Can Windows 8.1 Professional run on any PC / laptop?

1

I want to get the Yoga Pro 2 but install Windows 8.1 Professional over it so that I can cannot to a Windows Domain. The equipment supplier is telling me that according to the website, it does not support Windows 8.1 Professional, and so cannot sell me what I need. He goes on to say that if I install Windows 8.1 Professional, there will be a high chance that the hardware will stop working since there are no drivers for it.

I sought second opinion from other retail store sales persons and some of them are more than willing to upgrade it for me (for an additional fee).

I don't know who to trust. If it is between Windows 7 and 8, I can understand, but surely not between Home and Professional, because it's just a matter of Microsoft disabling certain features as far as I know.

Does Windows 8.1 Home/Pro have any such limitations?

Jake

Posted 2014-04-15T05:04:00.223

Reputation: 1 587

Answers

4

What the seller is telling you is complete nonsense. I'm not aware of any device drivers that distinguish between different Windows editions. If a computer can run Windows 8.1, it can run Windows 8.1 Pro.

Further, I don't see anything on the website you linked to that actually says the Yoga Pro 2 doesn't support 8.1 Pro. In fact, the spec sheet available here specifies "Up to Windows 8.1 Pro" for the operating system, and the shop page here lists one preconfigured model with 8.1 Pro.

In conclusion, while Windows 8.1 Pro can't run on any PC/laptop, I see no reason why it couldn't run on the Yoga Pro 2.

Indrek

Posted 2014-04-15T05:04:00.223

Reputation: 21 756

Thanks, I do not think there will be any technical limitation either. I did check the website before, but they are US and Europe. Is there perhaps a license issue with regards to selling/activating certain version in specific region? Just being extra careful, but I'm not aware of any such cases in the past though... – Jake – 2014-04-15T05:39:43.527

@Jake Well, there are the special N editions for the EU that don't include Media Player, but that's separate from regular/Pro. Besides, even if there were some sort of regional restrictions to running Windows 8.1 Pro, that's not the same as driver issues, which is what the seller is cautioning you about. Who is the seller anyway? A third party (i.e. not Lenovo)? Perhaps you might want to contact your local Lenovo rep to clarify this. – Indrek – 2014-04-15T05:51:33.017

Asked: 2014-04-15T05:04:00.223

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Active: 2014-04-15T05:26:47.260