Aug 31, 2016 Free up drive space. Depending on your version of Windows, you'll need the following amount of available drive space on your PC to download and install the Windows 8.1 Update or Windows RT 8.1 Update (KB 2919355). If you're running Windows 8.1, go to the Microsoft Download Center.
Hi James,
If you want to try Windows 8.1 Preview without having it over installed on your Windows 7 operating system, the only option that we have is to install it as a dual boot on a separate partition. To do this, we need to install it using the Windows 8.1 Preview ISO files (.iso).You can download its ISO file from this link:
You may follow these steps for the same:
Step 1: Back up your data
Before starting with the process, make sure you create a backup of your data; so that they are safe and can be restored in case anything goes wrong. You may refer to this link to take a backup of your data on Windows 7 operating system.
After creating a backup of your data, we need to create a partition to install Windows 8.1 Preview.
Step 2: Create a partition
You will need to install Windows 8.1 Preview to a partition that is at least 20 GB and is separate from your existing operating system. Do the following for the same:
Free Download Of Windows 8
a)Click on “Start” button, right-click on “Computer”, select “Manage”, and then click “Disk Management”.
b)Find your system hard drive in the bottom pane.
c)Right-click on the system drive and then click “Shrink Volume”. Shrink it until you have at least 20 GB of space left on the end of the drive. (If you already have 20 GB of unallocated space, you can skip to the next step.)
d)Click the “Unallocated” block on that drive and click “New Simple Volume”.
e)Follow the wizard through the next few screens, such as assigning it a drive letter. For the Volume label, choose a label you’ll recognize like “Windows 8.1 Preview”.
Once this is done, go ahead with the next step.
Step 3: Install Windows 8.1 Preview
Download the Windows 8.1 Preview ISO image from the link given in the beginning of this post. The ISO image must then be converted into installation media stored on a DVD or a USB flash drive.You may find the instructions for this on the download page.
Once you have created the installation media, just need to boot your PC to your Windows 8.1 installation media. Choose your language, click “Install Now”, and choose “Custom” when asked which type of install you’d like to perform. . When prompted, select the blank partition that you have created in Step 2.
Hope this is helpful.
Upgrading your Windows 8 system to Windows 8.1 is simple enough through the Microsoft Store, but if you need to reinstall it or run the update on more than one PC, it can be inconvenient and time-consuming since Microsoft doesn't give you the option to save the update files.
Related stories:
There's a trick, however, that allows you to download the official Windows 8.1 ISO from Microsoft's servers with your Windows 8 product key. With the Windows 8.1 ISO, you can create DVD or USB media to update a Windows 8 PC to Windows 8.1. Unfortunately, as Paul Thurrott over at WinSupersite mentions, you can't use the ISO to perform a clean install of Windows 8.1 with a Windows 8 product key. The ISO is still worth having, though, just to be able to bypass the Microsoft Store when upgrading to Windows 8.1 from Windows 8. Here's how to download the official Windows 8.1 ISO:
Step 1: Go to Microsoft's page for upgrading to Windows 8 with a product key, then click on the light blue 'Install Windows 8' button.
Step 2: Launch the setup file (Windows8-Setup.exe) and enter your Windows 8 product key when prompted. Continue the setup process until it begins downloading Windows 8.
Step 3: Close the Windows 8 setup window and confirm that you want to quit the setup.
Step 4: Back at the Microsoft upgrading to Windows 8 with a product key page, click on the light blue 'Install Windows 8.1' button this time.
Step 5: Launch the setup file (WindowsSetupBox.exe), which will begin downloading the Windows 8.1 ISO.
Step 6: Once the ISO finishes downloading, the installer will take several minutes to check the download and uncompress the install files. When you're prompted to choose an installation option, pick 'Install by creating media.'
Step 7: Decide whether you want the installer to create USB flash drive media, or save the ISO file.
If you choose ISO, the ISO file (Windows.iso) will be saved to your PC and you'll be given the option to burn it to DVD. Once completed, you can actually go back and create the USB flash drive media as well. Just click on the 'Install Windows' link on your Windows desktop. You'll be prompted to choose your installation option again. Pick 'Install by creating media' again, insert a 4GB or larger USB flash drive, then choose the USB flash drive option. If you have any problems creating the USB flash media, you can still use the Windows 7 USB/DVD download tool to create USB media with the Windows 8.1 ISO.