Stop Procrastinating: Windows 8 pre-release versions expire today

I jumped into Windows 8 way back at the first opportunity -- the Developer Preview. Then moved to the Consumer Preview and finally the Release Preview. But, because I’m something of a procrastinator, I haven’t yet got around to updating my computer to the full version, despite purchasing a copy of the new operating system as soon as it was released.

If you’re anything like me, and are still running the Release Preview, I’ve got some bad news. Today is the end of the line. All preview versions of Windows 8 expire on January 15, 2013. Worse, you will have to do a clean-installation because Microsoft has no upgrade path from the Release Preview to RTM. Note also that the final version of Windows 8 will not support upgrading from any prior Windows 8 Preview releases, though the migrate option will still be supported, according to Microsoft MVP Andre de Costa.

If you purchased a Windows 7 PC in the past few months then you are eligible to get an upgrade for $14.99. If not then you can still get a discount, paying only $39.99. Both offers expire on January 31st of this year.

If you care to check your Windows 8 version and expiration date, simply go to search or run and type "winver" to get all of the information.

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