Download Windows 8 Release Preview

Windows 8 will soon be here and we've had Beta, a Consumer Preview and now Microsoft has posted a Release Preview on its website. It is basically another name for a beta or pre-release software that is still under development. However, as we get closer to the launch of Windows 8 there is less likely to be any major changes, so what you see in this version is basically what you'll get when you buy it. There may be a few minor tweaks here and there for the release version, but don't expect any major changes.

To download it and try it for free, go to windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/download , but don't click the big download link. Look for the links to ISO format images and follow them to the download. Then choose either the 32-bit or 64-bit version. The ISO images can be written to a DVD and then installed on any number of computers, so it saves you having to download it on each one.

I prefer to run Windows 8 in a virtual machine using VirtualBox. You don't even need to burn the .ISO file to a DVD. Just create a new virtual machine for Windows 8, go to the storage settings and associate the CD/DVD-Rom drive with the .ISO image. The virtual machine will boot from the .ISO image like it was a CD/DVD and you can install Windows 8.

If you install Windows 8 on a real PC, be aware that you can't uninstall it and go back to the previous version of Windows. Unless you have a complete disk backup of the whole system and can restore it.