In the article I’ll show you how to install Windows 8 DP on Oracle’s VirtualBox.  Few things you need to know before you start: Your hardware should be compatible with virtualization. You need to have a 64-bit processor and you need to enable Virtualization on your BIOS. Refer your motherboard manual for more information. You need atleast 20GB of free space on your hard drive before proceeding.

Install Windows 8 on VirtualBox

Step 1:

Download Windows 8 Developers edition and VirtualBox (Windows Host). Next, install VirtualBox on your computer. Then open the application

Step 2:

Click on “New” from the Toolbar and you bring you to Virtual machine creation wizard. Click Next.

Step 3:

Now you need to enter a name for your VM then select the OS type. For Windows 8 32-bi,t select “Windows 7” and for Windows 8 64-bit edition select Windows 7 (64-bit) from the drop down menu.

Step 4:

Adjust the Memory (RAM) you want to allocate for your VM

Step 5:

Now we need to create the Virtual Hard drive, leave the default option as show in the below screenshot

Step 6:

Now we need to select the type of Virtual hard drive you want to create, select VHD (Virtual hard drive) and click Next.

Step 7:

Now we need to select the storage allocation for the VHD, select “Dynamically Allocate”

Step 8:

In this step you can allocate the size if your VHD, the recommend size is 20GB

Step 9:

Now it will give you the summary of the configuration. Click Create twice

Step 10:

Now you can see your Virtual Machine configuration in VirtualBox Manager. Now select your VM and click on Start from the toolbar

Step 11:

Now you’ll see the an Information message, just click OK for it

Step 12:

Next you’ll see the “First Run Wizard”, click Next.

Step 13:

Now you have to select the installation media, if you have Windows 8 burned to a disk select the drive or else click on the browse button and select the ISO image. If not, from Devices > CD/DVD Devices > Choose the downloaded iso file.

Step 14:

Now click on Start, it will take you to the Windows 8 Developers preview setup screen.

Congratulation! You have successfully created Virtual Image for Windows 8.

I also have put together a video tutorial.

If you have any questions, please do let us know!

Go here if you want to learn how to Remotely Control Windows 8 Virtual Machine.

These links may also interest you:

1. How to install Windows 8 on Mac OS X using VMware Fusion
2. How to Install Windows 8 : Screenshot Tutorial
3. How to Install Windows 8 from a USB drive
4. How to dual boot Windows 8 and Windows 7 on one PC.