Trying out Windows 8 on a Virtual Machine

With large numbers of interested parties looking to test drive the new Windows 8 Consumer Preview, Techspot has provided a guide for one of the easiest ways to test out Microsoft's new OS - running Windows 8 in a virtual machine.

While a spare PC might be thin on the ground and dual booting sounds more hassle than it's worth, most modern PCs will support virtual machines given enough memory and hard drive space.

TechSpot posted a simple guide to getting Windows 8 up and running on Oracle's free VirtualBox VM software. A machine with 4GB of RAM and a spare 20GB of hard drive and any modern processor compatible with virtualisation is all that's required, oh and a copy of the Windows 8 Consumer Preview ISO of course.

It's pretty easy going and the guide is barely needed but for those unfamiliar with installing an OS on a virtual PC, Techspot's guide steps through the process clearly. We found Windows 8 took about 15 minutes to install on a fairly beefy PC - slower PCs will obviously take longer.

Check out the Techspot Windows 8 VM guide here.
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