How to Make Bootable Windows 8 Consumer Preview Beta USB Flash Drive or DVD From ISO Images

This is a step-by-step guide showing how to make a bootable Windows 8 Consumer Preview (beta) USB Flash drive or DVD using available ISO images.

Besides direct ISO image download, another option for getting Windows 8 beta up and running is via offered Windows 8 Consumer Preview Setup, but we’ve chosen to do a guide for ISO images. Please note that Preview Setup is maybe a better choice for many users, because it will check your system for compatibility before downloading installation files and is easier to use because the whole process is done through a single wizard.

For installation via ISO, you will need an ISO file copy of Windows 8 Consumer Preview (beta) which can be downloaded from here. Please note that download of the 3.3GB (64-bit version) or 2.5GB (32-bit) English-language ISO file can take much longer than usual, because a lot of people are downloading at the same time the preview of next version of the world’s most popular computer OS.

Let’s proceed with ISO download. You can choose OS language (Engish, Chinese Simplified, French, German, or Japanese) and 64-bit (x64) or 32-bit (x86) version. Make sure you save somewhere the Product Key listed below the chosen version, because you will need it during installation.

Windows 8 Consumer Preview Beta ISO Images Download
Windows 8 Consumer Preview Beta ISO Images Download (http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/iso)

Our choice is 64-bit English version. Its ISO file is named “Windows8-ConsumerPreview-64bit-English.iso”.

Now when you have the Win 8 Consumer Preview ISO image file downloaded, you need to make a bootable USB Flash drive or DVD, depending on your choice. For this purpose, we used Microsoft’s official Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool, which can be obtained from here. If you want to make a bootable Flash drive or DVD from Windows XP or Vista, don’t worry about “Windows 7” in the tool’s name. It’s compatible with both XP and Vista. The Flash drive must have at least 4GB capacity and it needs to be formatted before burning Win 8 ISO. You can do it manually using Windows’ original drive formatting tool or Windows 7 USB/DVD Tool can do it for you during the burning process, which will be explained below. If you want a bootable DVD, the media must be also empty, of course.

Note: Be sure you’ve backed up your data from the drive you want to make bootable.

After you download the USB/DVD tool, install it first. Run the downloaded file which is named Windows7-USB-DVD-tool.exe and you will get a box which looks like this:

Windows 7 USB DVD Download Tool Setup
Windows 7 USB DVD Download Tool Setup

Just follow the simple wizard and the Tool will be installed in less than a minute on any modern PC.

Now, you have to run the Tool by clicking on Start / Windows 7 USB DVD Download Tool shortcut. The same file can be accessed via Start / All Programs / Windows 7 USB DVD Download Tool.

Tool Launcher

You will enter the wizard, which will guide you through the process of of copying (writing) installation files from the ISO image onto the USB Flash drive or DVD.

First, browse your computer and pick-up your ISO source file. In our case it’s Windows8-ConsumerPreview-64bit-English.iso.

Choose ISO File

Next, you will be asked to choose Flash or DVD option. We opted for Flash.

USB DVD Tool - Choose USB or DVD

And then you choose the specific drive.

Begin Copying Window

If it’s not empty, Tool will ask you for permission to erase / format it.

After erasing data (formatting the drive, in fact), writing/copying process started and finished after a couple of minutes.

Creating Bootable USB Device

When USB / DVD tool finished “Creating USB Device” task, we got a bootable Windows 8 Consumer Preview beta Flash drive (or DVD if you prefer), ready for install on a laptop or other PC.

Our guide on how to install Win 8 beta on a laptop’s empty HDD partition from the bootable Flash or DVD can be found here. We’ll also make a guide on installing Windows 8 Consumer Preview over existing Windows 7.

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