Windows 8.1 Enterprise

Windows 8.1 Enterprise is a Microsoft operating system. An upgrade to this operating system is available to those eligible under the terms of a campus-wide license agreement with Microsoft Corportation to various groups at Columbia. This product can be installed on eligible systems used for your Columbia-related work.

If you need help with this software after installing it on a home computer, please obtain support from a third-party service provider in your local area.

Please note:

  • Support: Although Windows 8.1 is available for installation through our agreement with Microsoft, CUIT does not support Windows 8.1 after installation. If you need help with this software after installing it on a home computer, please obtain support from a third-party service provider in your local area.​​​​
  • Applications: Currently, most Administrative Applications are certified to run on Windows 8.1.
  • Installation: Eligibility to download Microsoft Windows 8.1 Enterprise is generally limited to University officers, support staff and faculty, with exceptions for certain graduate/professional students at CUMC and the Business School. All students should visit the Microsoft Software Portal for MS downloads to personal devices. If you are not eligible, you will not be able to download the installer and will be redirected to a page with additional information.

How to Download and Install Microsoft Windows 8.1

  1. Ensure that your computer meets the necessary requirements to install Windows 8 Enterprise.
  2. Download the ISO image (required UNI login):
  3. Save the ISO image to your hard drive, and make a note of where you saved it.
  4. The ISO image windows8-32.iso or windows8-64.iso must be recorded to a blank, writeable DVD. Please follow the instructions of your burning utility to record the ISO to a DVD.
    • If you do not have ISO burning software, you can obtain any of a number of unsupported applications: the commercial Nero, Roxio, etc. Please note that these applications are not supported by CUIT.
  5. After the ISO has been recorded, restart your computer using the DVD you just burned.
  6. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete installation/configuration of Windows 8.1.
  7. After Windows 8 Enterprise has finished installing, please follow the activation instructions to fully activate it.