Windows 8 consumer trial

After the days are up, you must reinstall your former operating system or a full licensed version of Windows 8 when it is released.

You cannot upgrade to the full version from inside this day trial. Microsoft, in fact, advises that you install the trial edition in a virtual environment or on a separate hard drive or partition. You are also warned that if you fail to activate the trial software within 10 days of installing it, your PC will play silly beggers. For more on the day trial version of Windows 8 Enterprise, check out the dedicated website at msdn.

Have you seen or used Windows 8 yet? If so, what do you think? This thread is locked. You can follow the question or vote as helpful, but you cannot reply to this thread.

I have the same question 0. Report abuse. Details required :. Cancel Submit. Bill Smithers Volunteer Moderator. To upgrade, you must start setup from your current version of Windows. You'll be offered the option to migrate programs and files, files only, or do a clean install with your existing Windows installation going to the Windows.

You also have the option to dual boot, either from a separate partition or from a virtual hard drive VHD. I'll have more on those options in follow-up posts. Setup program will automatically detect your current language selection and install the matching version if you are using one of the five supported languages. Note: If you do an upgrade install using a language that's different from the one currently on your PC, you won't be able to keep programs or settings.

Download Windows 8 Consumer Preview. You'll find full instructions, with download links and screenshots, here. You can run setup directly from that drive or DVD, either from within Windows or by restarting your PC and booting from the external media.

You will need a product key to complete installation. On the next page, I explain how to get that key. I also answer the most common question of all: is it possible to replace the new Start screen with the Windows 7-style Start menu?

Page 2: Can I change the Start screen? If you install Windows 8 Consumer Preview using the Web-based setup program, you won't need to enter a product key—the setup program automatically provides the product key. If you download an ISO and make your own installation media, you will need to supply a product key.

The ISO download page includes this public key:. VMs are most useful if you want to document the setup process or if you want to run an unfamiliar app in a sandbox. Windows 8 will not run on Windows Virtual PC. It will run on most third-party virtualization platforms, although you should check with the developer of that software first for any needed patches or setup instructions.

This Windows 8 blog post contains a list of hardware that the Windows development team has used widely, although they caution that the list is not an endorsement. The following text is taken directly from that post:. For general questions: Windows 8 Consumer Preview forum. For questions and issues related to business features: IT pro forums.