Can I still get Windows 8 consumer preview to run on my tablet PC?

November 23, 2012 8:35 PM

Can I still use a consumer preview version of Windows 8 on my new-old tablet PC?

I just bought a refurbished Fujitsu LifeBook PC Tablet T5010 with Vista currently installed, and while I'm not 100% sure it can use finger touches, I'd like to see how it runs with Win8, especially if I can demo it before buying a copy. The consumer preview will expire in Jan. 2013, but can I still do a fresh install of it? While the links to Microsoft's official download pages now direct you to buy Win8, I imagine there are copies of the consumer floating around, but I wanted to save myself the trouble if it wouldn't work.

posted by filthy light thief to technology (5 answers total)

I'm not sure why you would want to install beta software when it has already gone retail.

Download Windows 8 Enterprise- it has no key requirement on setup and has a 90 day grace period.
posted by wongcorgi at 8:39 PM on November 23, 2012

Oh, I didn't realize Enterprise was available for free trial. But that website says "During registration (required) you must login with a Microsoft account and provide your name, e-mail address and country." Do I need some tech professional credentials, or does it just want some contact information?
posted by filthy light thief at 9:15 PM on November 23, 2012 [1 favorite]

https://www.google.com/search?q=windows+8+enterprise+download&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari
posted by wongcorgi at 9:21 PM on November 23, 2012

Download Windows 8 Enterprise-

I've done this - and like you just to see how it runs. It runs sweet and I'll buy it (or get work to buy it).
posted by the noob at 11:39 PM on November 23, 2012

I downloaded the ISO weeks ago, and finally got around to setting up a new partition and installing Win8 on my tablet yesterday. The install was pretty painless, and using a remarkably different OS is fun, but not too productive yet. My tablet, which I think supports finger touches and multitouch, didn't automatically work as such, but then again, my track pad scroll area doesn't work everywhere in Win8, either.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:09 AM on December 17, 2012