How to install Windows 8 developer preview in your computer

We all know that the finished and final version of Windows 8 is not yet released by Microsoft and it may take another one year to be released. But if you are really curious to know about what is going to be there in Windows 8 and want to make a try on the features of Windows 8, then you need not wait till next year. Microsoft has released the Windows 8 Developer Preview which is free for every one to download and try for free.

The Windows 8 Developer Preview only supports clean installing and you cannot upgrade an existing version of Windows to the new Windows 8. Once the Developer Preview is installed in your computer, it cannot be removed other than formatting.

But if you have a laptop or a spare PC you can try to install the Windows 8 Developer Preview and see how it performs. Windows 8 Developer Preview will run on any modern computer system which supports Windows 7. You can have a hands on experience of the features of Windows 8 by installing the Windows 8 Developer Preview in your system. One such feature is the super fast boot time.
Here are some of the instructions to download and install Windows 8.

Downloading Windows 8: The Windows 8 Developer Preview is a huge file to download and has a minimum size of 2.8 GB. You can goto Microsoft Dev Center and download the version that you need. For more details, you can read How to download Windows 8

If you want to install Windows 8 on a laptop or a computer then you need to burn the ISO image file to a disc. This can be done in Windows 7 but if you are using Windows XP or Vista, then you need to use some third party tools to do this job.

Installing Windows 8:It is very easy to install the Windows 8 Developer Preview on a physical PC or a laptop. You need to just burn the ISo image to a disc and boot your PC from the disc and follow the instructions. (similar to installing previous versions of Windows).

But if you want to use virtual machine, it requires a little more work to be done. First launch the VirtualBox program and click New->Next. Give the virtual machine a name like Windows 8, select Microsoft Windows as the operating system, other windows as the version. Now click on Next and choose how much RAM you want to dedicate to the virtual machine. Give at least 1 GB and then keep clicking Next, accepting the default settings till the wizard is complete.

Now you need to right-click on the new virtual machine, click Settings -> Storage. Right click on "IDE controller", and click on "Add CD/DVD" -> choose Disk, point the program at your Developer Preview ISo file and click Open.

Now right click the other CD icon, labelled "Empty" and click Remove -> OK. Now double click on the new virtual machine to launch it, and the installation process will begin.
( Always keep in mind that the Windows 8 windows will by default capture your mouse once you click inside it. If you want to return to your regular desktop just press the right Ctrl key).

First steps in Windows 8: Once the setup is complete, your PC will start rebooting to launch Windows 8 for the first time. You can remove the disc from your PC once Windows 8 has loaded. You will open the lock screen. You need to hold down the left mouse button and drag it upwards, to reveal the logon window. Once you enter the password and click on Submit, you will see the Metro interface within few seconds. The Metro interface contains tiles for Explorer, IE, Control Panel etc.

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How to install Windows 8 developer preview in your computer

How to install Windows 8 developer preview in your computer

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