How to test drive Windows 8 Release Preview on a Mac with a virtual machine
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The VMware Fusion 4 Library
Choosing to use a disc image
Navigating to the Windows 8 ISO
Windows 8 is not available in Fusion 4's drop-down menu, but choosing Windows 7 will suffice
Unless you know better, it's advisable to leave the CPU and RAM settings as default
Beginning the Windows 8 installation process
Windows 8's new loading screen
Waiting for the installation to start properly
Language and localization settings
Annoyingly, a Product Key must be manually entered
Microsoft's terms and conditions
Select Custom Install
Windows 8 will show a 60 GB unallocated space as this is VMware Fusion 4's default maximum space to use
This part of the installation process will take a while...
Windows will perform several checks and restarts
VMware's restart screen
Windows 8 loading once again
Windows 8 will spend some final moments configuring the installation
One last restart and Windows 8 should begin to load
Personalizing the Windows 8 look and feel
An Express Install should be fine for most users
If you have a Windows Live account, sign in now
Windows is checking for Microsoft data from the server
Entering password details
Some final initializing
One last configuration
Windows 8 running full screen in OS X Lion
Quitting VMware Fusion will suspend whichever OS is currently running
Suspending Windows 8
Running Windows 8 within a virtual machine makes trying out Microsoft's latest OS safe and easy
Article Summary
Apple introduced many significant changes with the release of OS X Lion and Mountain Lion is set to shake things up yet further, making this an exciting time to be a Mac user. However, it’s also an exciting time to be a PC user, and the buzz which surrounds Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 8 release even has some die-hard OS X fans wondering if it’s time to make the jump. If you’re a Mac user who would like to dip a toe into the Windows 8 experience with the minimum of commitment or fuss, here’s how to go about it.
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