Posted in Microsoft , Windows , Windows 8
Adventurous Windows users can now download the Windows 8 Consumer preview from Microsoft's web site using the link provided below. The preview version of the new OS is available for 32-bit and 64-bit PCs, and can be downloaded either in ISO format (for buring to a DVD or converting to a USB stick using the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool) or as a setup file, which Windows Vista and Windows 7 users can use to pull down the OS from the Internet.
If you prefer to explore these things vicariously (there's no shame in it, really), our coverage of new Windows 8 features has been fairly extensive up until now - you can find all of our previous Windows 8 articles by following this link. A more complete, in-depth look at the Consumer Preview is forthcoming, and should be ready at some point next week.
Source: Microsoft
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13 Comments View All Comments Post a Comment downloading by kensiko on Wednesday, February 29, 2012 I would have preferred a link to an Iso, but I guess it will download the necessary files. I will stop it before it install Windows over my current installation, I plan on using VirtualBox. 
kensiko Reply RE: downloading by kensiko on Wednesday, February 29, 2012 ah I found a link to the Isos:http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/iso
kensiko Reply RE: downloading by Andrew.a.cunningham on Wednesday, February 29, 2012 All of it's on the page. Enjoy! 
Andrew.a.cunningham Reply RE: downloading by kensiko on Wednesday, February 29, 2012 Downloaded, installed, running 5 minutes later ! That's what I call a fast installation ! (VirtualBox and ISO and SSD) kensiko Reply 32 bit? by n0b0dykn0ws on Wednesday, February 29, 2012 I thought Windows 7 was the last release with a 32 bit version. Or did they change their mind?n0b0dykn0ws
n0b0dykn0ws Reply RE: 32 bit? by ananduser on Wednesday, February 29, 2012 Why do you care ? Your win8 license covers both versions of the software for your personal use. It might be a redundant choice for you, but some may use it. 
ananduser Reply RE: 32 bit? by Kristian Vättö on Wednesday, February 29, 2012 I think the problem is that you can't update from a 32-bit version to a 64-bit version without doing a clean install. There are still plenty of people running 32-bit systems so it would be a huge hassle if people were forced to do a clean install. 
Kristian Vättö Reply RE: 32 bit? by freedom4556 on Wednesday, February 29, 2012 I guarantee that they changed their minds, assuming that was ever the case. With tablets the target, and ARM support being a new feature, the x86 tablets will almost certainly be 32 bit due to their modest hardware. Besides, it's not like their trying to defragment the platform, they're adding ARM support, so now it's Windows, WOW64, and WOA. At least Itanium's done for. 
freedom4556 Reply RE: 32 bit? by johnsonx on Wednesday, February 29, 2012 I doubt the issue with dropping 32-bit x86 has anything to do with hardware any more. I'm pretty sure the number of machines out there that could reasonably expected to run Windows 8 that aren't 64-bit capable is vanishingly small; all the current low-power x86 CPU's that might be used in a Win8 tablet are 64-bit capable as well.The issue continues to be legacy software. Home users probably don't run into anything stuck on 32-bit that really matters, but businesses often depend on ancient software that just isn't going to run on 64-bit windows for one reason or another; XP Mode and other compatibility solutions aren't always compatible or practical either. Sure, one day those old programs will have to be replaced, but in the meantime Microsoft isn't going to want to have sales of Windows held back because of this issue.
johnsonx Reply RE: 32 bit? by Ryan Smith on Wednesday, February 29, 2012 Windows 8 is very specifically intended to run on anything that Windows 7 ran on. Which means a 32bit version is necessary. 
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faizoff Reply RE: Developers Preview by dagamer34 on Thursday, February 09, 2012 Yep, gotta be careful. Need to find a way to install the consumer preview on a USB drive without nuking the boot loader on Windows 7 install. 
dagamer34 Reply RE: Developers Preview by Kelemvor on Thursday, February 09, 2012 That'd be cool. I really want to try Win8 but don't want to have it mess up my Win7 machine. Maybe find a spare hard drive to install it on but that'd be a pain to keep swapping hard drives. Launching it from USB would be cool. 
Kelemvor Reply RE: Developers Preview by B3an on Thursday, February 09, 2012 Win 8 has the "Windows To Go" feature where you can install and run the whole OS from a USB flash drive. Just plug the drive in to any PC and away you go. Not sure if this is just for the Enterprise / Server version though. But maybe it will be in the Consumer Preview with an easy way to set it up from the new installer menu. Either way, it's a very cool feature and i hope it's in all versions. 
B3an Reply RE: Developers Preview by Andrew.a.cunningham on Thursday, February 09, 2012 The Windows 7 beta was the Ultimate version, and in Win7 the Ultimate/Enterprise editions are identical except for branding and licensing. If it's an available feature, the Consumer Preview should have it. 
retrospooty Reply RE: Developers Preview by Mr Perfect on Thursday, February 09, 2012 Yep, had to do just that with the 7 Beta. Otherwise 7 nuked the XP loader. This was one of the things I was hoping they'd improve on this time around. It really shouldn't be messing with other OSes on the PC. 
Mr Perfect Reply I should've been smarter by faizoff on Thursday, February 09, 2012 When I installed win 8 dev preview I should've plugged the hard drive out. Last time I installed win 7 beta I did that. I was too lazy to do it this time and looks like my boot loader is taken over by win 8.
krazyderek Reply WIN8 prev by arnold58 on Friday, February 10, 2012 BCD should sort out your problems .. at least it did on my win7/winXp/W8. was going to add ubuntu, too much methinks 
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