A newer version of VMware workstation 8 has been released with a feature to support only 64 bit processor.
The Physical machine or host Machine should have 64 bit processor for VMware workstation 8 .
You can download the free version of VMware workstation 8.0
The new windows 8 operating system is supported on VMware workstation 8 and work fine.
Download the Free version Windows 8 ISO images for 32 bit or 64bit
Installing windows 8 on VMware workstation
- Install the VMware workstation 8 software on your PC. The installation is very simple, keep clicking on next button with default settings.
- Launch the VMware workstation 8 player and then select to create a new virtual machine
When you choose the Windows8 ISO image, an error occurs,
Error : Could not detect which operating system in the disc image
DO NOT go to next step with the above option. the installation tries to install the guest OS with easy install and throw some errors as you continue
Select the last option as shown below , click next
- Now you need to select OS, here little tricky in the drop down menu you won’t find Windows 8 listed.
For windows 8 32 bit select the version windows 7
For windows 8 64bit select the version windows 7 (x64)
Now for our demo we are using Windows 7 (X64) to build windows 8 (64 bit) OS
Specify the name of the Virtual machine and then browse where you need to keep the Virtual Machine files
Specify the hard disk size for new Window 8 OS , Here two options you can store the virtual disk as a single file
Split the virtual disk into multiple files
We are choosing to first option to store the virtual disk a single file
Click next and complete the installation
Below image shows the complete configuration details of VM machine
Power on the Windows 8 Virtual machine. Installation steps are very similar to Windows 7.
Complete the Installation of Windows 8, a new Metro User Interface screen appears, with your user account name display.
In Windows 8 the screen resolution is automatically adjusted and new Metro UI displays as shown
Windows 8 Desktop screen is Graphical Interface, with more robust display.
