is a senior editor and author of Notepad, who has been covering all things Microsoft, PC, and tech for over 20 years. Microsoft is preparing to send reminders to Windows 8.1 users that support will ...

Windows 8.1 is now displaying full-screen alerts when logging into the operating system, warning that the OS is reaching the end of support in January 2023 and will no longer receive security updates.

As one option, you can enable File History in Windows 8.1 to back up key folders and files to external media. Alternatively, you can turn to a third-party backup software or a cloud storage service.