- Install VirtualBox and update it to the latest version (click Help > Check for Updates).
- Download ISO of Windows 8 Consumer Preview.
- Launch VirtualBox, and click New > Next to launch the Create New Virtual Machine wizard. Give your virtual machine a name, then choose Microsoft Windows as the operating system, and Windows 8 (or Windows 8 - 64 bit) as the version.
- Click Next, and use the slider to set RAM to 1024MB for 32-bit Windows 8 and 2048MB for the 64-bit edition.
- Accept the three subsequent default options create a new hard disk, in the default VDI format, dynamically allocated clicking Next for each.
- Now you allocate hard disk space to the OS. Microsoft recommend 16GB for 32-bit Windows 8, 20GB for 64-bit.
- Click Create, and your virtual machine should appear on the list.
- Select your VM, click Settings > Storage. Choose the empty optical drive, click the disc icon to the right of the dialog box, and select "Choose a virtual CD/DVD disk file". Point the program at your Consumer Preview ISO file and you'll see its name now appear under "IDE Controller", effectively placing your virtual disc in the virtual disc drive.
- Now click System in the left-hand list, and choose the Processor tab. Make sure that the Enable PAE/NX box is checked, if possible, and click OK.
- Click Start and your VM should launch, firing up the Windows 8 setup disc. (It may also complain about display properties, and tell you about mouse pointer integration, but after reading those dialogs you can click OK to clear them. Just note that once you've clicked inside the VM window it may grab your mouse pointer. You wont be able to remove it again until you press the hotkey, which it Right Ctrl by default.)
- Choose your language, time and currency format and keyboard, first, then click Install and Windows Setup will be launched.
- Enter this product key: NF32V-Q9P3W-7DR7Y-JGWRW-JFCK8
- The Licence terms appear next; accept them.
- You will be offered the usual Upgrade or Custom installation options. Choose Custom.
- You'll be asked where you want to install Windows, but as there's only the single virtual drive you created earlier than that's not a difficult question. Accept the default option, click Next.
- The installer will now extract the core Windows 8 files, download and install any updates and launch Windows 8.
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