How To Upgrade To Windows 8 Pro Without Losing Windows 7

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Windows 8 has been in the market for some time now and the response has been quite positive. Windows 8 has been designed looking at the future of computing and that is mobile computing. Windows 8 pro is a classic example of an operating system designed for tablets and cell phones, but you can use it on your desktop and laptops also.

If you want to upgrade to windows 8 on your existing windows powered laptops and desktops, then process is fairly easy and economical. Currently Microsoft is offering windows 8 pro OS in $39.99 or INR 1999.

Windows 8 Pro at glance

As mentioned earlier, it is designed for tablets and cell phones so you will see lot of focus on design and usability. If you have been using windows systems, then it will take some time for you to get use to everything with this new system.

For example, when you login to your laptop or desktop you won’t see a traditional desktop screen. You will see a stylish new interface (homepage) similar to tablets where you see everything is presented in the form of tiles.

Yes, that’s right, if you always associated Apps only with tablets and cell phones, then you are wrong. Every software APPLICATION is an App and you will find that LITERALLY in windows 8.

It has got really great Apps for laptops and desktop like People (Social contacts), Mails, Calendar, Bing and other applications for music, video etc.

You can download wide variety of Apps from windows 8 App Store.

How to upgrade existing systems to Windows 8 pro without losing data

Windows 8 pro is offered with most of the new laptops and desktops but if you want to upgrade your current pc to Windiows 8 pro then process is fairly easy and at the moment, economical also.

Ease of upgrade depends upon your current OS. It is easiest for Windows 7 but you can still upgrade if you are using Windows XP or other older Operating systems.

Run Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant

First you need to check if your current software and applications are compatible with windows 8 pro. Based upon my experience, most of the applications which were compatible with windows 7 are compatible with windows 8 pro, also.

You can download “Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant” and run it on your machine. After the completion of task, it will tell you about the applications which are compatible with windows 8 pro.

Even if you don’t see some of the application in the list of compatible applications, don’t worry it could be because the author of that software is not Microsoft certified. I have got many applications which were not shown on compatibly list but after reinstallation, they are working fine on windows 8 pro.

Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant will also return a list of the applications which will need a reinstall after upgrading to windows pro 8.

Purchase Windows 8 Pro

After compatibility test is completed, you can purchase the windows Pro 8 at the discounted price from the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant screen itself or separately.

But before you proceed with the purchase, you will be presented with a screen which will ask you “Choose what to keep”. This question is having three options;

1. Windows settings, personal files and apps
2. Just personal files
3. Nothing

If you are going to install windows 8 pro on a separate drive for dual boot then use third option and if you are going to upgrade your current machine, then you can choose first option.

Note- Dual Boot means using both operating system (current & windows 8 pro) simultaneously.

After you select an option in this question and click on next, you will be taken to Purchase screen where you can purchase windows 8 pro in $ 39.99 or Rs 1999.99.

Once you have made payment and completed the process of purchase, windows 8 pro download will begin. It will take some time.

Note- Don’t forget to carefully store your Windows 8 Validation key.

Installing Windows 8 Pro

After windows 8 pro are downloaded, you will be taken to next screen “Install Windows 8” with three options;

1. Install Now
2. Install By Creating Media
3. Install Later from Desktop

I will suggest you to choose second option so that you can download windows 8 pro software to a DVD. You can use it to reinstall or troubleshoot it at a later stage.

So when you click on Next after selecting second option, you will be taken to “”Choose which media to use” with two options;

1. USB flash drive
2. ISO File

Select second option and click on Save. Then ISO file will be created, save it on your pc.

After ISO file is downloaded, you can write it to a DVD.

You can use Windows 7 USB/DVD download tool to burn DVD.

Upgrade Current PC to Windows 8 Pro

If you have completed the above steps then you are having a bootable DVD with windows 8 pro on it.

Windows 8 Pro alongside Windows 7 on same machine

If you are looking to install windows 8 pro on your existing laptop or desktop without losing windows 7, then you need to create a new “Basic Drive/disk” before you can proceed ahead with your installation.

So go to run/search and enter “Disk Management”. It will open the disk management screen with current drives/disk on your pc. You need to create a new disk/drive on your pc. You can name it “windows 8” or anything else which is comfortable for you. Make sure to click ‘No’ if you get a pop up asking to create a Dynamic Disk.

Note- Take 35-40 GB of space for creating this new disk to install windows 8 pro on it.

Once you are done with creating partition disk, you are ready to install windows 8 on your machine. Simply insert your bootable DVD (windows 8 installation disc) and restart your computer.

Make sure to press F8 or F12 or any other appropriate key on your pc the moment dark screen appears during restart. It will take you to a new screen where you can select the boot order. Select the “CD ROM” option there.

After that your pc will boot from the DVD and it will display a pop up asking you to select the drive in which you want to install windows 8. Select the newly created disc and click on Next. After that, just follow the onscreen instructions and you are ready to use Windows 8 Pro on your machine along with windows 7.

Windows 8 new installation over windows 7 removing windows 7

You don’t have to create a separate drive to install windows 8 pro if you have no issues removing windows 7. You can upgrade your machine to windows 8 pro but you will have to reinstall few drivers and software.

Microsoft is offering free windows media center for some time so you can grab your key before offer ends.

To install windows 8 pro over windows 7, you can simply install windows 8 in your root directory or C drive. You can also upgrade it by opening the DVD folder and clicking on the install file (.exe) without restarting your computer.

It will start the process of installation and then follow the instructions.

You can also purchase windows 8 pro disc to avoid the above process if you find that complex.

Microsoft Windows 8 Pro – Upgrade

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