# Windows 8 Developer Preview Available



## Tanis (May 30, 2006)

So, the first developer beta for Windows 8 is available, get it here if you are interested.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/home/


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## eddie5659 (Mar 19, 2001)

Found some screenshots as well 

http://www.zdnet.co.uk/reviews/serv...-windows-8-server-developer-preview-40093935/

eddie


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## Frank4d (Sep 10, 2006)

There is a notice on the download page that Windows 8 cannot be un-installed (without clean installing another OS). Therefore, don't install it on any computer that has important data, unless you have a backup. There are already dozens of posts in the Microsoft forums asking "how do I go back without losing all my data?".


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## Tanis (May 30, 2006)

Thats a problem unfortunately. With things like this many people just download it without thinking about it. Personally, I would never install a dev OS on a machine that had anything even remotely important on it, you never know what is going to happen with the software.


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## dustyjay (Jan 24, 2003)

I installed a spare hard drive w/Spare Caddy in my Inspiron 1525 laptop. Installed Win 8 Developers Preview. So far it is a different animal. Only had to install the Video Driver (had to use Compatibility to get it to install). One thing that is different is the Start Menu. There is no Shutdown or Restart button on the Start menu. Have to use CTRL/ALT/ Del to get to the shutdown button.

Installed MS Office 2010 Plus, and MSE. Both working great. There is no Windows Media Center so I have to get used to WMP 11. 

Will be having fun trying it out. Wish my laptop was a tablet so I could try out the full capabilities. Looks like I got a wish list for a new toy.


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## jp1203 (Jul 21, 2005)

Downloading it now...maybe I'll try a virtual install of it.

I hope the taskbar can still be reverted to icons with labels. I can't seem to get used to the dock style. Not to mention I think it's tedious to click an icon, then click the instance of the program that you want, rather than just seeing it and clicking it once.


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## dustyjay (Jan 24, 2003)

Taskbar, is pretty much the same as Win 7. Start menu is different as is the Start menu Icon. Not the Orb as in 7. I am posting from the laptop running the Developers Preview. Win 8 Developers Preview comes with IE9. I think in the final release they should include Windows Media Center. I do not like Windows Media Player. I am using WinAmp for Audio files and CDs, and at the moment VLC for DVDs and Video CDs.

My main concern right now is the Shutdown button. You have to CTRL/ALT/Del to get to it. Then I may not have searched as well as I should for it.


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## Noyb (May 25, 2005)

dustyjay said:


> My main concern right now is the Shutdown button.


Settings >>> Power .. See it in the fine print .. lower right ???


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## dustyjay (Jan 24, 2003)

Got it, thanks. I would have eventually found it. I actually think I am going to like this, even now after only playing with it for about 4 hours, it is very interesting. And so far everything I have installed seems to be working. I am not going to install it on my main computer just yet. Unless I buy another hard drive. With my Antec Easy Sata I can shut down and pop another boot drive in. I am not going to pay the prices I get locally for hard drives. And Fry's is almost 3 hours away.


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## dustyjay (Jan 24, 2003)

As I use my Laptop also as my HTPC Connected to the 60" via HDMI, I had to give that a try. Worked with out a flaw. Though selecting the display had changed a bit as compared to Win 7 it gave a flawless playback of a DVD Movie. In fact I - Robot was fantastic at 1080P.


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## catlover2 (Sep 29, 2009)

I installed it on top of Windows 7, and it probably would still be there, but it loads a GUI before it even lets you select Windows 8 or 7.
It just takes too long to boot into Windows 7, which is what I mostly use anyway.


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## dustyjay (Jan 24, 2003)

Just an idea, Try something like Easy BCD (Free for non commercial use) and set Win 7 as the default OS. That may give you the time to boot Win 7 or Win 8 as you choose. I am not dual booting with Win 7 and 8 at the moment.


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## catlover2 (Sep 29, 2009)

That worked!

I really can't see myself using Windows 8 much at this moment though...


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## dustyjay (Jan 24, 2003)

I have it installed on its own hard drive for my laptop. But I have 2 HDD Caddies, so if I want to go back to Win 7 (which I do) I power down, slip one disk out and the other back in, power up and I am good to go. I am glad Easy BCD worked for you. I could really see no reason it would not have, it is just that the developers preview is so new I didn't know.


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## win2kpro (Jul 19, 2005)

Frank4d said:


> There are already dozens of posts in the Microsoft forums asking "how do I go back without losing all my data?".


And without any doubt there will be many more. I still don't understand why MS would throw out a pre-beta OS to the general public.


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## dustyjay (Jan 24, 2003)

I read the warnings before I started. I guess there are still a bunch of people who don't look before they leap  If and when I decide to go back, I just remove the drive I am using for testing and install my Win 7 drive again. Any documents I want to keep that were generated during the preview get forwarded to my main computer anyway.


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