I want to dual boot Windows 8 on a Macbook Pro that doesn't already have Windows. Do I have to buy Windows twice?

Posted by Cam Jackson on Super User See other posts from Super User or by Cam Jackson
Published on 2012-11-08T10:34:54Z Indexed on 2012/11/08 11:07 UTC
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My girlfriend just bought a Macbook Pro, and she wants to to dual boot OSX with Windows. Specifically, she would like to use Windows 8. What I already know is the following:

  • Windows 8 discs are only meant for upgrading from previous versions of Windows
  • Windows 8 discs can be used to do a clean install, but (officially) only if there's already a legit version of Windows on the hard disk
  • I've read somewhere of a disc being used to install Windows 8 on a fresh, out-of-the-box hard drive, and it all went well until the activation phase, where it said that the disc could only be used for upgrades

The logical conclusion would be that in my circumstance, the only option is to buy a full (non-upgrade) retail copy of Windows 7, install that using boot camp, then load up Windows 7, insert the Windows 8 upgrade disc and do the 7->8 upgrade.

However, I've read quite a few blog posts of people installing Windows 8 using bootcamp (e.g., Ars Technica, which leads me to believe that it might be possible to do so without installing Win7 first. The problem is that I'm not sure if these people were using preview versions, which obviously won't have the license issues down the track. Can anyone provide a definitive answer as to how to put Win8 on a Mac?

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