Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Installing Windows 8 Developer Preview – First Attempt

So I really wanted to get started with Windows 8 so I can move forward with investigating the new Metro UI.  If you want to do the same you can download the Windows 8 developer Preview at Microsoft’s Dev Center.

There are a couple of options that you will be presented with.

  1. Windows Developer Preview with developer tools English, 64-bit (x64)
  2. Windows Developer Preview English, 64-bit (x64)
  3. Windows Developer Preview English, 32-bit (x86)

I downloaded the Developer Preview with developer tools, 64-bit as well as the stand alone 32-bit version.  I have a 32 bit laptop that I want to install it on as well as on a separate partition on my main machine.  Beware that you will require a DL DVD burner if you intend to burn the 64-bit version with tools.  Here is what Microsoft says about it:

Note: The .iso file that contains the developer tools requires a large capacity DVD called a DVD-9, as well as a DVD burner that can handle dual-layer (DL) DVDs. Most modern burners should be able to handle this format.

I don’t have a touch screen yet, but will be looking to get one in the future to truly test Windows 8 the way it was designed to be used.  I am hoping there will be some Windows 8 phone emulators out there that I can test my mobile apps on.  I already have a few ideas.

So lets get started. first I mounted the 64-bit with tools .iso to my G: drive using UltraISO. Upon inspection of the DVD drive the folder structure looks like this:

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This is pretty typical so I double click on the setup.exe file to see what happens.  I am first presented with this splash screen.

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Next it shows me the Setup screen that asks if I want to Go online to get the latest and greatest. of course, I say sure and click next.  One thing to note I also leave the check mark on wanted to make the installation better.  Just doing my part.

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Then I am told it will take a few minutes.

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After only a couple of minutes The setup screen changes to this Checking you PC Screen.

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Notice the navigation across the top of the screen.  It looks like there are going to be 4 parts to the install. Preparation, Compatibility, Install and Config.  It quickly shows a screen and says something about a product key.  The screen went to fast for me to get a capture of it.  It looks like this will be where future versions will ask you to input your product key.

After this page it goes to the License terms page.  I like the line “Make our lawyers happy by reading this carefully.”

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I comply because I have a friend who is a lawyer and she would be very upset with me if I didn’t.  One thing it says is that I can use but not share any images or icons or sounds. Oops.  I guess I broke that one. I check the box and click Next.

Now I am at a screen that scares me.

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I haven’t seen anyone else post their install experiences yet and I am not willing to lose everything.  I thought I could tell it to install on a specific partition but I guess not.  So I guess I will try again on a VM.

After clicking the Close button (X) in the upper right hand corner I am shown this dialog box.

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So I click Yes.  To be continued….

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