A mentioned earlier, Windows 8.1 will be a free update for Windows 8 consumers later this year through the Windows Store – but today Microsoft has made available a preview version that will allow you to take a first-hand look at many of the new features and improvements in Windows 8.1.

Windows 8.1 Preview download

The Windows 8.1 Preview will be installed through the Windows Store. You will however, have to install an update available on the Preview page. This will enable your Windows 8 to offer the Windows 8.1 Preview update through the Windows Store. You may be required to reboot your system after the installation is over.

Now visit the Windows Store and click on the Download Windows 8.1 from the Windows Store.  On reboot, you will see a message offering Windows 8.1 Preview. Click  on Go to the Store. Here click on the Download button.

Windows 8.1 Preview will download, carry out some compatibility checks and then commence installation. During installation, your PC may reboot multiple times. Once the installation is complete, you will see the Start Screen of Windows 8.1 Preview.

f you as a Windows 8 user decide to install the Windows 8.1 Public Preview version, remember that you will have to reinstall your software, when you rollback to Windows 8 or move over to Windows 8.1 Final RTM version.

If you install the preview version and need to install the final RTM version, when it is released, during this upgrade from the preview to final RTM version, while your data will remain intact, you will later on need to reinstall all your apps.

Windows 8.1 Preview will expire on January 15, 2014. Uninstallation is not supported on Windows 8.1 Preview. You may want to read this post on Windows 8 to Windows 8.1 Preview Upgrade Policy before you proceed. So rather than upgrading your Windows 8 to Windows 8.1 Preview, we recommend that you install Windows 8.1 Preview on a separate partition.

If you are on Windows RT and have installed a language pack, please don’t install the Windows RT 8.1 Preview at this time. A fix is coming.

If you’re running Windows 8 Enterprise, you’ll need to install the preview using the ISO. Go here to learn more aboutWindows 8.1 Enterprise.

Windows 8.1 Preview is available in Arabic, English (US), Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish.

Windows 8.1 Preview System requirements

Windows 8.1 Preview works great on the same hardware that powers Windows 8:

1. Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster
2. RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)
3. Free hard disk space: 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
4. Graphics card: MicrosoftDirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver

Windows 8.1 Preview Product key

If you install Windows 8.1 Preview through the Windows Store, you don’t need a product key. If you download the ISO, you’ll need to enter this product key: NTTX3-RV7VB-T7X7F-WQYYY-9Y92F.

Windows 8.1 Preview download

The ISO is available to MSDN and TechNet subscribers. The download size of Windows 8.1 Preview x86 is 2660 MB and of Windows 8.1 Preview x64 is 3580 MB. General public can also get the Windows 8.1 Preview Update or download the Windows 8.1 Preview Client ISO file with the built-in apps, if you want to install the preview on another partition, another PC, or a virtual machine. Once you have downloaded the ISO, you will have to burn the ISO to a DVD, which you can then use to install Windows 8.1 Preview.

Windows 8.1 Preview Product Guide

Click here to download the Windows 8.1 Preview Product Guide. The Windows 8.1 Preview Product Guide for Developers is available here.