I recently purchased a copy of Windows 8 to install on my new iMac via Parallels. From Microsoft the download comes as an exe file. My understanding is I need an ISO file but can't seem to find one and using Google all the sites I came up with said I needed Windows first to create an ISO file. Obviously, I don't have any installation of Windows so what can I do?
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Windows 8 Installation Problem
- Thread starter samo1215
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You need to download the version you want (64 bit or 32 bit) on the appropriate Windows computer irrc. If you want 64 bit then you download it on a 64 bit Windows machine - otherwise you'll get the wrong architecture.
When the setup.exe appears you double-click it and let it run/download Windows. Once that's done a new window will offer you the choice of preparing a USB stick or to make install media - choose that one.
On the next screen the option is there to create an iso file.
When the setup.exe appears you double-click it and let it run/download Windows. Once that's done a new window will offer you the choice of preparing a USB stick or to make install media - choose that one.
On the next screen the option is there to create an iso file.
Thanks for the help. I have one problem. I don't have any Windows computers. Has Microsoft really set it up in such a manner that you need to have a PC to use Windows 8? I have to imagine there are other Mac owners who are trying to run Windows via Bootcamp or some virtualization software such as Parallels or VMWare that are in a similar situation as I am in.
I honestly don't know. I just know that I made the mistake of trying to download a 64 bit version of Windows 8 from a system running 32 bit and it didn't go well 
See what it says if you try downloading from a Mac. Can't do any harm asking the question
See what it says if you try downloading from a Mac. Can't do any harm asking the question
Microsoft decided to use its online store as the main retail channel for Windows 8 and marketed it as an upgrade to previous versions, but there are still plenty Windows 8 retail boxes with DVD installer available on eBay with relatively low price now that Windows 8.1 is out. You could borrow someone's PC or use your local library to download the ISO from Microsoft's site, or you could risk getting infected from other unofficial sources. Here is a post that provided a link to Windows 8 (not 8.1) ISO download if you want to try your luck with it.