Windows 7 Release Candidate on MSDN?!?

[gep13]

Hey,

What am I missing? According to this article:

http://www.techtree.com/India/News/W...01212-580.html

I should be able to get the RC from MSDN, but I don't seem to be able to find it.

Has any got it?

Gary

[Merrion]

Are you an MSDN subscriber?
If so it should be listed in the "Downloads" part...

[gep13]

Hey,

Yeah, I have an MSDN Subscription.

I went to the Operating System section, but all I could see was the Beta Version, not the release candidate.

Thanks

Gary

[JuggaloBrotha]

Is it May 5th yet? Last time I checked it's April 21st (22nd for some here).

[gep13]

Last time I checked I read this:

Partners: If you have a subscription to MSDN or TechNet, you can download Windows 7 RC now. Otherwise, you can download Windows 7 RC starting May 5.

Gary

[JuggaloBrotha]

I'll be honest I didn't read the article till now.

It's not on MSDN yet either (I just checked, I do have a subscription), that article could be wrong since I'm not finding MS mentioning this.

[gep13]

Hey,

Cool, sounds like we are back on the same page

Now you can see why I am asking the question. The article seems to suggest that at some point, this page:

https://partner.microsoft.com/UK/pro...ows/wiwindows7

Had a download link for the release candidate, but it isn't there anymore, just verified that again. I will keep an eye out over the next few days to see if it appears.

Thanks

Gary

[JuggaloBrotha]

Hey,

Cool, sounds like we are back on the same page

Now you can see why I am asking the question. The article seems to suggest that at some point, this page:

https://partner.microsoft.com/UK/pro...ows/wiwindows7

Had a download link for the release candidate, but it isn't there anymore, just verified that again. I will keep an eye out over the next few days to see if it appears.

Thanks

Gary

Isn't that for the UK partners?

[gep13]

Hey,

That link is for the UK Partners website, yes, because that is where we are based.

The original link that I sent was talking specifically about India, but that just happened to be the first link that I found when I googled Windows 7 Release Candidate.

I would have thought that if it was available, it would be available everywhere, but that is an assumption, hence why I was asking the question, for clarification.

Gary

[mendhak]

Checked Technet and MSDN, not anywhere.

The page does mention your problem too

It is not surprising that MSDN or TechNet subscribers cannot download Windows 7 RC at the moment. After the page about Windows 7 RC information was pulled down few users contacted Microsoft Online Concierge about details on the same.

Unless they changed the page after you read it too! It doesn't even look like a news source, the grammar is appalling. I have to go smoke now to get over it :P

[Nightwalker83]

@ gep13

You are not overlooking something are you? That quote you posted in post #5 says that the RC for Win 7 can be downloaded from May 5. JB also stated the same in post #4.

[dee-u]

@ gep13

You are not overlooking something are you? That quote you posted in post #5 says that the RC for Win 7 can be downloaded from May 5. JB also stated the same in post #4.

For those who are not subscribers of MSDN or TechNet, it will be on May 5.

[Nightwalker83]

For those who are not subscribers of MSDN or TechNet, it will be on May 5.

Ah ok! I should have asked my lecturer about this before I started term break. He told the class about this before the break about two weeks ago.

Edit:

I just read this:

source: http://windows7news.com/tag/windows-...ase-candidate/

Windows 7 Build 7082 And 7106 Screenshots Appear

Screenshots of Windows 7 build 7082 and 7106 have appeared on Chinese tech news site Pcbeta in the last 24 hours. The very same site is reporting the leak of both builds. This has not been confirmed yet by any other sources yet. Both builds seem to be available as Chinese language editions only with [...]

[gep13]

@NightWalker, nope, don't think I am overlooking anything

I have been doing some digging and I have found a couple more articles on the subject:

http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=2547

http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/new...till-may-5.ars

The long and the short of it is, the Public release does seem to be happening on 5th May, but it doesn't look like MSDN subscribers are getting it any earlier.

I will keep you posted if it does crop up in MSDN.

Gary

[Nightwalker83]

@NightWalker, nope, don't think I am overlooking anything

As the article I posted above suggest maybe Win7 was leaked and someone thought M$ had released it earlier for some people.

[Nightwalker83]

According to Msdn:

http://blogs.msdn.com/msdnsubscripti...pril-30th.aspx

Windows 7 RC will be released to subscribers on 30th April!

Windows 7 RC on track for release to Subscribers on April 30th

You may have seen on the Windows 7 Blog, but it is now confirmed that the Windows 7 RC is on track to be released to MSDN and TechNet Subscribers on April 30th, with broader public availability on May 5th.

[gep13]

Good to know.

Thanks for that, only a few days to go.

Gary

[Nightwalker83]

Good to know.

Thanks for that, only a few days to go.

Gary

Pity, I am not a subscriber! Ah well, I suppose an extra couple of days won't hurt.

[gep13]

I have only recently got an MSDN Subscription through work, hence why I was asking the original question, I am eager to try it out and download something, and Windows 7 is as good a trial as any.

[gep13]

Hey,

For those of you who are interested, the Release Candidate for Windows 7 is now available on MSDN to subscribers. Started downloading it last night, but came in this morning to find out that the download had been interrupted , so I have started it up again

Gary

[Nightwalker83]

Hey,

For those of you who are interested, the Release Candidate for Windows 7 is now available on MSDN to subscribers. Started downloading it last night, but came in this morning to find out that the download had been interrupted , so I have started it up again

Gary

I just hope we don't use up our bandwidth due to faulty downloads. Although, I have to wait until Tuesday/Wednesday next week to get Win 7 because I'm not a subscriber! I am now a member of MSDN Blogs.

[Jenner]

Nice, I'm really looking forward to Windows 7. I loved the beta. It really is "Vista done right". It can't get here soon enough.

[RhinoBull]

It [Windows 7] really is "Vista done right".

Heck no! It may look like Vista but it's a brand new OS that resembles very little with its predecessor.

[Nightwalker83]

Nice, I'm really looking forward to Windows 7. I loved the beta. It really is "Vista done right". It can't get here soon enough.

You can't expect us to believe that especially when you haven't even tested all the features in Win 7 yet.

[Nightwalker83]

Just received the Microsoft newsletter about the Win7 RC release:

- On Tuesday, May 5 (PST), the RC will be available to everyone via our Customer Preview Program. As with the Beta, the Windows 7 RC Customer Preview Program is a broad public program that offers the RC free to anyone who wants to download it. It will be available at least through June 30, 2009, with no limits on the number of downloads or product keys available.

That is great news that M$ haven't limited the number of downloads per customer.

Edit:

I just reread the information about the Win 7 RC and it has me think whether it is worth downloading the RC.

Source: microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/installation-instructions.aspx

IMPORTANT: The RC will expire on June 1, 2010. Starting on March 1, 2010, your PC will begin shutting down every two hours. Windows will notify you two weeks before the bi-hourly shutdowns start. To avoid interruption, you'll need to rebuild your test machine using a valid version of Windows before the software expires. You'll need to rebuild your test PC to replace the OS and reinstall all your programs and data.

And

Removing the RC

The Windows 7 RC will stop working on June 1, 2010. To continue using your PC, please be prepared to reinstall a prior version of Windows or the final released version of Windows 7 before the expiration date. We recommend doing a custom (clean) installation.

That has me a bit concerned if that is the information for this (May 5) release of the Win7 RC.

Edit:

You can find a table listing the different features between the version of Windows 7:

http://www.neowin.net/news/main/09/0...n-the-editions

[gep13]

Hey,

To respond to a PM from NightWalker:

Were you able to download the Win7 RC?

Yes, I was able to download the RC, but haven't got round to installing it yet, moving house at the end of the week, so going to get it installed after that.

As for the concern you have raised, I am not sure I understand why you have an issue with it. You are essentially getting to use the RC for a year without paying for it. At the end of that time, it will prompt you to upgrade, i.e. by shutting down periodically. And as for having to do a fresh install, to be honest, I would probably do that anyway once I buy the full version.

Gary

[Nightwalker83]

Yes, I was able to download the RC, but haven't got round to installing it yet, moving house at the end of the week, so going to get it installed after that.

I have downloaded the Win 7 setup from the above link on the Windows7 page of the Microsoft site. I'll install it tomorrow and have a look at it Microsoft appears to have just recycled the previous download page without specifying the difference between the versions (example: Beta, etc).

Edit:

The zip files have different serial numbers:

Beta:
7000.0.081212-1400 (7000.0.081212-1400_server_en-us-GB1SXFRE_EN_DVD)

RC:
7100.0.090421-1700 (7100.0.090421-1700_x86fre_client_en-us_retail_ultimate-grc1culfrer_en_dvd)

[Jenner]

You can't expect us to believe that especially when you haven't even tested all the features in Win 7 yet.

I've tested the ones I'm interested in. The ones I felt were broken in Vista. The clumsy and counter intuitive UI, the overly rampant UAC, the useless, real-estate stealing desktop widgets...

Still, there are some moronic things they still haven't fixed in Win7. The "Search" feature for example is totally useless to me since they removed the ability to search for text-in-files. Drag a file to copy onto a disconnected network drive; explorer still completely locks up until it reaches it's ridiculously long timeout.

[Nightwalker83]

Still, there are some moronic things they still haven't fixed in Win7. The "Search" feature for example is totally useless to me since they removed the ability to search for text-in-files. Drag a file to copy onto a disconnected network drive; explorer still completely locks up until it reaches it's ridiculously long timeout.

Hm, you do realise that this is not the final release of Win7? Read the quoted text in my post about removing Windows 7 RC.

[Jenner]

Hm, you do realise that this is not the final release of Win7? Read the quoted text in my post about removing Windows 7 RC.

I realize that. Of course it's not the final version because it's labeled as a release candidate. But the search was reduced in functionality in Vista, and as for the network drive thing, that goes back as far as Win95 or earlier...

If the Win7 final release fixes either of those, I'd be totally and completely surprised. After all, why should Microsoft change the behavior of explorer when copying a file to a disconnected drive when it's worked so poorly for 14+ years.

[Nightwalker83]

If the Win7 final release fixes either of those, I'd be totally and completely surprised. After all, why should Microsoft change the behavior of explorer when copying a file to a disconnected drive when it's worked so poorly for 14+ years.

I have never noticed those problems with Vista! Although, Yesterday when using Win 7RC I found it odd that when the recovery program was active (system, hard disk, etc) a status window would appear showing you the status of the repair. However, the odd part is that on the window is a cancel button but when clicked it says "This operation must continue! Restore can not be canceled." or something along those lines. What is the point of the button there in that case seems pointless.

[mendhak]

Never heard of the copy-to-disconnected drive thing, but then the question arises, why are you copying to a disconnected drive? If a feature annoys you, disable it - disable UAC, disable widgets - it's not exactly rocket science. Part of the concept of an OS is being able to customize it. I wouldn't call that 'testing broken features', it's more like mind reading.

On the other hand, I agree about the search! Luckily, I have Visual Studio which does a text-in-file search, but this really should have been included as a default without requiring indexed content or the Indexing service to be running (which interferes with the smooth running of ASP.NET).

I haven't had time to run Win7RC though I've downloaded it, but I don't think that the Search will have been changed in this edition since they expect everyone to keep the Indexing service running (yeah yeah you can make inclusions, it's part of the concept of an OS. Let me get a knife and fork to eat my own words).