With the recent release of Windows 8.1 preview by Microsoft, I have been privileged to be amongst the first to test run the Operating System and have a feel of what it offers. Since this is a preview version, its advisable to test run it in a virtual environment before deploying it in your production environment.
Requirement:
- Download latest version of VirtualBox (Currently running version 4.2.16)
- Download Windows 8.1 preview ISO file (32bit or 64bit)
Setup:
- Launch VirtualBox → click on New button → enter server name, select Windows 8.1 (64bit) version
- Allocate desired memory
- Select ‘create a new virtual hard drive’
- Select drive type but will recommend you stick to VDI format
- Select either Dynamic or Fixed disk
- Allocate at least 32GB of space for the hard disk → choose location you want the disk to stored
- Go to settings of the new VM → click Storage → click on the Empty CD icon → click the CD icon at top right → select ‘Choose a virtual CD/DVD disk file… from the drop-down → select the Windows 8.1 previous ISO downloaded earlier
- Start the VM → wait for the OS to load → follow on screen display → enter product preview key which can be found in Windows 8.1 ISO download page
- After installation is completed → wait for system to bootup to complete post installation tasks
- Complete the Personalize screen (after this stage, it might take longer for the system to be fully ready)
- This is how the new Windows 8.1 Operating System looks like with the Start menu
Why not comment on what you think about this Operating System
