- October 19, 2013 07:26pm EST
Uh oh.Following reports that its recent major update to Windows 8 has adversely affected those running some of the company's Surface tablets, Microsoft has officially pulled the Windows 8.1 update for Windows RT devices until further notice.
Here's the official statement from Microsoft, posted to its community site:
"Microsoft is investigating a situation affecting a limited number of users updating their Windows RT devices to Windows RT 8.1. As a result, we have temporarily removed the Windows RT 8.1 update from the Windows Store. We are working to resolve the situation as quickly as possible and apologize for any inconvenience. We will provide updates as they become available."
In other words, now would not the time to try and finagle some creative method for getting the Windows 8.1 update on your Surface RT tablet. And we should definitely clarify – unlike some reports from earlier today, which might have jumped the gun a wee bit in suggesting that Microsoft has pulled the Windows 8.1 update entirely, Microsoft is only actually targeting the Windows 8.1 update geared for Windows RT devices. That's not your traditional Windows 8-equipped desktop or laptop PC. On those, update away.
The difference between the two platforms, of course, is that Windows RT relies on the ARM architecture instead of the more traditional x86 architecture that conventional Windows users have been used to seeing (or not noticing) for years now. You can't buy Windows RT standalone, rather, it comes preinstalled on devices – currently, Microsoft's Surface RT or its upcoming Surface 2 tablet — along with a variety of restrictions for its use versus its x86-based sibling.
Now, if you're one of the unlucky folk who jumped the gun on your Windows 8.1 update, and have since bricked your device, Microsoft doesn't have any official information currently as to how you might best get your system up-and-running again. Contact their support, and you'll likely be told that your best route is slapping an image of Windows RT onto a USB-based flash drive and using that as a form of recovery for your now-blue-screened tablet. You'll either need to use an .ISO that Microsoft provides or, if you happen to have access to another RT device, you can also make a USB-based recovery drive using that.
If that all sounds like gibberish to you, then check out Kick That Computer's handy guide for getting your tablet working again. Or, worse case scenario, wait for Microsoft to provide its own how-to (and recovery file) whenever it's ready with a solution.
