I'm going to reinstall windows 7 and do the installation of Windows 8 right this time... here's my question

Question

I'm one of the noobies that haphazardly installed Windows 8 developer preview without creating a partition.  I'm new to being as intelligent about this as you all, so bear with me (actually I'm not as intelligent about it as you all).  I'm going to do a clean install of windows 7 in order to get windows 8 off.  But I still want the developer preview.  If I create a partition on my HDD to run windows 8, that is essentially allowing me dual-boot, right?  How does it work?  when I turn on my computer does it give me an option to run windows 7 or windows 8 preview?

 

Also, do I have to download the windows 8 preview without the developer tools?  I've been getting into programming lately and the purpose of me downloading the preview was to play around with developing for windows 8.  Also, my final question is I have a Windows 7 disc and I've used the activation code twice, including this computer.  Will I have to use my third and final code when doing a clean install of my computer?  Or will Microsoft know my computer is already activated and legit?

 

Thanks for your input,

 

Jordan

 

P.S. my computer is new by about a 2 weeks, so doing a clean install isn't that painful for me.

Answer 1

Install Windows 8 into a VHD and boot from it:

http://www.hanselman.com/blog/GuideToInstallingAndBootingWindows8DeveloperPreviewOffAVHDVirtualHardDisk.aspx

With this you have no hassle with partitions.

André

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"A programmer is just a tool which converts caffeine into code"

Answer 2

Thanks for the resource, I'll do that when it's time!

Answer 3

Yes, it will list you all available operating system available to boot from and you will (i) wait and the default one will launch soon, or (ii) you will manually select another one and the boot manager will launch the appropriate operating system for you.

If you are using an edition of Windows 7 which supports booting from VHD files (Virtual Hard Disk), you might also try to install Windows 8 into VHD instead of creating a separate disc partition. I suggest to get inspired by http://forums.techarena.in/guides-tutorials/1175447.htm or http://www.windows7update.com/Install-Windows-7-directly-to-a-Virtual-Hard-disk-vhd.html.

In case that the Windows 8 will force its version of boot manager instead of the Windows 7 one, have your Windows 7 installation disc near you or create one, so you can rewrite the Windows 8 boot manager with the Windows 7 boot manager later as needed, for example when you will delete the Windows 8 partition or the VHD file, or when something went wrong.

Answer 4

Thanks for the resource

You're welcome :)

If you're tired of Windows 8, delete the VHD and remove the boot manager entry and Windows 8 is gone :)

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"A programmer is just a tool which converts caffeine into code"

Answer 5

So I just tried to do a clean install of Windows 7 and I'm having issues.  I can't seem to boot from the CD.  I changed the order in BIOS (DVD drive was already set to boot first) and it still loads the developer preview without even giving me a chance to boot from DVD. 

Answer 6

What if I install it on an external HD size 1TB, would that work?

Answer 7

Do you use an USB or PS2 keyboard?

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"A programmer is just a tool which converts caffeine into code"

Answer 8

Huh... I haven't broken out my Win7 installation disc in a while, but isn't there an option to reboot the system and boot into the installer?  Or am I not remembering right?

Answer 9

I use a USB keyboard.

Answer 10

Do you see the text "press any key to boot from DVD"? What happens if you press a key there? Does it have PS2 connecter and can you use PS2? Maybe it is an USB issue.

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"A programmer is just a tool which converts caffeine into code"

Answer 11

No, I didn't see that.  I put in my Windows 7 disc, restarted and it just boots as normal.  When I entered BIOS, I saw that the DVD Drive was already first in line to boot from.  I even went in and disabled booting from HDD in my BIOS and it just says I need to put in boot media and press any key.  When I do, the message just comes up.  I tried putting the disc out and in again, still nothing.

Answer 12

Your ISO download may be corrupted.

This error may be caused by a bad burn of the .iso. Try re-downloading and re-burning the .iso file. Also, it may help to burn using a lower speed if the software you are using to burn the .iso supports that function.

On Windows 7, the easiest way to convert this file is to use Windows Disc Image Burner

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Burn-a-CD-or-DVD-from-an-ISO-file

Let us know if this helps.

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Marilyn