Download Windows 10 Technical Preview

Microsoft has released Windows 10 Technical Preview for testing. You can download Windows 10 Technical Preview now from the official website. Microsoft also launched its free Windows Insider Program. You need to sign up for free Windows Insider Program to give your feedback about the new Windows 10 Technical Preview. Since the operating system is a “Technical Preview” edition and not Windows 10 final edition, it is recommended to install it on a virtual machine. You can easily use any virtual machine software like Virtual Box or VMWare. Virtual Box is a freeware application but VMWare is a commercial software. Many may wonder what happened to Windows 9 also known as Windows Threshold.

At the official Windows event held in San Francisco, Microsoft officially announced the successor of Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 as Windows 10. Earlier the successor was unofficially called Windows 9, official codename Windows Threshold. Many people wondered why the successor to Windows 8 is officially called Windows 10 and not the expected Windows 9. Terry Myerson, Microsoft’s Executive Vice President of Operating System, at the event announced that “Windows is at a Threshold and now it is time for a new Windows.” He then said, “It would not be right to call it Windows 9.”

Instead, the next Windows operating system will be Windows One. Since, Windows 1.0 is already released, the next edition will be officially called Windows 10. Myerson then promised that Windows 10 would work across all types of devices. It will run on computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones, and of course the all “Internet of Things”. Thus promoting the new tag line, “One product family. One platform. One store.”

Windows 10 will provide tailored user experience when used on different platforms, it will have a single store. This store will be one stop place for all apps and updates for Windows 10. Thus, Microsoft will not repeat its mistake when it launched Windows 8. With Windows 8, it tried to force a complete new user interface to desktop users, when that interface was more expected for touch enabled devices. Although, the company did tried to rectify its mistakes quickly by launching Windows 8.1 and the subsequent updates to the operating system. In Myerson’s own words, Windows 10 “will deliver the right experience on the right device at the right time.”

Microsoft brought back the Start Menu in Windows 8.1 after releasing updates. It was already known that the company is working on a new Start Menu for the successor of Windows 8. The new Start Menu of Windows 10 features live tiles, web search, etc. You cannot resize the live tiles in the upcoming Start Menu. That is unlike the option to resize the live tiles in Start Screen of Windows 8 / 8.1. This is quite obvious as resizing option will impacts the overall size of the new Start Menu. The new search option lets you search the web without opening web browser.

How to Register for Windows Insider Program by Microsoft?

To become a member of Windows Insider Program, visit the official website and use your free Microsoft Account or Outlook/Hotmail account. If you do not have any account, you can create a free Microsoft Outlook account.

Download Windows 10 Technical Preview

Follow these steps to download Technical Preview:

First, sign up for the Windows Insider Program. It will let you be the first to discover the new features and capabilities of Windows Technical Preview. Also, you can give your feedback to Microsoft on these early builds of Windows.

The official download links lets you download Windows Technical Preview ISO image file. You can use this ISO file to create an installation media on a DVD or USB flash drive.

Windows Technical Preview Product Key

Use the following Windows Technical Preview product key to activate it:

Product key: NKJFK-GPHP7-G8C3J-P6JXR-HQRJR

Direct Download Links of Windows Technical Preview

Download Windows Technical Preview English 64-bit (x64) (3.81 GB)
SHA-1 hash value: EB75A3D3C0F621F175B75DC65DB036D0E00EAC43
Download Windows Technical Preview English 32-bit (x86) (2.93 GB)
SHA-1 hash value: 73AC23AD89489855F33CA224F196327740057E2E
Download Windows Technical Preview English (United Kingdom) 64-bit (x64) (3.79 GB)
SHA-1 hash value: 17C6CD7224D13DB61B93A4A9D38202E3A0019378
Download Windows Technical Preview English (United Kingdom) 32-bit (x86) (2.94 GB)
SHA-1 hash value: BFF496678A09255738BFBFA14903295D55478C33
Download Windows Technical Preview Chinese (Simplified) 64-bit (x64) (3.96 GB)
SHA-1 hash value: 135E3193571C5AF9FBF36D24D07B2BE7EE49B2E8
Download Windows Technical Preview Chinese (Simplified) 32-bit (x86) (3.05 GB)
SHA-1 hash value: 3EE3A2033BE666BA55AFED3FCF6BB52A7C15C7CC
Download Windows Technical Preview Portuguese (Brazil) 64-bit (x64) (3.76 GB)
SHA-1 hash value: 3DA91BB9EA7316F670C0A132D940FC1D58BAB296
Download Windows Technical Preview Portuguese (Brazil) 32-bit (x86) (2.91 GB)
SHA-1 hash value: 611FE8F94906EFE75F64D197913344AC040DF644

Windows Technical Preview System Requirements

If your PC runs Windows 8.1, you are good to go with the Windows 10 Technical Preview.

• Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster
• RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)
• Free hard disk space: 16 GB
• Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) driver
• A Microsoft account and Internet access.

More news, updates and information about Windows 10 (Technical Preview) will be covered here in subsequent posts.

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