Windows 8 will run on all Windows 7 PCs (and Vista PCs too)

By Adrian Kingsley-Hughes July 12, 2011, 4:45am PDT
Summary
Worried that you’ll have to buy a new PC in order to be able to run Windows 8? Don’t! Microsoft has said that the Windows 8 system requirements will be the same, or perhaps even lower, than those of Windows 7.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology -- whether that be by learning to program, building a PC from a pile of parts, or helping them get the most from their new MP3 player or digital camera.
Adrian has authored/co-authored technical books on a variety of topics, ranging from programming to building and maintaining PCs. His most recent books include "Build the Ultimate Custom PC", "Beginning Programming" and "The PC Doctor's Fix It Yourself Guide". He has also written training manuals that have been used by a number of Fortune 500 companies.
Adrian also runs a popular blog under the name The PC Doctor, where he covers a range of computer-related topics -- from security to repairing and upgrading.
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Worried that you’ll have to buy a new PC in order to be able to run Windows 8? Don’t! Microsoft has said that the Windows 8 system requirements will be the same, or perhaps even lower, than those of Windows 7.
Speaking at the 2011 Worldwide Partner Conference, Tami Reller, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s Windows division, had this to say:
“In both of our Windows 8 previews, we talked about continuing with the important trend that we started with Windows 7, keeping system requirements either flat or reducing them over time. Windows 8 will be able to run on a wide range of machines because it will have the same requirements or lower.”
So if Windows 8 has the same system requirements that Windows 7 had, that should mean that Windows 8 will also run on systems that currently have Windows Vista installed on them.
As a reminder, here are the Windows 7 system requirements:
1GHz CPU
1GB RAM (32-bit) or 2GB RAM (64-bit)
16 GB hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
How will Windows 8 pull this trick off?
“We’ve also built intelligence into Windows 8 so that it can adapt to the user experience based on the hardware of the user. So, whether you’re upgrading an existing PC, or buying a new one, Windows will adapt to make the most of that hardware.”
Good news for those wanting a new OS without having to buy new hardware.
More from Microsoft Partner Conference:
Microsoft: 400 million Windows 7 and 100 million Office 2010 licenses sold
Microsoft: In a year, Windows Phone has gone from very small to … very small
Microsoft makes it official: New beta of Windows Intune 2.0 available
Third test build of Microsoft’s SQL Server ‘Denali’ expected this week
What’s on Steve Ballmer’s Microsoft priority list now?
Microsoft to deliver Surface 2.0 software developer kit on July 12
Why Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is so bullish on Bing
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