The Windows 8 Consumer Preview is now live and the upcoming version of Windows is available in the following ISO images with different languages.
Before installing ‘Consumer Preview’ you should check to see if your PC can run this operating system and select the correct installation file download. Microsoft has created a “Windows 8 Consumer Preview Setup” that will help with these steps. The Setup will also give you a compatibility report and upgrade assistance.
If you want to create a bootable USB or DVD, I’ll recommend you visiting this previous article — How to create a Windows 8 bootable USB drive or bootable DVD.
Windows 8 Consumer Preview ISO Images
An ISO image must be converted into installation media stored on a DVD or a USB flash drive. Instructions are provided on this page. Developer tools are available for download from Windows Dev Center.
English
- Windows 8 download 64-bit (x64) — 3.3 GB
- Sha 1 hash — 1288519C5035BCAC83CBFA23A33038CCF5522749
- Download 32-bit (x86) — 2.5 GB
- Sha 1 hash — E91ED665B01A46F4344C36D9D88C8BF78E9A1B39
- Product Key: DNJXJ-7XBW8-2378T-X22TX-BKG7J
Chinese (Simplified)
- Download — 64-bit (x64) — 3.4 GB
- Sha 1 hash — DF69B851F9A81DECBB16648CC452461894416EB0
- Download 32-bit (x86) — 2.6 GB
- Sha 1 hash — E29A2072745A48C14A1C2E5A61F5230841BEDB45
- Product Key: DNJXJ-7XBW8-2378T-X22TX-BKG7J
French
- Download 64-bit (x64) — 3.3 GB
- Sha 1 hash — A9358E6799ABEEF29EDBA054AD34849C02C7F51F
- Download 32-bit (x86) — 2.5 GB
- Sha 1 hash — 2EF8013B9F50B93AEAC8068F4827E2C1DC0DC0B1
- Product Key: DNJXJ-7XBW8-2378T-X22TX-BKG7J
German
- Download 64-bit (x64) — 3.3 GB
- Sha 1 hash — DB1003A47C266697B3832BE2A23319988EE34495
- Download 32-bit (x86) — 2.5 GB
- Sha 1 hash — 91075AEA665C5D6F42A24714B3A3390762C94457
- Product Key: DNJXJ-7XBW8-2378T-X22TX-BKG7J
Japanese
- Download 64-bit (x64) — 3.3 GB
- Sha 1 hash — A8F0DB12CAECEA0BE8B27EA124F2234212D9103A
- Download 32-bit (x86) — 2.5 GB
- Sha 1 hash — C8A322ED86058086207CAAECD46B4DDACF9E247A
- Product Key: DNJXJ-7XBW8-2378T-X22TX-BKG7J
Windows 8 Consumer Preview system requirements
Windows 8 Consumer Preview works great on the same hardware that powers Windows 7:
- Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster
- RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2GB (64-bit)
- Hard disk space: 16GB (32-bit) or 20GB (64-bit)
- Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device or higher
- To use touch, you need a tablet or monitor that supports multitouch
- To access Windows Store and to download and run apps, you need an active Internet connection and a screen resolution of at least 1024 x 768
- To snap apps, you need a screen resolution of at least 1366 x 768
Update, May 31, 2016: The links to download the ISO files to install Windows 8 Consumer Preview are no longer available, but you can download the ISO files for Windows 8.1 using these new links.