Install Windows 8 Developer Preview On Oracle VM
VirtualBox
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| VirtualBox is a virtual
machine program from Oracle. Obviously if you're going to
install the Developer Preview you'll need the Virtual Box
program available for download at the VirtualBox site. The
download is available here. Make sure the download you
select matches the host system where it will be installed.
Once the download completes, install the VirtualBox
application and reboot the system. After the reboot, start
VirtualBox and follow the steps in the following tutorial. |
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The first step is to create a
virtual machine where the Developer Preview will be
installed. Start by clicking the [New] button. |
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Nothing more here than
a little introduction saying there will be a
"Wizard" to guide you along. Seems everyone has a
wizard these days. |
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It's a good idea to
give the virtual machine a name. In this case I used
Windows 8 Dev Prev x86 Install Tutorial.
You do need to select an operating system type.
Since this is a Microsoft operating system, select
'Microsoft Windows' from the drop down list. In the
[Version] line, use the drop down list again. If you are
installing the x86 (32bit) version then select
Windows 7. If you are installing the x64 (64bit)
Developer Preview version select the Windows 7 64
bit option from the drop down menu. |
| Important |
This pertains
to the [Version] drop-down box discussed
above. In testing different installations,
when I was installing the x86 (32bit)
version it made no difference whether I
selected 'Windows 7' or 'Other Windows' as
the version. The install completed
successfully and the operating system
functioned correctly when the install
completed.
However, when installing the x64 (64bit)
version, I repeatedly received an error
message if I selected 'Other Windows' as the
[Version] and could never get the
installation to start. Selecting the
'Windows 7 - 64 bit' as the [Version] solved
the issue, the install completed, and the
operating system functioned correctly post
installation. |
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It's important to set the
memory to correspond to (or exceed) the minimum required by
the version of the Developer Preview
being installed. If installing the 32-Bit version the
minimum memory allocation is 1GB (1024MB). The 64-Bit
version requires 2GB (2048MB). |
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This is where you specify
either creating a new hard disk for the installation or
reusing a previously created virtual hard disk. This screen
is a bit misleading where it talks about the recommended
size and it shows 20.00GB in bold type. This is not the size
of the disk that will be created. It's simply a
recommendation based on the [Version] of Windows you
specified earlier that would be installed. The disk will
actually be sized later in the virtual machine setup. |
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As long as you're not planning
on transferring the virtual hard disk to another virtual
machine program, go with the default of VDI. Just as an
example, if you wanted to use the virtual machine created in
VirtualBox with a VMware virtual machine, you'd select VHD
as that's the default VMware uses for their virtual hard
disks. |
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Just as it states in the
wizard, the dynamically allocated disk takes up less space
on the actual drive initially but there is a performance
penalty, although I've never noticed any real life speed
difference in years of using virtual machines. I suggest you
leave this dynamically allocated as you're just going to
mess with the release a few weeks and then wipe it
permanently when a beta version is released. |
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It's easy to skip over this
screen for virtual disk file location and size and just
accept the defaults - but don't - it's important, especially
the disk file size. It's even more important if you're using
a fixed disk size and not a dynamically allocated disk. Use
the file folder icon and browse to the location where the disk
file will be stored. Pay special attention to the disk size
system requirements for the version you are installing. The
32-Bit version requires 16GB minimum and the 64-Bit version
requires 20GB. I suggest you leave a healthy cushion over
and above the minimums. |
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A summary of the location and
size of the virtual disk that is going to be created. Verify
the information and click [Create] to create the virtual
hard disk. |
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Another summary screen of the
specifics for the virtual machine that will be created after
clicking the [Create] button. |
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That's it for creating the
virtual machine. Because this virtual machine was created
with a dynamically expanding, not initially allocated fixed
size hard disk, it only takes a few moments to create before
you're returned to the screen shown above. At this point
it's bare and doesn't have the operating system installed.
The next steps are to verify and change a few of the virtual
machine settings before installation begins. With the
virtual machine selected, click the [Settings] button in the
VirtualBox Manager. |
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General Settings / Basic Tab -
There is nothing to change on this tab unless you want to
give the virtual machine a new name or if you selected the
wrong operating system or version of that operating system. |
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System Settings / Motherboard Tab - A number of changes
need to be made to the settings listed here. The screen
capture above illustrates how the tab should look after the
changes have been made.
- Verify the Base Memory available matches the system
requirements for the Developer Preview installation.
- In the Boot Order section, remove the checkmark next
to Floppy. Select CD/DVD-ROM and use the arrows to move
it to the top of the boot order. Do the same thing for
Hard Disk, moving it up to the second position in the
boot order list.
- In the Extended Features section, make sure there is
a checkmark selecting Enable IO APIC.
- In the Extended Features section, make sure there is
a checkmark selecting Enable Absolute Pointing Device.
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System Settings / Processor Tab - A number of changes
need to be made to the settings listed here. The screen
capture above illustrates how the tab should look after the
changes have been made.
- In the Extended Features section, make sure there is
a checkmark in the box next to Enable PAE/NX.
- Although it isn't necessary, you may, in the
Processors(s) section, opt to adjust the number of
processors and cores to match your host system
specifications.
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System Settings / Acceleration Tab - In all likelihood no
changes will need to be made to the settings listed here,
but verify them anyway. |
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Display Settings / Video Tab -
A number of changes need to be made to the settings listed
here. The screen capture above illustrates how the tab
should look after the changes have been made.
- In Video Memory section,
use the slider to adjust the available video memory so
it, at the minimum, is equal to the pink area of the
display bar. If memory isn't an issue, give it the
maximum; it can't hurt anything.
- In Extended Features
section, make sure there is a checkmark next to Enable
2D Video Acceleration.
- In Extended Features
section, while it isn't necessary, you may want to place
a checkmark next to Enable 3D Video Acceleration.
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| Next up is the actual
installation of the operating system. |
| Yes - You 'Can' Install from an .iso
File in VirtualBox |
I've received many
e-mails asking why it's
impossible to install an operating system from an
.iso file in VirtualBox. Let me put that bit of
misinformation to rest. Not
only is it possible, it's very easy to
initiate an .iso install. Rest assured the Developer
Preview in this tutorial was installed from an .iso
file freshly downloaded from Microsoft.
As a point of information, you don't have to install
from an .iso file. It's just faster and more
convenient than other media. But if you want to burn
a bootable DVD from the .iso file and use it for the
installation that's perfectly acceptable.
Instructions are here for creating a bootable DVD or
USB key. Another option is to simply extract the
contents of the .iso file to a virtual cd/dvd
emulator program and point the installer to it for
the installation. |
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To start installing the Developer Preview make sure the
newly created virtual machine is selected in the main VirtualBox window and then
click the green [Start] arrow as shown above. Since it's a
new virtual machine with no installed operating system the
First Run Wizard is going to appear as shown below. |
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Just a little fluff to get you
started on the First Run Wizard. Click [Next] to continue. |
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Next up is using the file
folder icon to browse to the location where the bootable
installation media is located. In this case it's the
Developer Preview .iso file downloaded from Microsoft. Click
on the file folder icon and browse to where the .iso file is
located, select it and verify it appears in the Media Source
location. Click
[Next] to continue. |
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A summary of what will happen
appears. Click [Start] to set the boot/installation process in motion. |
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| After a few seconds the
Install Windows screen will appear and you're on your way to
a clean Developer Preview installation. |
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