Upgrading Windows 7 To Windows 8 Consumer Preview Build

Introduction

Windows 8 Consumer Preview is a prerelease version of Windows 8 that focuses on people and apps and gives you powerful new ways to use social technologies to connect with the people who are important to you. It's Windows reimagined. Windows 8 Consumer Preview is built on the rock-solid foundation of Windows 7 and has the security and reliability features you expect from Windows. It’s fast, and it’s made to work on a variety of form factors—especially the new generation of touch devices.

Note : This article was written when Windows 8 was still in Consumer Preview build, changes might occur later to the product once it is RTM.

Windows 8 Consumer Preview is one of the biggest changes that Microsoft has made to Windows, moving it from an operating system aimed at a single class of hardware (PCs and laptops) to one that spans a wide range of devices, including desktops.

Windows 8 Consumer Preview works great on the same hardware that powers Windows 7:• Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster• RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)• Hard disk space: 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)• Graphics card: MicrosoftDirectX 9 graphics device or higher

Additional requirements to use certain features:• To use touch, you need a tablet or a monitor that supports multitouch.• To access the Windows Store, download and run apps, you need an active Internet connection and a screen resolution of at least 1024 x 768.• To snap apps, you need a screen resolution of at least 1366 x 768.

In the below steps I will show you how to download and install Windows 8 Consumer Preview, so lets start.

1. Windows 8 Consumer Preview Setup will check to see if your PC can run Windows 8 Consumer Preview and select the right download.
   
   Download Windows 8 Consumer Preview Compatability checking tool: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/download
2. Run the Windows 8 Consumer Preview Setup 
   
3. If you have User Account Control (UAC) enabled, then you will recieve a message if you want to allow the program to run, click on Yes 
   
   
4. The tool will launch and start checking compatability issues with your installed applications and drivers.
   
   
   
   
5. Review the Compatability Report and check if any application needs to be addressed ( updated or uninstalled )
   
   
   
   
6. Its better after you fix the addressed applications to run the compatability tool again and check one last time the compatability report to see if anything wrong was left over. Click Next when done
   
   
   
   
7. You will recieve the Product Key, write this aside and keep it with you so that when you are asked for it in the future you can type it. Click Nextto start Downloading Windows 8
   
   
8. Windows 8 will start to download
   
   
9. Once the download is completed, you are ready now to install Windows 8. You are presented with three options, either to Install Now, Install Windows 8 on another partition, or postpone the installation and install it later. I want to upgrade my Windows 7 now, so I will choose Install Now.
   
   
10. The setup will check if everything is ready and then will display the license terms
    
    
    
    Accept the licnese terms, by selecting I accept the license terms and then click on Accept
    
    
11. Next page will ask you if you want to keep your own settings and data or would like to wipe your data and install a clean copy of Windows 8. What you can keep depends on the current version of Windows running on your PC. These options only show up if the current version of Windows supports them. 
    
    
    Here are the options you might see:
     Windows settings. Windows settings like Ease of Access, your desktop background, or Internet favorites and history will be kept. Not all settings will be moved.
     Personal files. Anything saved in the User folder is considered a personal file, like the Documents and Desktop folders.
     Apps. Some apps are compatible with Windows 8 Consumer Preview and will just work after Windows 8 Consumer Preview is installed. Some apps might have to be reinstalled after Windows 8 Consumer Preview finishes installing, so be sure to find the installation discs and installers for apps you want to keep.
     Nothing. Delete everything and replace your current version with a copy of Windows 8 Consumer Preview. Your personal files will be moved to a windows.old folder.
    If you choose Nothing, make sure to do the following before you continue:
     Back up your files to an external hard disk, DVD or CD, USB flash drive, or network folder.
     Find the installation discs and installers for the apps you know will work in Windows 8 Consumer Preview and need to reinstall.
     If you use a fingerprint reader or other biometric device to sign in to your computer, make sure you write down your password. You’ll have to sign in by typing your user name and password the first time you use Windows 8 Consumer Preview.
12. The installer will check if anything else is needed before starting the installation of Windows 8, and then will ask you to restart the PC
    
    
    
    Click Restart PC
    
    
13. After your system reboots, logon to your account and accept UAC to resume setup
    
    
    
    Choose Continue from where I left off to resume setup and click Next
    
    
14. Now you are ready to install, click Install
    
    
15. Installation will start and your machine will be rebooted several times
    
    
    
    
    
    
16. Once installation is completed, Windows 8 will startup and will ask you few questions to setup your account. In the Personalize page, select the background color and then click Next
    
    
17. In the Settings page, select either to choose the Express Settings or to Customize it. The description of the Express Settings is listed below, I will select Use Express Settings 
    
    
18. In the Sign in page, enter your local username's password. This is your password that was used with Windows 7
    
    
19. If you have a Microsoft account, then you can use it to sign into your PC, this will make you able to :
    
    - Download apps from Windows Store
    - Access your files and photos anywhere
    - Sync settings online
    
    
    
    Enter your email account password, and then click Next
    
    
    
    You will be asked to enter security verification info. These info will be used when you want to recover your password in the future, in case it was lost of forgotten. Then click Next
    
    
20. The sign in process will start into your machine using your Microsoft account and password
    
    
21. When you see the below screen, this means you are in Windows 8 . In future articles, I will be showing you how to work with Windows 8 and discussing new features introduced with Windows 8.
    
    

Summary

Windows 8 Consumer Preview is one of the biggest changes that Microsoft has made to Windows, moving it from an operating system aimed at a single class of hardware (PCs and laptops) to one that spans a wide range of devices, including desktops. Windows 8 Consumer Preview build is available for download and you can try it now. In this article I have shown you how it is easy to do an inplace upgrade from Windows 7 to a Windows 8 Consumer Preview build.

Source from the Link elmajdal

Windows Server 2008 R2 Evaluation Virtual Hard Drive Images for Hyper-V (180 Days)

Files in this download

The links in this section correspond to files available for this download. Download the files appropriate for you.

Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Evaluation (Full Edition).exe
1.0 GB DOWNLOAD

Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Evaluation (Full Edition).part01.exe
500.0 MB DOWNLOAD

Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Evaluation (Full Edition).part02.rar
500.0 MB DOWNLOAD

Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Evaluation (Full Edition).part03.rar
500.0 MB DOWNLOAD

Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Evaluation (Full Edition).part04.rar
500.0 MB DOWNLOAD

Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Evaluation (Full Edition).part05.rar
37.0 MB DOWNLOAD

Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Evaluation (Server Core).exe 

706.0 MB DOWNLOAD

Overview

The Microsoft VHD format is the common virtualization file format for Hyper-V that provides a uniform product support system, and provides more seamless manageability, security, reliability and cost-efficiency for customers.

This VHD release is available in English only and is for evaluation and testing purposes. Evaluating any version of Windows Server 2008 R2 software does not require entering a product key, however will require activation within 10 days. Failing to activate the evaluation will cause the licensing service to shut the machine down every hour (The 10 day activation period can be reset four (4) times by using the rearm command. See below for further information on activation rearm). Once activated, the evaluation will run for 180 days. After this time, you will need to uninstall the evaluation software and reinstall a fully-licensed version of Windows Server 2008 R2.

As this installation requires Hyper-V, you will need to have a base install of Windows Server 2008 (64-bit edition) or Windows Server 2008 R2, running Hyper-V. For more information on obtaining and installing the latest version of Hyper-V, please visit the Hyper-V Homepage.

Both virtual machines available here are running Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Edition Evaluation. One is the default full installation, and the other has been configured as a default Core installation. For more information on the difference between full and core installation please see the Windows Server 2008 Editions Overview pages. For download options please see the IMAGE SELECTION section in the instructions below.

As both virtual machines do not have anti-virus installed, they should not be connected to any network until it has anti-virus installed.

System requirements

Supported Operating Systems: Windows Server 2008 R2

Required Software: Windows Sever 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 installed with Hyper-V*
Processor: 2.0 GHz or faster (x64) Hardware Assisted Virtulization Required
Disk Space: At least 10.0 GB of free disk space
RAM: 2.5 GB of available physical RAM**

*The VM images themselves are 64bit images and as such you will need to determine 32bit application compatibility for the applications you may wish to install.

* *The amount of physical RAM depends on what applications are running on the Server. You can use the Task Manager to identify how much physical RAM is available on your machine. Running applications other than Hyper-V will consume available physical RAM.

Instructions

Using the Windows Server 2008 R2 VHD with Hyper-V

1. On your computer, install Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 and Microsoft Hyper-V. Detailed instructions on how to install the latest version of Microsoft Hyper-V can be found here: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/virtualization/install.mspx
2. Download the files required. There are 2 different images (Windows Server 200 R2 Enterprise Full Installation and Windows Server R2 Enterprise Server Core Installation), and 2 ways to download them based on your current internet connection – see IMAGE SELECTION section below for further information.
3. When you have installed Hyper-V and extracted the VHD files, copy the VHD file to a pre-selected location (recommended default location C:\Users\Public\Documents\Microsoft Hyper-V\Virtual Hard Disks)
4. Open Hyper-V Manager. Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Hyper-V Manager.
5. From the Action pane, click New, and then click Virtual Machine.
6. From the New Virtual Machine Wizard, click Next.
7. On the Specify Name and Location page, specify what you want to name the virtual machine and where you want to store it. (you can keep this as default location for ease).
8. On the Memory page, specify enough memory to run the guest operating system you want to use on the virtual machine (Recommendation at least 2Gb).
9. On the Networking page, connect the network adapter to an existing virtual network if you want to establish network connectivity at this point.
10. On the Connect Virtual Hard Disk page, select “Use and existing virtual hard disk”, and browse to the location you copied the VHD file to in step 3 above.
11. Select finish (you can also start the VHD at this time, however we recommend you create a snapshot before you start the VHD for the first time).
12. To logon to the machine, use the following credentials:
• Username: administrator, password: Pass@word1 (Administrator account)

IMAGE SELECTION

To make is easier to download the VHD images, we have created 2 different ways to download the files. You have the choice of downloading the entire compressed files as one image, or as a multi-part archive (All images are self-extracting archives). Below is the session legend (you can also download these files by right-clicking on them and saving them to your system).

Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Evaluation (Full Edition)

Single Image

1. Windows Server 2008 R2 RC Enterprise Evaluation (Full Edition)

Multi-part Image

1. Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Evaluation (Full Edition).part01.exe
2. Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Evaluation (Full Edition).part02.rar
3. Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Evaluation (Full Edition).part03.rar
4. Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Evaluation (Full Edition).part04.rar
5. Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Evaluation (Full Edition).part05.rar

Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Evaluation (Server Core)

Single Image Only

1. Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Evaluation (Server Core).exe

Additional information

Please refer to the documents below for further information

Installing Windows Server 2008 R2

Windows Server 2008 R2 Release Notes

How to manually rearm the 10 day activation grace period
When the initial 10-day activation period nears its end, you can run the Slmgr.vbs script to reset it back to 10 days. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Command Prompt.

2. Type slmgr.vbs -dli, and then press ENTER to check the current status of your activation period.

3. To reset the activation period, type slmgr.vbs –rearm, and then press ENTER.

4. Restart the computer.

This resets the activation period to 10 days, and can be used up to four times. After this you will need to either activate or reinstall 

How to Download Microsoft Windows 8 build

How to Download Microsoft Windows 8 build 6.1.7850.0.winmain_win8m1.100922-1508_x86fre_client-enterprise_en-us.iso.

Windows 8 apps store was the secret project that will be launched once the Windows 8 is out from Microsoft but there is another thing that has been leaked in the web about the first build of Windows 8 leaked by Neowin. and this was a surprise release and will be free to download soon.

Download Windows 8

Windows 8 build 6.1.7850.0.winmain_win8m1.100922-1508_x86fre_client-enterprise_en-us.iso.







the link will be provided soon for Windows 8


Windows 8 was the version of OS from Microsoft which might be released for the Public in 2012 but there was a release date much earlier but here are the changes was seen in the in Windows 8
An App Store with support for .appx apps. Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 are likely to run the same apps.
Metro UI for tablets as well as a new Immersive UI. There will be an Immersive UI version of IE too.
Multi-platform support. Think like how OS X is a superset of iOS. Windows 8 will also support ARM processors.
Cloud integration. Leaked screenshots so far show Windows Live integration in the taskbar.
A Windows Phone 7 Metro inspired login screen.
Auto Aero Glass colorization based on Desktop Background colors.
A new PDF Reader based on Metro and .appx
Ribbon in Windows Explorer

Download Leaked Microsoft Windows 8 Build 7850


Download Windows 8 Build 7850 Leaked [Torrent]

Microsoft Windows 8.0 Download

This is Windows popularity or people are looking for totally new OS which can changes the way we use computer today. Windows 7 is still in RC and final release is little far from now but people are searching for Windows 8 download it can look like a joke but why people so curious about Windows 8.

There are lots of rumors started for Windows 8 like some are saying it will be whole new OS it can be cloud-based.

There are rumors with the codename of Windows 8 which will be called “Midori”.

There is news that Microsoft has started planning for Windows 8 and started to hire some new developers for Windows 8. The release of Windows 8 can be in 2011 or 2012.

Sorry there is no download for Windows 8 for now as it is not yet build. Mean while you can have a look of Windows 8 Concept Video.

Post Revised on April 14, 2011

After a long time I am revising this post. I have written this post on June 22, 2009 at that time very limited news was available on Windows 8 only some Concept Videos was available. Now it is confirmed Windows 8 is under development and many screenshots are leaked for Windows 8.

Windows 8 Screenshot

Recently Windows 8 Build 7850 is leaked and available to download. This is not a legal download so far but on some torrent websites this leak is available to download.

You can download these BT Torrents from:

Windows_8_Build_7850_Download_(Final_M1)_6.1.7850. 0.winmain_win8.6314135.TPB.torrent

I am not sure about the authenticity of these link and nor I have downloaded this torrent. Pleasedownload this on your own risk. I will try to update this post as we get any new information on Microsoft Windows 8.

Windows 8 integrates new design concepts

Windows 8 integrates new design concepts

Windows 8 shall became one of the most important changes that Microsoft done into its operating system for more than a decade since Windows 95…

Let’s take a look first at the aging Start Menu from Windows 95 to Windows 7…


looks the same and feels older now - right?

A new Beginning Design UI for Windows 8
Seeing the new version having a new platform that supports ARM and several technologies at CES 2011, we've been excited for the upcoming Windows 8 for a long long time, downloading those fake leaks, and thankfully, Windows 8 was shown to the public for the first time with new UI that looks like Windows Phone and was designed to be really fast and fluid for Windows Tablets and PCs.
Platform support for new design

News designs by Intel, ARM Snapdragon processor, AMD, Texas Instruments Omap and Nvidia.
User Interface Features
Start Screen Tiles

Swipe Apps feature

- Sliding from left to right
Snap to dock feature


you can drag to resize the width

HTML 5 and Javascript Programming


The new platform is based on new web technologies so, it will maximize the touch features using HTML 5 and Javascript that will allow million of developers to create a new kind of app with Windows 8 – really cool… right?

Apps are fullscreen and beautiful designed for touch technologies…
Internet Explorer 10 – Touch First UI and Switching Tabs

Touch Keyboard

with thumbs layout for easy typing

Windows 8 Apps



Anyway, you can always go back to the good old look of windows afterwards…
Let’s also wait for the “business and techie” features in the coming weeks.
Can’t wait!!!
Thanks for reading the quick view of “a more and beautiful” Windows 8…