You Can Download Windows 8 Developer Preview for Free
Windows 8 is Microsofts future operating system that is intended to share aspects of Windows 7 while also competing directly with iPad, iOS, and Android thanks to it’s Metro user interface. We’ve praised some of the Windows 8 features before, and also criticized the freakishly cluttered Ribbon UI, but now you can try it out yourself and come up with your own conclusion of Microsofts future OS, completely for free.
The Windows 8 Developer Preview comes as a free download from Microsoft:
Get it from Microsofts new Windows Dev Center
There is no product activation required. The .iso files weigh in between 2.8GB and 4.8GB depending on what you’re looking for and you can install it in a Virtual Machine if you want, here are a few guides on how to do this:
- Install Windows 8 in VirtualBox – totally free
- How to install Windows 8 in VMWare – free for 30 days, then VMWare costs $49
These methods work to run Windows 8 atop Mac OS X 10.6 and 10.7, Linux, and Windows, just be sure you have adequate RAM and disk space available.
If you want to install it separately, you should have about 16GB of disk space to try it out, and without a touch screen you won’t be able to enjoy all the funky Metro UI features. Official system requirements are as follows:
Windows Developer Preview works great on the same hardware that powers Windows Vista and Windows 7:
1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
Taking advantage of touch input requires a screen that supports multi-touch
If you don’t have a spare PC to install Windows 8 DP on and you don’t want to bother dual booting with a separate partition, go the aforementioned virtual machine route.
Hey the dev center doesn’t offer the developer download anymore, is there an alternative?
Je viens de me procurer un imac et j’aimerais utiliser vmware. Comment puis-je me procurer windows sans l’acheter. Tout cela dans le but d’utiliser autocad sur un autre ordi pc et pouvoir l’ouvrir ensuite sur mon mac.
merci
Developer Preview for Free iwant now
Cool, you should download it from Microsoft.
what can i do with download to be faster? and I want to know ..how many
[…] Windows 8 Developer Preview – download this free from Microsoft Dev Center […]
[…] Puedes descargar Win8 Dev Preview desde este enlace. […]
[…] los chicos de Redmond. El día de ayer, Steve Ballmer dio a conocer los números de descargas de Windows 8 Developer Preview (que en estos momentos estoy […]
[…] Download Windows 8 Developer Preview – free download (64-bit version recommended) […]
Windows 8 installs fine in Boot Camp, just use the latest drivers!
https://picasaweb.google.com/104679027020941404401/Windows8
where are these drivers?
If this version is the same as the final version then I’m not transferring my Windows 7 gaming pc to Windows 8. Normally I always go to the newest version of Windows but this is going to be an acceptation. Their isn’t even an ‘all programs’ list.
Can you run this in Parallels?
CAN I install this with BootCamp on OS X?????
You should, as it should install anywhere Windows 7 could, plus more.
I’m waiting for the official release to install it on BootCamp, but I’m definitely trying Win8 TODAY on any older computer that I have laying around or a VM.
Is it stable enough to run ?
Yes it is stable enough to run as a test but not as a every day OS. Just run it in the free Virtual Box.
Agreed.
I found crashes here an there that made it not suitable to use as a daily OS.
F*CK*NG APPLE TROLLS, WHY CAN’T YOU GUYS ENJOY ANYTHING, I OWN BOTH A MACBOOK PRO AND AN IMAC AND I MUST SAY WINDOWS 7 HAS BEEN AWESOME SO FAR AND WINDOWS 8 IS ALSO LOOKING VERY PROMISING. GET A LIFE LOSERS !!!
LOUD NOISES!!!
or you could just say it like it is- typical apple user, couldn’t scratch their ass without Job’s help.
And you intend to get to them like that! You’re falling way deeper on the Troll hole than any of them.
Here, try again:
As an Apple enthusiast and Macbook owner, I also enjoy technology from other companies.
So excited to try out Windows 8, looks awesome!
Rage much? Get over yourself!
And I would want to load this crapware on my device because….?
You think it’s made that way to be used with a Kinect? Like if you didn’t have a touch screen you could use a webcam/or Kinect? That would be cool IMO.
virtualbox install does not work. Getting errors and reboots…
I’ll pass and stay with OS X
:)
Hmm, seems to not be working in virtualbox… This may take a bit to figure out
You have to enable hardware virtualization in the settings, VT-x and Nested Paging
Here’s a simple guide
http://www.winbeta.org/?q=guides/how-install-windows-8-virtualbox
Thank you sir, this saved me hours of frustration.
LOL – does anyone really wonder why windows and MSFT are so hated by people who have broken free of their cold clammy hands? Perfect example.
Reminds me of the Xbox dashboard