It’s been about two and half months since Microsoft released the final (RTM) version of Windows 8.1 to the public. Windows 8.1 update is absolutely free for existing Windows 8 users but users who’re running Windows 7 and previous versions need to buy Windows 8.1.

Users who are currently running Windows 8 or previous versions of Windows might want to test if their PCs can run Windows 8.1.

Can my PC run Windows 8.1?

These are the minimum hardware requirements for running Windows 8.1:

1 GHz or faster processor with support for PAE, NX, and SSE2

1 GB of RAM or 32-bit Windows 8.1 or 2 GB for 64-bit

16 GB hard drive space for 32-bit or 20 GB for 64-bit

Microsoft DirectX9 graphics device with WDDM driver

If your PC is running Windows 8 and you’re planning to upgrade to Windows 8.1, you can easily upgrade to Windows 8.1, as a computer capable of running Windows 8 will handle Windows 8.1 without any issues. The only thing you need to worry about is the available disk space on your Windows 8 installed drive.

In order to upgrade from Windows 8 32-bit version, you need about 3000 MB of free space and about 3900 MB of free space to upgrade from 64-bit version of Windows 8. If there is no sufficient disk space, you will need to extend your system partition.

To help users check if their PCs are compatible with Windows 8.1, Microsoft has been offering a free tool named Windows 8.1 Upgrade Assistant. Users can download Windows 8.1 Upgrade Assistant and then run the same on their Windows 8 PCs to see what all programs and devices will continue working after upgrading to Windows 8.1.

The Upgrade Assistant will also check for the available disk space and ask you to free up disk space if the available disk space isn’t sufficient for the upgrade process.

Note that most of the programs and devices that are compatible with Windows 8 are compatible with Windows 8.1 as well. However, you’ll need to re-install apps downloaded from the Windows Store after upgrading your Windows 8 installation to Windows 8.1.

Can my Windows 7 PC run Windows 8.1?

If your PC is running Windows 7, you can download and run the same Windows 8.1 Upgrade Assistant on your Windows 7 PC to check if your PC can run Windows 8.1. Again, most PCs that can handle Windows 7 should be able to run Windows 8.1 as well. The only catch is that when you upgrade Windows 7 to Windows 8.1, you’ll be able to keep only data and system settings. You will need to re-install all software once again after upgrading to Windows 8.1.

Can I install Windows 8.1 on my Windows XP PC?

And if you’re running Vista or Windows XP, you need to download and run Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant instead of Windows 8.1 Upgrade Assistant to test if your PC’s hardware supports Windows 8.1.