Good News! Windows 8 Will Run on Windows 7 and Vista Systems!

Microsoft is expected to release its next operating system Windows 8, by next year.

We already knew Windows 8 is optimized for tablets, but skeptical if it would require new hardware for current Windows 7 users. Well, we finally got the answer. Windows 8 will still run on Windows 7 systems! That means you don’t need to upgrade any hardware of your Windows 7 systems to install Windows 8. This is according to Tami Reller, corporate VP of Microsoft’s Windows division, while speaking at the 2011 Worldwide Partner Conference in Los Angeles.

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.

A refresher to Windows 7 basic system requirements, you’ll need:

• 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

And since Windows 7 also runs in computers with Vista previously installed, logically, those computers will also rock Windows 8. Just in case you’re wondering how Microsoft engineered Windows 8 to practically work on Windows Vista and Windows 7 systems, here’s what Reller said:

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.

Cool! Now it would make sense not shelling out extra bucks for better hardware; but of course – you need to spend on OS upgrade.J[via]



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