If you opt for a fixed disk, 20 GB is the minimum. Otherwise, choosing a fixed disk size should help Windows 8 run faster. You can set the virtual disk to expand dynamically in size. You'll need 1 GB at a minimum but 2 GB or more is better if you can spare it.Ĭhoose the option to create a new virtual disk.
VirtualBox will automatically set the version as Windows 8. Type Windows 8 as the name for the virtual machine. From there, just follow the steps to create a new Virtual Machine. In the VirtualBox software, click the New icon on the program's toolbar. After installation, open the folder for Oracle VM VirtualBox from the Start Menu Programs area and click the shortcut of the same name. You can download Oracle VirtualBox from here.
Note the Windows 8 serial number as well. Both VirtualBox and VMWare Player support 64-bit Windows as a guest. After selecting the Visit site button, click the button to Get it Now and then choose the option to "download Windows 8 Consumer Preview in ISO format instead." You can download the ISO file as either a 32-bit or 64-bit version. To get started, you'll first want to download the Windows 8 beta, aka Consumer Preview, as an ISO file. Both are free and both support Windows 8. Instead, you can use Oracle's VirtualBox or VMWare's VMWare Player 4.0. Microsoft's own Windows Virtual PC is free but won't accept Windows 8 as a guest. But not all are free and not all support the latest Windows 8 beta.Ī product such as VMWare Workstation 8 supports Windows 8 but costs $200. Various VM applications will let you install an operating system in a virtual environment on your Windows desktop or laptop.
Just install the OS virtually on an existing PC using a free virtual machine utility. Don't have a dedicated PC on which to install Windows 8? No problem.