Installing Windows 8
I have bitten the bullet and installed Windows 8 on my work PC. I did a fresh install, versus an upgrade from Windows 7 32-bit, because I wanted to run a 64-bit OS this time around, and unfortunately, you can not upgrade to 64-bit from a 32-bit installation.
The install went fairly smooth, not too many questions asked during the install. The install even created a boot entry for the Windows 7 installation creating a dual boot setup.
Once I’m happy with the setup and operation of Windows 8, I will try to migrate the OS to a bigger drive, the one that Windows 7 is currently on. This may be a big task because Microsoft has changed the way the booting mechanisms work. Starting with Windows Vista, they use what is called a BCD store to handle the booting of the OS. It is a little different, and seemingly more "touchy" then what we had for Windows XP and older OS’s.
If you decide to install Windows 8 (or Vista, Windows 7 for that matter), be sure to create a rescue disk, in case something goes wrong with booting. It has saved me more times than not.
I will continue to update my Windows 8 experience over the next few weeks and give you my opinion, so far all the software I have need to install and run, has worked just the same as it did in Windows 7. I still have some setup to do but so far so good.
If you have any system questions or concerns, call the CCS Retail Systems Support Department at 800.672.4806 or email us.
-Bryan