Windows 8

[Mikey]

I'm certainly no tech-head like you are, but I like the look of it. Seems a lot more streamlined for use... sort of "Mac-ized," if you will. I just hope they keep the things that Win had over Mac, such as the transparency of processes, etc.

[Captain Picard's Hair]

I'm certainly no tech-head like you are, but I like the look of it. Seems a lot more streamlined for use... sort of "Mac-ized," if you will. I just hope they keep the things that Win had over Mac, such as the transparency of processes, etc.

Yeah, all that's still there, and more or less in the same places.

[Sonic Glitch]

I am actually considering trying out this preview, however I am by no means a tech-head. I am a consumer. Most of my computer troubleshooting is done through Ctrl+Alt+Delete and/or google (or asking you fine folks). Would this preview be worth it for someone who is just a consumer, and do you think it would function on a 2year old Vista machine? (I got my current machine just before Windows 7 rolled out, and AFAIK it is Windows 7 Capable)

[Captain Picard's Hair]

I am actually considering trying out this preview, however I am by no means a tech-head. I am a consumer. Most of my computer troubleshooting is done through Ctrl+Alt+Delete and/or google (or asking you fine folks). Would this preview be worth it for someone who is just a consumer, and do you think it would function on a 2year old Vista machine? (I got my current machine just before Windows 7 rolled out, and AFAIK it is Windows 7 Capable)

It certainly should run with no problem on that machine; the official hardware requirements are the same as Vista and 7. In reality, like 7 WIn 8 is better optimized and faster than Vista on equal hardware. Windows 8 actually should be even faster than Windows 7.

Setup isn't too hard, and WIndows 8 should pick up most of your drivers right away; it's quite good with driver support.

[Sonic Glitch]

Would you suggest backing files and things up first?

[Captain Picard's Hair]

Would you suggest backing files and things up first?

You have two options: you can upgrade, or do a "dual-boot." If you do the former, WIn 8 can upgrade in place over 7 though I'm not sure about Vista, so you may have to back up your files and do a clean install. Doing a dual-boot setup is slightly more complicated but you wouldn't lose your stuff. You would create a second "partition" on your primary hard drive and install the WIn 8 preview to that, and all the stuff on your existing Vista partition would still be there - you could even still boot to VIsta (you'd get a choice of which OS to load each time you start).

[Sonic Glitch]

So, how do I go about creating a partition then? I think, to my understanding, I currently have two partitions, the C drive, and the D (recovery) drive. The C drive has a good amount of empty space, but I don't have any "unallocated" regions on my hard-drive with which to create a new partition. Is it possible to create a new partition out of the unused space in the C drive without reformatting and losing everything?

[Captain Picard's Hair]

So, how do I go about creating a partition then? I think, to my understanding, I currently have two partitions, the C drive, and the D (recovery) drive. The C drive has a good amount of empty space, but I don't have any "unallocated" regions on my hard-drive with which to create a new partition. Is it possible to create a new partition out of the unused space in the C drive without reformatting and losing everything?

Yes. Click the Start button in Vista, and right-click on "My Computer." Click "Manage" from the menu you get (you'll be asked permission from Vista). In that console that comes up go to "DIsk Management." You'll see a list of your drives with the partitions marked. You can right-click on "C" and select "shrink volume." Tell Windows how much to shrink the partition and it will create empty space equal to the amount you've shrunk C.

If you have a password on your VIsta install, you won't be able to see the files in your Vista user account from Windows 8. What I've done on my laptop and my desktop is use separate partitions for the 2 OS'es and other partition(s) for data -- in fact the desktop has several hard drives.

You can get the disk image for WIn 8 here:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/iso

You'll need software to burn the .iso image to a blank DVD, than boot to that DVD and install to the free space you've just created.

[Tsukiyumi]

You can right-click on "C" and select "shrink volume." Tell Windows how much to shrink the partition and it will create empty space equal to the amount you've shrunk C.

That's a pretty nifty feature.

[Captain Picard's Hair]

Don't forget the licence key (provided on the downlaod page). Also, you can create the new partition in the empty space in disk management so you don't have to take that stet during setup. After you've created empty space just right-click on that space and select "create new partition." Click through the prompts and select "quick format." Then you'll have a new partition pre-formatted when you boot to the Win 8 disk.

[Sonic Glitch]

Well I got it downloaded and on a partition. The only trick will be remembering how to get it to boot up when I want it to (rather than booting from Vista which is the default).

[Captain Picard's Hair]

Well I got it downloaded and on a partition. The only trick will be remembering how to get it to boot up when I want it to (rather than booting from Vista which is the default).

Excellent! Good work, grasshopper.

[Captain Picard's Hair]

I also have it on my laptop, and it runs amazingly quickly. Boot times are incredible, much faster even on a regular hard drive let alone an SSD.

[Sonic Glitch]

I have it on my laptop too. The only real trick now seems to be getting Vista to give the choice of which program I want to boot, Vista or Windows 8. I think now that I have a sustainable internet connection at home, it might be a bit better/easier to use.

[stitch626]

My only complaint (from the pics since I can't test it atm) is that the metro interface looks like it was made 10 years ago...