[Guide] How to Dual Boot Windows 8 and Windows 7

A pre-beta Developer build of Windows 8 was released recently by Microsoft and saw over 500,000 downloads in less than 24 hours. However since the OS is still unstable it is not advised to install over Windows 7 so one option is to dual-boot Windows 8 alongside it.
So to help you dual-boot Windows, we decided to provide you with a guide to get it done. First there are some things you will need to have before you proceed.

System Requirements

• 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
• Taking advantage of touch input requires a screen that supports multi-touch (optional)
• To run Metro style Apps, you need a screen resolution of 1024 X 768 or greater

1. Download Windows 8 - You will have three options to choose from
1. 64-bit edition with developer tools (4.8 GB)
2. 64-bit edition (3.6 GB)
3. 32-bit edition (2.8 GB)
   
2. Once you have downloaded your DVD image, burn it onto a DVD-ROM. Note that the developer tools version will require a dual layer DVD. You can burn the image using Windows Disk Image Burner or any third party tools like Nero. You can also install the image on a bootable USB drive.
   
3. Prepare emergency recovery discs and backup data - You can never be too carful with pre release software. Even if it is from Microsoft. Make sure you have all your personal data stored safely away on a USB device or USB hard drive.
   
4. Create a hard drive partition of at least 20GB - You can use this guide provided by Microsoft on how to get it done. The Partition Wizard - Home edition by Mini Tool is a great free partition manager you can also try out.
   
5. Restart your computer and boot from the DVD or USB disk. The installation process is similar to Windows 7 and you can follow the on screen instructions to proceed.
   
6. If you prefer to have step by step instructions to install click here.
   
7. Once completed you will be presented with a prompt to select between 'Windows Developer Preview' or 'Windows 7'. Select the first option and you will be in Windows 8.