Windows 8.1 Preview

It's here!

With Windows 8.1 Preview, you can build smaller, more secure, energy-efficient devices that give your customers great high-definition displays, seamless multimedia playback, and improved real-time communication experiences.

Key tasks and content

Design

Develop

Certify

Community

Download kits and tools

Windows Driver Kit 8

Start building your drivers for Windows 8. WDK 8 integrates with Visual Studio to provide a complete environment for developing, deploying, testing, and debugging your drivers. Important: Install Visual Studio before installing WDK 8. Get details.

Download Windows Driver Kit 8

Visual Studio Professional 2012

Get the foundation for building efficient, high-quality drivers for Windows 8. Use this version to develop drivers for all versions of Windows, except Windows XP. Important: Install Visual Studio before installing WDK 8.

Windows Hardware Certification Kit

Get the tools, processes, and tests for hardware certification for Windows 8. Use the HCK to test and create submission packages for all versions of Windows, except Windows XP. Get details.

Download Windows Hardware Certification Kit

Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit

Assess how well your product runs on Windows 8. Check a computer's performance, energy efficiency, and battery consumption to optimize its battery life, startup performance, and shutdown time. Get details.

Download Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit

Get the latest hardware docs

Design, develop, and debug drivers and devices for Windows 8—see how Windows 8 has improved the experience. Get the latest info on system performance, power management, firmware, driver frameworks and development, device classes, debugging tools, and more. Find out how to implement a touch interface using the HID driver included in Windows 8. And, start developing a mobile operator app.

Certify for Windows 8

All the requirements, policies, tests, and support to help ensure that your product is reliable and runs great on Windows 8. The Windows HCK introduces updated requirements and guidelines and significantly improves the certification process.