Preparing for Windows 8.1 RTM: Correct link to make USB Drive Bootable and load the ISO

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The Win 8.1 RTM is not available yet, but you might want to prepare for 8.1 by downloading and installing 8.1 Preview.  There is an issue, if you try to find out how to make an USB drive bootable, there are a lot of ways to do so, but the easiest way is to use the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool. What is the issue?  The issue is that many of the hyperlinks given are out of date.  In this blog I am trying to correct that.

Why did I write this?  I noticed that there a lot of blogs that come up with a way to make a USB Drive Bootable using the search string like: “Windows 8 Bootable USB” might come up with the first search return as:

https://www.redmondpie.com/how-to-make-windows-8-bootable-usb-flash-drive-the-easy-way/

Then you read down a little bit and find the link to this (link addresses shown DO NOT take you to the correct address):

Download and install Microsoft’s Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool [Microsoft Store Link] <<Link addresses incorrect

The correct link addresses are shown in the the following link address, which were correct on 9/3/2013.  These are a Codeplexaddress that allows the owner of the code to update it, and to get some feedback on use of the code:

https://wudt.codeplex.com/ <<This address was verified on 9/3/2013

Use this link to download a tool to easily and quickly make a USB 4 gigabyte stick bootable and then load the Windows 8.1 Preview (or RTM when available) onto a stick with more than 4 gigabytes (I think that 3.49 Gigabytes but have heard that it is 3.8 gigabytes, either way, you will need a 4 gigabyte drive).

As of 9/3/2013 the Windows 8.1 PREVIEW, not the RTM is available here:

https://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/preview-download  <<Verified 9/3/2013

When you upgrade you system, make sure to make a recovery USB drive prior to and after building the Windows 8.1 preview system.  I have found that the 8.1 is stable and well behaved, the OEM drivers are not updated and that can cause some issues.  Also make sure to force updates when you think about it.