[TouchWizard]

Hey all,
So I've been thinking of getting a full version of Windows for my 2010 MacBook Pro (15-inch) to play games and all, but I'm not quite sure how to proceed. I already have the Windows 8 Release Preview installed, although if I were to get the full version of Windows, I would prefer to wipe that partition and start from scratch. I was wondering whether my best bet would be to download Windows 8 Pro, install it, and then repartition, or to repartition now and then reinstall the preview so I could get Pro for $39.99. Does anyone here know the nature of the download (e. g., if I needed to wipe my partition would I be able to install Windows 8 again) or if I need to keep a previous version of Windows on my system. Or perhaps resizing the partition with third-party software would be best? Thanks!

This post has been edited by TouchWizard: 03 November 2012 - 12:08 PM

[smax013]

TouchWizard, on 03 November 2012 - 12:08 PM, said:

Hey all,
So I've been thinking of getting a full version of Windows for my 2010 MacBook Pro (15-inch) to play games and all, but I'm not quite sure how to proceed. I already have the Windows 8 Release Preview installed, although if I were to get the full version of Windows, I would prefer to wipe that partition and start from scratch. I was wondering whether my best bet would be to download Windows 8 Pro, install it, and then repartition, or to repartition now and then reinstall the preview so I could get Pro for $39.99. Does anyone here know the nature of the download (e. g., if I needed to wipe my partition would I be able to install Windows 8 again) or if I need to keep a previous version of Windows on my system. Or perhaps resizing the partition with third-party software would be best? Thanks!

You should be able to "upgrade" the Release Preview with the Retail version, but it will not save any data (i.e. installed programs, etc)...essentially a "clean install". Thus, if you don't worry about partition size, the upgrade should go fine. And then maybe re-size the partition if you need to.

I assume you are using it in Bootcamp. If so, I believe that Apple does not yet "officially" support Windows 8 in Bootcamp, although it still likely works...you just might have some hardware issues.

As to the nature of the download, I believe it is an ISO file that you can use to make a bootable optical disc for installing Windows 8...or use directly in some situations (i.e. Parallels can install from an ISO file).