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Windows RT 8.1 yanked for now, Argos sells Surface 2 early

The Windows update has been pulled due to issues, and Argos has sold a few Surface 2 units ahead of its Tuesday release.

Joe Svetlik Reporter
Joe has been writing about consumer tech for nearly seven years now, but his liking for all things shiny goes back to the Gameboy he received aged eight (and that he still plays on at family gatherings, much to the annoyance of his parents). His pride and joy is an Infocus projector, whose 80-inch picture elevates movie nights to a whole new level.
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Joe Svetlik
2 min read

If you've been trying to upgrade to Windows RT 8.1 but haven't been able to, here's why. It's been taken off the Windows Store "temporarily" due to a niggle that's seen it playing up on updated devices.

Not only that, here in Blighty, Argos has been selling the Surface 2 tablet ahead of its launch on Tuesday. Though it's now stopped and is investigating the situation. But not before some lucky punters walked right into the shop and picked theirs up.

According to a reply on the Microsoft Community forum, "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."

Microsoft says it's "working to resolve the situation as quickly as possible" and apologises for any inconvenience. According to TechCrunch, the problem affects the booting cycle of some machines.

It's a bit of a bummer, seeing as the update only went live on Thursday. Though the standard Windows 8.1 update seems unaffected.

It's not the only blunder to hit Microsoft this week. Its Surface 2 tablet isn't supposed to go on sale until Tuesday -- the same day as the Apple announcement, as well as Nokia's big reveal -- but high street chain Argos has been selling it early. The Verge reports that one reader was able to stroll into his local shop and pick one up, though the device hasn't appeared on the Argos website.

Argos has since rectified the situation, putting out a statement saying: "We fully comply with embargos [sic] issued by our suppliers and have withdrawn the Microsoft Surface 2 from sale with immediate effect. We are working with Microsoft to investigate this error as a matter of urgency."

Have you updated to the latest version of Windows? Is it any good? Will you buy the Surface 2? Let me know in the comments, or on our Facebook page.

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