About Windows 8 Consumer Preview! FAQ

Q.1. What is Windows 8 Consumer Preview? Is it Beta version of Windows 8?

Yes. Windows 8 Consumer Preview is actually a Beta version of Windows 8 which has been released absolutely free to public by Microsoft.

Microsoft called it as Consumer Preview because the company didn't want to create confusion as the meaning of the word "Beta" has changed a lot lately.

Q.2. Is Windows 8 Consumer Preview stable? Can I use it as my primary OS?

Since its a beta version of Windows 8, bugs and issues are obvious but you should expect better performance and experience compared to Windows 8 Developer Preview build.

If you use your computer for normal stuff like checking email, web browsing, playing games, etc, you can install and use Windows 8 Consumer Preview as primary OS.

Q.3. What are the system requirements of Windows 8 Consumer Preview?

Windows 8 Consumer Preview system requirements are same as of Windows 7. If you are using Windows Vista or 7 in your system, it should work with Windows 8 without any problem.

Q.4. I already have a Windows installed in my system, can I upgrade the existing Windows to Windows 8 Consumer Preview?

That's an important question! Yes, you can upgrade from Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8 Developer Preview to Windows 8 Consumer Preview but there are some limitations.

Upgrade from Windows 8 Developer Preview:

If you upgrade your system from Windows 8 Developer Preview to Windows 8 Consumer Preview, you'll be able to keep your user accounts and files but you won't be able to keep installed programs and Windows settings.

Upgrade from Windows 7:

If you upgrade your system from Windows 7 to Windows 8 Consumer Preview, you'll be able to keep your user accounts and files, installed programs and Windows settings.

Upgrade from Windows Vista:

If you upgrade your system from Windows Vista to Windows 8 Consumer Preview, you'll be able to keep your user accounts and files and Windows settings but you won't be able to keep installed programs.

Upgrade from Windows XP:

If you upgrade your system from Windows XP to Windows 8 Consumer Preview, you'll be able to keep your user accounts and files but you won't be able to keep installed programs and Windows settings.

Q.5. Should I upgrade my existing Windows to Windows 8 Consumer Preview or should I install it separately?

Installing Windows 8 Consumer Preview separately on a different partition and doing a dual-boot between existing Windows version and Windows 8 Consumer Preview would be a better idea. It'll help you in uninstalling/removing Windows 8 Consumer Preview easily from your system in future if you want. Also you'll not have any chance of data loss and your existing Windows version will remain untouched.

Q.6. If I upgrade my existing Windows to Windows 8 Consumer Preview, will I able to uninstall Windows 8 Consumer Preview in future and return to previous Windows version?

No. You can't go back to previous Windows version. You'll need to reinstall it using setup disk.

Q.7. When I tried to install Windows 8 Consumer Preview, it asked me to enter a product key. Where can I get it?

Yeah. That's an important change from Windows 8 Developer Preview build. Windows 8 Developer Preview didn't require any product key from user. It automatically inserted the product key during setup but Windows 8 Consumer Preview requires a product key to enter at the time of installation only if you install it using a setup disk or bootable USB created using ISO images provided by Microsoft.

You can use any of following 2 product keys provided by Microsoft:

NF32V-Q9P3W-7DR7Y-JGWRW-JFCK8
DNJXJ-7XBW8-2378T-X22TX-BKG7J

Q.8. Will all my favorite software programs work in Windows 8 Consumer Preview?

Yes. Almost all existing software which work in Windows 7, should also work in Windows 8 Consumer Preview. Microsoft also provides a complete list of all software and devices which are compatible with Windows 8 Consumer Preview.

Windows 8 Consumer Preview. You can visit the complete list at this link.

Q.9. Can I use Windows 8 Consumer Preview forever?

No. Windows 8 Consumer Preview comes with an expiry date and it'll expire on January 15th, 2013. So you can use it till that date but you'll need to uninstall it before January 15th, 2013 otherwise it'll block you from login.