Download Windows 8 Consumer Preview ISO for free

Yes, Windows 8 is still free for download and install. I am sure Microsoft going to charge it once they officially launch it. Windows 7 for example, now is cost about US$ 119.99 to US$219.99. So you can figure it out once Windows 8 is ready for retail.

Last year there was a release for Windows 8, it was beta if not mistaken. Now Windows 8 is at Consumer Preview version, so I think it should be quite stable with some bugs, which is expected. Hey, even iOS also have bugs.

To download it, go the links below for English and Chinese (Simplified Chinese only) versions:

English

64-bit (x64)                    Download (3.3 GB)                    Sha 1 hash — 1288519C5035BCAC83CBFA23A33038CCF5522749

32-bit (x86)                    Download (2.5 GB)                    Sha 1 hash — E91ED665B01A46F4344C36D9D88C8BF78E9A1B39

Product Key:   DNJXJ-7XBW8-2378T-X22TX-BKG7J

Chinese (Simplified)

64-bit (x64)                    Download (3.4 GB)                    Sha 1 hash — DF69B851F9A81DECBB16648CC452461894416EB0

32-bit (x86)                    Download (2.6 GB)                    Sha 1 hash — E29A2072745A48C14A1C2E5A61F5230841BEDB45

Product Key:   DNJXJ-7XBW8-2378T-X22TX-BKG7J

The product key will be needed for activation, make sure you copy it down at somewhere.

For other version, go to this link:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/iso

For the same page in Chinese, go to this link:
http://windows.microsoft.com/zh-CN/windows-8/iso

So far only English, Simplified Chinese, French, German and Japanese versions are available. Looks like Microsoft knows about potential of China, that's why Simplified Chinese version come out together with other versions.

Here are some basic requirement for Windows 8:
Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster
RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)
Hard disk space: 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (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

I already downloaded the 64-bit English version, but I will not install it directly. I will install on VirtualBox, but before that, I need to clean up my SSD again, which is always has less than 10GB of free space. :P

Note: Do take note of the file size of each ISO, it will take a very long time for slow speed connection.


Update [June 9, 2012]: Windows 8 Release Preview ISO - this is the latest release
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/iso


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