After Microsoft announced Windows 8 download (Developer Preview) availability, you can install Windows 8 now on computer and test out Windows 8 metro UI. Besides that, the Windows 8 is equipped with a lot of exciting features and better performance compare to previous Windows 7.
However, Microsoft also mention Windows 8 developer build may not be stable, operate correctly or work the way the final version of the software will. It should not be used in a production environment.
To avoid this problem, you can consider install Windows 8 on Virtual Box, a virtual machine is the perfect place to try out new programs and operating systems without actually downloading it onto your computer. These virtualization applications allow you to operate a virtual computer inside of your own. If you want to try Windows 8, this is the best way to do it.
How to install Windows 8 On Virtual Box:
1. Download VirtualBox, the Virtual Machine Software that enables you to run Windows 8 in a virtual environment.
2. Once the download is complete, a brand new copy of this program will open up and you can start to create your Windows 8 program inside your virtual world.
3. In the upper left-hand corner of this app you will see the “New” button. Clicking this button, you will have the opportunity to name your virtual machine.
4. Choose Windows 7 as your current operating system. You will have to choose between 32-bit and 64-bits depending on the version of Windows 8 you have placed on your virtual machine.
5. Click the “Next” button and then you will see a screen that will ask you how much memory you want to dedicate to your virtual operating system. If you are running a 32-bit Windows 8 version, you will need a minimum of 1G. If you have the 64-bit Windows 8 version, you will need to have a minimum of 2G. Once you have completed this task, click “Next”.
6. You will now create a new virtual disk. There are two selections that you can choose from – Dynamically allocated or fixed size. Your virtual disk will need to have a minimum of 16GB if you chose the 32 bit or 20GB if you chose the 64 bit. Now click the “Next” screen.
7. Once these steps are complete, you will see a VirtualBox list appear that will give you the available machines for you to choose from. You want to highlight the box that you need and click “Settings”.
If you have hardware to support this system, you can have your virtual machine access any addiction CPU cores using the submenu on the system. If you are not sure if your CPU will support the software, you can check on the Intel website. If you check your Intel, you will need to look up your Intel processor model and then it will check for virtualization under the “Advanced Features”. If you want to look for this information on the AMD website, you can look up your processor model and then look for the feature named “AMD Virtualization Technology”.
Once you are there, you need to click on the submenu titled “Storage” and “IDE Controller”. Look for the little CD icon that is located beside of the CD/DVD drive listing and select. You will now choose a virtual CD/DVD disk file and scroll down to the Windows 8 ISO file. This is the one that you just downloaded to your system and not your virtual system. You will now be able to click on the “OK” button located at the bottom of the settings window.
Now you are going to use your virtual machine. Click on the “Start” button which should then load the virtual machine. You will see a pop-up bubble that lists your keyboard and mouse capturing options. VirtualBox will then boot up and you want to go to the Windows 8 installation.