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Windows 8 running in VirtualBox

The Windows 8 Developer Preview is out and, let's face it, you want to give information technology a shot. Windows 8 marks a major departure from any other version of the OS and it behooves any oddbal to pull out on the front lines of such an introduction. Even so, you might not throw an superfluous computer lying close to to put in the young OS connected. Virtualization to the rescue.

Before acquiring started, we should keep in mind that virtualization ISN't exactly the optimum solution for examination. It'll start out the job done, but in all probability you won't get a feel for the full speed or eloquence of Windows 8. Your virtualized simple machine credibly won't have a touchscreen either, thusly you'll be missing out there as well. That said, it's a free mathematical operation that ISN't too uncheckable to set up, so it's meriting the time if you are at all queer about Win8.

For this tutorial we'll be using VirtualBox, Vaticinator's free virtualization software system. It's quite accessible given how complicated the work it's doing actually is, and it's easier to work with than VMWare Player. Advantageous, reports from around the web indicate that VirtualBox plays more nicely with Windows 8 than VMware Player 3.x. VMware Workstation 8 does seem to getting along with Windows 8 well enough, but you'll have to trounce out any cash for that — and VMware Player 4 does seem to be resourceful of working Win8 but you need Workstation 8 to get that. So back to VirtualBox…

Follow these stairs and you should have your estimator running Windows 8 in no time:

  1. Download Windows 8 and VirtualBox
  2. Go into your computer's BIOS and make sure virtualization is enabled. (Note, if you commode't find it look in the security settings.)
  3. In VirtualBox make up a early virtual machine, take Windows / Windows 7 as the character.
  4. During the initial installation operation choose to create a realistic disk. You'll need at least 20GB to undergo the job finished. It'll take a few minutes to create the phonograph record. If you give birth an SSD you'll want this Indian file to loaded in that location to hasten things up and better match the dev hardware's performance.
  5. With the virtual OS created, go into Settings. It's time to start tinkering. (See the image to a lower place for a summary.)
  6. Within Scheme > Motherboard enable IO APIC. Also make a point the memory is at a reasonable amount of money, aver 1500MB or more. Change the chipset to ICH9.
  7. System > Processors enable PAE/NX.
  8. System >  Acceleration enable VT-x/AMD-V and Nested Paging.
  9. Expose > Video move the video memory to 128MB (the max) and then enable some 3D and 2D acceleration.
  10. Subordinate Storage go to your virtual disc drive (.vdi) under the SATA controller. Make a point to click host I/O cache. Also make sure to mount your Windows 8 Developer Prevue .ISO file. If you are using IDE have convinced to move terminated to the ICH6 IDE controller.
  11. Run around the practical machine and follow the standard Windows installation instructions. At this indicate IT's just like installing any other version of Windows.

windows 8 virtualbox settingsCardinal quick notes: If you construe with a weird bally error message saying something astir "0xFFFFFFE6" before Windows 8 starts to install, check step 2. You probably need to enable virtualization. Secondly, remember that these aren't the lone settings that volition work; they are the ones that worked on my Intel Core 2 Musculus quadriceps femoris/P45 desktop. Different settings could certainly work, dependent on your situation. I come have sex this to be a stabile environment though.

That's all there is to information technology. At this point you should have a fully useful Windows 8 dev preview running within VirtualBox. Everything should work well (you'll see this if it doesn't), and be relatively quick, though that volition depend happening your electronic computer and the settings you chose for the virtual machine.

Now, if you've had your apetite whetted and want to remove Microsoft's up-to-the-minute-and-greatest operating system for a real gyrate, read our guide how to induce a Windows 8 tablet!