How to Check if you Computer is Windows 8 Compatible

How to Check if you Computer is Windows 8 Compatible

How to Check if your Computer is Windows 8 Compatible

by AlexanderJacob on july17, 2012 in How ToMonths ago, Microsoft launched the Developer Preview of it upcoming new operating system, Windows 8. Again, few days back they released the first Consumer Preview (Beta) version as well. It’s not long Microsoft will launch the new OS in the market and thus if you are planning for an upgrade, you need to make sure that your computer will support it.

Microsoft has claimed that people who are already working on Windows 7 need not worry about any hardware upgrades. All the systems that can run Windows 7 can run the all-new Windows 8 as well without any hassle, but if you are still working on other older variants of Windows, you need to be sure about your computer’s compatibility.
The official minimum system requirements by Microsoft for the computers to run Windows 8 are:

• 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
• 1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
• 16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
• DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
• Taking advantage of touch input requires a screen that supports multi-touch.

If you are not comfortable with checking for these things manually, Microsoft has a tool that can analyse your computer and provide a feedback about the incompatible devices and software on your computer (if any) so that you can upgrade them.
To check your computer download and run the Windows 8 Consumer Preview installer. You may need to grant the program administrative privileges.
The program will run and start the check instantly. It may take some time for the program to analyse your computer but once the task is complete. It will list all the devices and program that may create a problem for Windows 8 on your computer.

If you are on an out dated device, like an old graphics card, you will be alerted about the same. As I ran the compatibility test on a latest Dell XPS laptop, all my devices were passed.

You can click on the See the compatibility report button to get a detailed report for all the applications that are not compatible or either need an upgrade before you can actually install Windows 8.

You can continue with the setup if you wish to install Windows 8 consumer preview on your computer, but you are on your there.

Conclusion

The above tool makes it very easy to check for both the hardware and software compatibility before installing Windows 8 on any computer. If you are working on Windows 7 without any trouble, you may skip the test and continue with the installation.