with Windows Vista, the number of users who will upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 8 is almost certainly fairly small, and most people who were interested in upgrading off of XP would have previously upgraded to Windows 7. Furthermore, anyone who has held out with the decade-old XP is unlikely to be particularly interested in Windows 8, especially on existing PC hardware. Still, it’s important to know what your options are.

You may recall from previous articles, or from Windows 8 Secrets, that Microsoft has changed the way they describe the processes by which we move from the one version of Windows to the next. In the past, we used the following terms to describe the different ways in which you could install Windows:

Clean install, where you install—or reinstall—Windows from scratch.

In-place upgrade, where you upgrade to a newer version of Windows from within the older version, retaining most of your settings and applications, and all of your documents and other data files.

Migration, by which Setup backs up your settings and/or data first, then clean installs Windows, and then reapplies your settings and/or data to the new OS.

In Windows 8, these types of installs can all still occur, though they’re not all available in all circumstances. More important, Microsoft has significantly changed how it surfaces these choices in the Setup user experience.

That is, if you run Windows 8 Setup from within a previously supported version of Windows—Windows XP with Service Pack 3 (SP3), Windows Vista, Windows 7, or the Windows 8 Release Preview—the choices you get will vary from OS version to OS version. These choices appear at a stage of Setup called Choose What To Keep, which occurs right after you agree to the End User License Agreement (EULA).

While are four possible choices, depending on the OS from which you’re starting, you will see the following three choices if you run Windows 8 (RTM) Setup from Windows 7. Those choices are:

Windows settings, personal files, and app(lication)s. Here, some Windows settings, as well as any documents and other files that are stored in the Users folder (C:\Users\ by default), and all compatible desktop applications will be carried forward to the new install. (Some applications are incompatible with Windows 8 and will need to be uninstalled before Setup will continue.) This type of install is considered an in-place upgrade, and Windows 7 is the only OS in which you get this choice.

Personal files only. Here, any documents and other files that are stored in the Users folder (C:\Users\ by default) will be carried forward to the new install. So you will lose installed desktop applications (which you’ll need to manually reinstall), and any OS and application settings. This type of install is considered a partial migration, since Windows settings are not carried forward.

Nothing. Here, nothing is saved, and Setup will perform a clean install.

Put simply, Windows 7 offers the best possible upgrade path to Windows 8, and is the only version of Windows that supports an in-place upgrade, a partial migration, or a clean install. (That said, the fourth possible upgrade choice, “Windows settings and personal files,” which represents a full migration, is not made available to Windows 7 users for some reason.)

Windows 7 users represent the largest possible pool of upgraders for Windows 8, with several hundred million Windows 7-based PCs sold over each of the past three years. Furthermore, Microsoft has offered a very inexpensive (~$15) upgrade for purchasers of new Windows 7 PCs over the past several weeks, and will do so through the launch of Windows 8 and beyond. PCs running Windows 7 are virtually guaranteed to support Windows 8 explicitly, and most will provide a decent upgrade experience

If you’re here, you most likely installed a testing version of the Windows 8 operating system and you wish to bring your personal touch to an otherwise very eye-appealing GUI.

Even if the new Windows iteration will go live on October 25, the currently available versions come with plenty of customization options, concerning not only the Start Screen, but the entire operating system.
Before we get straight to the point and present you the customization options, let’s first make sure that everybody knows exactly which one is the Start Screen.
If you’re a tech-savvy user, the Start Screen is the one that holds the previously-named Metro app (currently called Windows Store apps), so it provides access to all installed programs on your computer. For rookies, it’s the first screen you see after booting Windows, the one with the live titles that show the weather, news and installed apps.

As we said, the good thing is that Microsoft packed several Start Screen customization options into Windows 8, so you can easily type “Start Screen”, go over to “Settings” and click on “Customize your start screen”.

From now on, it’s all a matter of options. You are allowed to change the Start Screen background, but also to pick a different color by simply dragging the sliderat the bottom of the screen. Here’s what the customization screen looks like:

If you’re not quite satisfied with the customization power provided by Microsoft, the so-called My WCP Start Screen Customizer lends you a hand. It’s a tool specifically developed to help you tweak the Windows 8 Start Screen, so it only works on this particular Windows version.

It gives you the option to choose a different number of tiles rows, a new color (and enable a colored background), but also change the color of various elementsdisplayed in the Start Screen, including the color of the active tiles, the command bar, search share, devices and settings pane. Here’s what the app looks like: