Windows 8 installation guide
1. Decide if you want single or dual boot
If you want to keep your existing Windows 7 set-up but want to test Windows 8, the easy way is to go for dual boot.
To do that, you need to create a second partition on your existing hard drive for installing Windows 8.
Click on Start, then right click on Computer, then choose Manage. Now double click on Disk Management and find your C: drive. Right click on select Shrink Volume. You need about 28GB of space to install Windows 8, so key-in 30000 under the space that says ‘Enter the amount of space to shrink in MB’.
Click Shrink and you will create a new partition with about 29.3GB of space. Next, right click on the new partition and select New Simple Volume. Select Next for the next three steps and the system will create and format your new D:drive.
2. Download the Windows 8 Developer Preview
Go to www.windows.com/build and download the Windows 8. The version will run on most PCs that run on Windows 7.
Note, however, that there are a 64-bit and a 32-bit version. If you are opting for the 64-bit version, you need to make sure your processor is a 64-bit one. Most processors launched over the last two years are 64-bit except for the early Intel Atoms used in netbooks.
3. Install the file into a DVD or USB flash stick
The Windows 8 downloaded file is in ISO format which means you need to burn the file into a DVD or install it on a USB stick. I recommend going for the latter as many laptops today do not have a drive. You will need at least 4GB on the USB stick.
First, quick format the stick and make sure you select FAT32 under file system. You will need special software to copy the ISO file to your USB stick as well as make it bootable at the same time.
Thankfully, there is one called the Windows7 USB/DVD Download Tool which was used to make Windows 7 bootable on a USB stick. The good news – it works on Windows 8 as well.
Google for Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool or go to www.download.cnet and search for the same keywords.
Download and run the Tool and when prompted to Choose ISO file, point to the location of your Windows 8 ISO file. When the copying is completed, you now have Windows8 in a bootable flash drive.
4. Change the order of boot
The next step is to go into the Bios settings of your PC and tell it to look for the USB flash drive when booting up. Every PC has a different key to go into Bios. Restart your PC and look for instructions on the key to press to go into Setup or Bios. Press that key while booting up and you will enter the Bios. Search through the Bios until you see a selection where you change the booting sequence.
Make sure you select the USB drive as the first boot device to seek, save your settings, then restart the PC.
Upon restart, the PC will now read the USB stick and you can install Windows 8. Make sure you install into your second partition (which you created in Step 1) if you want to do a dual boot.
When completed, restart your PC and you will see a choice of Windows 7 or your new Windows 8 Developers Preview.