Microsoft Releases Windows 8 Consumer Preview
By: Arie Slob
Last Wednesday Microsoft officially unveiled the consumer preview of Windows 8, its next-generation operating system.
Full information can be found on the Windows 8 Consumer Preview Web site..
System Requirements
Windows 8 Consumer Preview works great on the same hardware that powers Windows 7:
- Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster
- RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)
- Hard disk space: 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
- Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device or higher
- To use touch, you need a tablet or monitor that supports multitouch
- To access Windows Store and to download and run apps, you need an active Internet connection and a screen resolution of at least 1024 x 768
- To snap apps, you need a screen resolution of at least 1366 x 768
Note before you download: Windows 8 Consumer Preview is prerelease software that may be substantially modified before it's commercially released. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information provided here. Some product features and functionality may require additional hardware or software. If you decide to go back to your previous operating system, you'll need to reinstall it from the recovery or installation media that came with your PC.
You can download 32 or 64-bit version ISO images from Microsoft's site.
Available languages:
- English
- Chinese (Simplified)
- French
- German
- Japanese
The easiest way to convert an ISO file to a DVD in Windows 7 is to use Windows Disc Image Burner. On a PC running Windows XP or Windows Vista, a third-party program is required to convert an ISO file into installable media-and DVD burning software often includes this capability. One option is the USB/DVD download tool provided by the Microsoft Store.
Also note that the final release of Windows 8 will not support upgrading from any prior Windows 8 "Preview" release, though the "migrate" option will be supported. In any upgrade scenario, you can run the Disk Cleanup Wizard to remove the previous installation in order to free up disk space.
You may want to check out this article: Want to have a look at Windows 8 Consumer Preview? Install it in Oracle VM VirtualBox!