Installing Windows 8 at Its Intro Upgrade Price Without Ditching Windows 7 Using Dual Boot ...
Over the course of the next few months I plan to take advantage of Microsoft's $39.95 upgrade offer for Windows 8 Pro and Windows Media Center that expires on January 31, 2013. Starting with the older I'll be doing this on two desktops with the older one running 32-bit Windows 7 Home Premium (dual 320 GB HDs) and the newer one running 64-Bit Windows 7 Home Premium (single 1 TB HD).
I plan to retain the Windows 7 installs and dual boot interchangeably after doing clean installs of Windows 8 then configure the desktops to look like my Win7 desktops which are almost identical to my old XP desktops (including the old Quick Launch Toolbar which Microsoft hides in Win7). I've ordered a copy of Paul Thurrott's ' Windows 8 Secrets' and at least scan it before preceding with the 1st Windows 8 install, and use it as a reference thereafter.
Charlie White of Mashable has just published a step by step guide titled "How to Install Windows 8 Without Ditching Windows 7" that I plan to follow (probably) and it may be of interest to others...
mashable.com
>> Windows 8 is so new and different, many users aren’t sure if they really want to abandon Windows 7 for it just yet. But you, dear Mashable reader, can have both at once. I’ll show you how to keep your Windows 7 installation as it is, and have the option to boot into Windows 8 on the same machine, giving you the time and experience to make an informed choice between the two. You’ve been able to dual-boot previous versions of Windows for years, but now with Windows 8 it’s easier than ever. There’s good news, too: Microsoft is offering Windows 8 Pro for $39.99 until January 31, 2013, and I’ll show you how to use that version to dual-boot between Windows 7 and Windows 8.
Using the regular Windows 8 Pro download saves you $85.01 by ignoring advice on Microsoft’s website urging you to buy the $125 Windows 8 Pro System Builder software if you want to dual boot. ... Follow along and I’ll show you how to download the software, put it on a DVD, and then install it on your machine without breaking anything, giving you the freedom to boot into either Windows 7 or Windows 8 at your whim. ... . ### - Charlie White, Mashable -
Once I'm satisfied with the setups, have the Windows 8 desktops configured to my satisfaction, and am properly familiarized with Windows 8 I'll likely single boot into Windows 8 on the newer system and leave the dual-boot option on the older system (to use Windows Live Mail and Office 2003 Pro under Win7) on the older 32-bit system.
Best to all,
- Eric - |
