Here's everything you need to know to try
the Windows 10 preview safely: hardware requirements and steps for
preparing virtual machines and partitioned hard drives.
Are you ready to walk on the wild side? Windows 10 is on the horizon,
and even though it’s still roughly three-quarters of a year away from
completion, Microsoft’s giving IT Pros and PC enthusiasts an early taste
of what’s to come with the Windows 10 Technical Preview.
Data integration is often underestimated and poorly implemented, taking time and resources. Yet it Learn More
This isn’t like Windows 8’s Consumer Preview; the Windows 10 Technical
Preview is being released via a new “Windows Insider” program that asks
for user feedback and even provides private forums for discussing
trouble spots with Microsoft engineers. Lots of things are sure to
change going forward, from features to basic elements of the operating
system.
All that said, are you still curious? Can’t resist the lure of the
bleeding edge? Just want to run away from Windows 8? Here’s how to
install the Windows 10 Technical Preview right now.
Actually, you won’t be installing the Technical Preview for a few
minutes yet. Didn’t you hear the part about this being a very early
pre-release build? That means catastrophic errors are an all too real possibility.
Don’t take my word for it: Here’s part of the terms of service you agree
to when you sign up for Windows Insider (emphasis Microsoft’s):
“The Program Services include experimental and early prerelease software. This means that you may experience occasional crashes and in rare cases data loss.
To recover, you may have to reinstall your applications, the operating
system, or re-flash your device. Using the Program Services on some
devices may impact your warranty (check with your device provider). By
participating, you agree to frequently backup your data.”
In case that didn’t make it clear enough, back up your data before you start.
Dump your pictures in Dropbox, drag your documents to an external hard
drive, whatever works! Just make sure your data is safe and secure in
case something bad happens when you’re installing the Windows 10 Tech
Preview. (PCWorld’s absurdly simple backup guide and tools for backing up your data for free can help if you’re stumped.)
Windows 10 Technical Preview requirements
Before we get too involved, it’s worth noting that the Windows 10
Technical Preview is currently limited to PC and Windows tablets with
x86 processors—there’s no version for Windows RT tablets and their ARM
processors available. (Sorry, Surface RT owners.) If you’re unsure which
version of Windows your tablet is running, right-click on the “This PC”
icon in File Explorer and select Properties. Your Windows edition information will be at the top of the window that appears.
Here are Windows 10’s other hardware requirements, which are just as modest as Windows 8.1’s.
Processor : 1GHz or faster with support for PAE, NX, and SSE2
RAM : 1GB (32-bit) or 2GB (64-bit)
Hard disk space : 16GB
Graphics card : Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver
Some additional notes: You’ll also need a Microsoft account and Internet
access. And if you want to access the Windows Store or use Windows
Apps, your monitor’s resolution will need to be at least 1024x768. The
Windows 10 Technical Preview is available in English, Chinese
Simplified, and Brazilian Portuguese.
Still here? Now head over to preview.windows.com and click the Get Started button. After registering for Windows Insider, you’ll be prompted to download the Windows 10 Technical Preview.
Download the appropriate Technical Preview build for your machine—the
“This PC” or “My Computer” Properties window can also tell you if you
have a 32-bit or 64-bit processor under the “System type” field.
Jot down the product key for the Technical Preview, too, though I didn't
need to use it to install the Technical Preview. Couldn't hurt to have
it handy though.
With all that done, it’s time to get the Tech Preview on your PC! But
since it’s a very early pre-release build of the operating system, you
won’t want to overwrite your PC’s operating system with Windows
10—especially since doing so renders Windows Media Player incapable of
playing DVDs and removes Windows Media Center entirely from upgraded
Windows 8.1 Pro installations.
If you have a superfluous computer lying around, sure, feel free to
install the preview on that. But most people will want to install the
Windows 10 Technical Preview either in a virtual machine, or dual-boot
the OS from its own hard drive partition.
In a virtual machine
Installing it on a virtual machine is the easiest option. Grab VirtualBox, Oracle’s stellar no-cost VM tool, and you’ll be ready to rock. Download the Windows 10 Preview and configure it in VirtualBox using mostly the same steps outlined in PCWorld’s guide to test-driving Windows 8 in a virtual machine. (When you're initially setting up the Windows 10 VM, select "Windows 8.1" as the operating system type.)
If your attempt to install the Windows 10 VM isn't successful, try
tweaking these settings. Once you’ve completed the initial Windows 10
set up, open the VM's Settings > System. In the Motherboard
tab, ensure the box next to “Enable EFI (Special OSes only)” is checked,
as well as the “Enable PAE/NX” box under the Processor tab.
Setting up the Windows 10 Technical Preview in VirtualBox.
It's worth noting that I encountered troubles installing the 64-bit
version Windows 10 on VirtualBox—the installation hung right after the
"Press any key to boot" screen, stuck forever on the Windows logo
against a black background. Several others have been successful in getting it to work,
however, and I was able to install the 32-bit version of Windows 10's
Technical Preview in VirtualBox successfully. (I also successfully
installed the 64-bit version to a hard drive partition, and another
64-bit instance overwriting Windows 8.1 on a laptop.)
Dual boot Windows 10 in a hard drive partition
Running operating systems in virtual machines also sacrifices some
performance, especially if you don’t have extra CPU cores or much RAM
to dedicate to the task. If you want to experience the Windows 10
Technical Preview natively, you can create a new partition on your hard
drive and install the preview there. (It’s best if you’re able to do
this on a secondary PC, just to be safe.)
Creating hard drive partitions in Windows.
PCWorld’s guide to installing Windows 8 on a new partition
can walk you through the process—the same basic steps apply to the
Windows 10 Technical Preview, and Windows 8 handles hard drive
partitioning the same way Windows 7 did. Note that Windows 8 includes
native tools for burning a bootable ISO to a DVD, however—simply
right-click on the Windows 10 ISO file and select Burn disc image. The Windows 7 USB/DVD tool can help you make a bootable USB drive with the Windows 10 ISO despite its name.
Living on the edge
There you have it. Enjoy the sweet, sweet desktop improvements and let
Microsoft’s team know if you hit any rough spots. You'll find a feedback
tool baked right into the Windows 10 Technical Preview. That’s why you
joined the Windows Insider program after all. Right?
This article has been updated with additional installation attempt information.
This story, "How to install the Windows 10 Technical Preview" was originally published by
PCWorld.
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