Microsoft Offering ISO For Windows 8.1 Preview Too

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There may be an USO for dual-boot Preview testing.

A forum post on MyDigitalLife reveals that not only will Microsoft provide Windows 8.1 Preview as a direct update in Windows Store, but will also provide a downloadable ISO so that customers can burn the update on a bootable DVD or Blu-ray disc. This will allow users to install the preview on a separate partition so that they can choose to load Windows 8 or 8.1 Preview separately.

"Installing from the Store will upgrade the existing Windows 8 OS on that partition to Windows 8.1 Preview," reads Microsoft's Q&A. "You will not be given the opportunity to select another partition, so you would need to already have a dual boot system installed in order to install Windows 8.1 Preview as a dual boot through Windows Store."

Microsoft warns that the Preview build should work with the same devices and programs that work with Windows 8 and Windows RT. However in some cases, the device or program might not work or may require an update. Users may even need to uninstall some programs and then reinstall them after installing the Preview build.

The company also warns that Windows 8 Pro users with Media Center installed can keep Windows Media Center without reinstalling it once users download the Preview through Windows Store. However by using the ISO, Media Center will be removed and must be reinstalled using the original Windows 8 Pro pack or Windows 8 Media Center Pack product key.

"Drivers for basic functionality are available 'in-box'", the company states. "This includes drivers for storage, networking, input and display. These drivers allow you to complete the Windows installation and connect to the Internet. You can get more drivers from Windows Update or from the device manufacturer once you're online."

Should customers simply wait for Windows 8.1 to roll out later this year, or take the Preview plunge on Wednesday? Sorry Microsoft, but it sounds like the latter option will be a real pain for most, especially with all the app install and reinstall going on.

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Kevin Parrish
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11 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Dark Lord of Tech
    Good to hear!!!!!!!!!
    Reply
  • danwat1234
    Is explorer.exe updated to fully support file paths longer than 255 characters in length?
    Does it not lie about, for instance, a 1TB drive being 931GB when it really means 931GiB? Get your units straight Microsoft
    Reply
  • back_by_demand
    Still moaning about calculation of gigabits using binary? That is soooooooo 90's
    Reply
  • back_by_demand
    Still moaning about calculation of gigabits using binary? That is soooooooo 90's
    Reply
  • tokencode
    Microsoft is actually the one who accurately displays drive size, talk to the drive manufacturers who sell you a 931GB harddrive as a 1TB harddrive. 1KB is 1024bytes, not 1,000, a MB is 1024KB not 1000KB, as the drive manufacturers would have you believe.
    Reply
  • CaedenV
    Files are all backed up. System image created. I am all ready for 8.1 tomorrow!
    Reply
  • p05esto
    Does the start button actually allow a cascading and multi-level amount of applications able to be organized into categories? I've got 60 apps installed right now and DEMAND an easy way to navigate them with ONE click. Win7 even sucks in that you can't create folders of applications, it's just one stupid long list. Vista had a much better start menu.
    Reply
  • dnr_ron
    Why test in dual-boot? If something happens to your bootup, both versions may be effected and beyond a fixboot. I've tested MS products since Office 95 and I have never let a test / preview come close to a live system. Even setting up a network access was a cautionary delay.
    How can you compare speed and accuracy by accessing only one version at a time? For somebody who wants lab rats, MS seems hellbent on providing a closed maze.
    I really hope this ISO will permit a true side-by-side 2-machine different account setup. Unless of course, MS doesn't really want our help.
    Reply
  • Darkerson
    I really like Windows 8, overall, but i have retracted my stance on the Start Screen, as it amounts to Microsoft taking options away instead of expanding upon them. If you, too, like Windows 8 save for Metro, just download Classic Shell, and you can have the advantages of booting straight to desktop, disabling the hot corners, and gaining a Start menu back( and you can choose styles reminiscent of 95/98/ME, 2000/XP, or Vista/7)
    Give it a shot, its free, and pretty awesome.
    Reply
  • aTechMate
    Microsoft designed & developed windows 8 thinking about tablets and other handheld devices. They should understand the difference between a tablet and a computer. By this time it should be clear to Microsoft that a user does not want to use a tablet mimicking computer for their daily chores. Hope Microsoft understands this before they come up with another dissappointment.

    http://tools.atechmate.com/2000/how-windows-8-can-be-improved.html
    Reply