TechNet Plus is a Microsoft service which offers full, legitimate versions of software to IT professionals (or whoever wants to pay for it). The subscription usually saps your wallet for $349 US, if you only want downloads, or $599 if you'd like disc versions too. However, as you can see, this is pretty pricey... the good news is, if you live in the US, the UK or Canada, our friendly Redmond-based software company has you covered.If you live in the US, you can go here to get it sorted, or here for Canadians, and if you're in the UK, this will have you up and running. According to our pals at Ars Technica, you will need the following information: First name, last lame, street address, city/town, state, postal code, email, and contact phone number. You'll obviously need a valid address if you wish to get CD/DVD media, but otherwise you can use any for the direct software downloads.
Once that's all well and done, you'll need to do a few more things before you have a wealth of freebies within your grasps:
1. Sign In: Visit the TechNet Subscriptions Benefits Portal (you may be prompted to re-sign in using your Windows Live ID).
2. Register: You will be required to enter your first name, last name, e-mail address (exactly as they appear in your "Ship to" information) and Benefit Access Number: XXXXXXXXXX and accept the license terms.
3. Access Benefits: Once you have completed the registration, you will be able to access your online benefits, including Subscriber Downloads from the TechNet Subscriptions Management page. Each time you visit you will sign in using your Windows Live ID.
For those in other countries, it seems you're out of luck, but no doubt there are ways around these limitations. Let us know how it goes!
[Update]: Ars Technica is reporting that this offer may not be for one year as first thought, but only three months. Never-the-less, it's best to get in early and make the most of this while you can.
[Update 2]: It appears as though there are errors in requesting keys and we are hearing that this offer may have been limited to a select few rather than public. Microsoft has not officially responded to requests for comment.
[Update 3]: We are getting reports from members that many who had been successfully added to the subscription have now been removed. It seems that this was all an error on Microsoft's part.
View: Free TechNet (US) View: Free TechNet (UK) View: Free TechNet (Canada)
Last edited by Slimy on 03 Jun 2009 - 06:00
Why are they giving it away? Because you aren't allowed to use it on "production" computer as your main OS. It is for "evaluation" only.
You only need tax information if you buy it as tax exempt. And I seriously doubt you're buying this for a school or something similar.
And yea, I found out about that too and signed up
You're telling me...after I signed up for this...I essentially have access to every piece of software from Microsoft.
For free.
For a year.
What's the catch?
You're telling me...after I signed up for this...I essentially have access to every piece of software from Microsoft.
For free.
For a year.
What's the catch?
The catch is: It's all Microsoft products.
I'd attach a screen if I could.
Update: well, it all works for now. We'll see if the keys are good.
Last edited by deck on 03 Jun 2009 - 05:28
I'd attach a screen if I could.
Mine too
"An unknown error occurred while processing your request. This is most likely due to a connection failure. Please try again."
Last edited by Gai-jin on 03 Jun 2009 - 05:35
same issue here.
Either way, awesome opportunity.....nice to have some help (in terms of software cost) from MS themselves.
Or you must have some family in one of those country's
If you subscribe for this you have to singe up with you living address.
Or you must have some family in one of those country's
If you subscribe for this you have to singe up with you living address.
I live in the White House, so I used that as my address.
Open-ended, unlimited evaluation.
Don't try to sell it, and be sure that you only allow people you trust (a lot) to "evaluate" with you. The keys are generated for each customer. If any of them make it into the wild, you're on the hook for it.
We once had a company version leaked to the net and MS came back to us with that info. The keys were disabled and we were given new ones.
For $0, which they will happily refund.
and it's also stating "TechNet Plus Consumer Service Professional Pilot" in 'The item TechNet Plus Consumer Service Professional Pilot has been added to your cart.'
what does that 'pilot' thingy mean in this case?
But I'm sure none of you care, even though this is an abuse of Technet's intended purpose, since I'm sure everyone just wants free software. I'm sure there are a few of you who would use this legitimately but I'm sure most won't. Using software against the ToA from technet instead of buying it is just as bad as getting a pirate copy.
plus the training materials and webcasts would be huge for me as I was planning on trying to get MS certification.
Last edited by macrosslover on 03 Jun 2009 - 05:58
But I'm sure none of you care, even though this is an abuse of Technet's intended purpose, since I'm sure everyone just wants free software. I'm sure there are a few of you who would use this legitimately but I'm sure most won't. Using software against the ToA from technet instead of buying it is just as bad as getting a pirate copy.
Umm, actually no. You are permitted to use the final retail builds of any product on home pcs at least. I know because I have asked. I am a technet subscriber under IT Pro Momentum just in case you wondered.
Good point; I will update this right away.
the rtm will appear on technet with new keys. whether this is still valid by then is anyone's guess. If it is, you will get a valid win7 key.
*Edit*
Nevermind, they used my orders email address instead of my live account email address.
Windows Live ID is unavailable from this site for one of the following reasons:
This site may be experiencing a problem.
The site may not be a member of Windows Live ID.
eventhough I am logged in via other areas lol.
Just to add tried:
64bit IE
No add-ons IE
Also tried going to the technet site and buying the normal subscription at full price and the same thing happens.
Last edited by XChrome on 03 Jun 2009 - 06:34
While this is a few weeks before the announced Oct 22 release of Win7, TechNet and MSDN have both historically offered downloads on RTM date.
I had an MSDN sub at the time Vista was released, and I remember gleefully downloading it as soon as I could...
Secure Connection Failed
om2.one.microsoft.com uses an invalid security certificate.
The certificate is not trusted because the issuer certificate is unknown.
(Error code: sec_error_unknown_issuer)
To add the source site has the same loop errors happening.
wow, thanks man. this was getting so weird. like i felt like i was in disneyland for the first time.. its so un real. like a dream. im glad i got this. i wasnt really aware of how this works. its a nce way for me to evaluate software. im for sure going to renew this.
I think it is free. You can only get what u want when your technet is valid.
Last edited by superhuman on 03 Jun 2009 - 07:14
And if you did, its not like someone won't use keyfinder and leak the key/s anyway
They won't spam me or call me or anything will they?
when i look at renew, it doesnt give me the option to renew for 249, do u think i wont have the option to renew?
where does it say renewal for $249? I see $349.
If you click on 'TechNet Plus Overview' on the menu when Home is selected, it should come up with a big thing on the main page saying:
Buy from $349 USD for a one-year subscription
Renew from $249 USD for an additional year
I am also downloading windows installer and desktop optimization pack.
Thanks to the original poster!
is it retail or not?
http://dotnetgeek.spaces.live.com/blog/cns...554AA!108.entry?
Also the reason the expiry date is set as 1900 is becuase when the signup for the program is complete and you get accepted Microsoft then set a true expiry date on the subscription that expires 12 months after joining the pilot program.
Sounds silly, but you are using a valid Live account aren't you?
i used firefox, but seems ie is best bet.
An unknown error occurred while processing your request. This is most likely due to a connection failure. Please try again.
Using IE8
i have no problems downloading with firefox. same with my msdn subscription.
If you get an error just make a new ID with an alternative email address.
After trying it from Windows 7 and getting the same loop error I said well lets try making a new ID with one of my other emails. After Confiming that new id with my second Cox email vola it worked. I am unsure why the heck my original does not work but whatever.
On a side note Im downloading Dos 6.22 for fun, lol. with Windows 3.11 I wonder if they would go on a quad core ;-)
Last edited by XChrome on 03 Jun 2009 - 08:56
Make a new ID with a diffrent email.
e.g. i was just about to spend £500 on windows server 2008 for my work place.
i can legally download this and use it on my server?
if you need to test the product out before buying it then its ideal. You can build your system using the technet key then phone ms to upgrade the licence to production. I'm currently developing our sharepoint system under msdn licence, we are in talks with ms for a bundled licence with some other products.
technet/msdn is excellent for eval/dev cycles. It would be a world of pain without such services. I love MS for this.
it depends. the thing with MS licensing is you can chat with them and wangle some deals for your organisation. It generally works out well in the long run if you take out software assurance or whatever it's called. The bigger the business, the better the deals are....
isnt server 2008 sold on cals rather than processor? i'm not directly involved with the licences, i'm just a dev
Do you know if the key for Enterprise will work for Ultimate?
Last edited by ZombieFly on 03 Jun 2009 - 09:31
I'm still pulling down my download list. Can't get a key to save my life though
Me too. Still getting my downloads. Good thing I grabbed all my keys first.
anybody else has this problem ?
anybody else has this problem ?
Almost everyone is having this problem i've only managed to grab one key which was Windows Server 2008 Enterprise and Windows Server 2008 Standard
so in other words... i personally think there server is getting hammered and dont always go through when clicking the generate key thing.
I would try to access the download center directly from Microsoft Springboard and see if that offers you some releif.
http://<< spam >>/832nco
Jessica
Microsoft TechNet / Springboard
v-jedeen@microsoft.com
click on the key you want and get the error. at the top of the page click "product keys".
Look for the product you wanted a key for, see if it gave you a key. It did for me.
I don't care since i have valid vista keys for my desktop and laptop.
Windows 7 will RTM around end of July and should appear on MSDN / Technet not long after that.
No.
Can I use evaluation software received in my TechNet Plus subscription at home?
The license grants installation and use rights to one user only, for evaluation purposes, on any of the user’s devices, this may include devices at home. Keep in mind that you may use the evaluation software only to evaluate it. You may not use it in a live operating environment, a staging environment, or with data that has not been sufficiently backed up. You may not use the evaluation software for software development or in an application development environment.
Also, it's worth mentioning that Microsoft rarely does random audits of Technet subscribers.
It takes a lot, like generating dozens of keys or if they find the keys on warez sites. I consult for lots of companies, only one was ever audited, they paid a fine and licensed the software and moved on.
I posted links on another site myself and if half of us did, then well a lot are wanting to get through the door at pace.
from my normal bandwidth to 100kbps
You'll all get burned sooner or later. I'm going to wait a week or so to see if Microsoft do anything with it.
Last edited by Popcorned1 on 03 Jun 2009 - 12:32
When I buy it fro mthe US technet site then the subscription will cost me for about $ 400 + VAT but I have to fill an adress in the US. Can I fill an unknow andress and then pay with my CC? What could happen if I do so?
the prospect of getting win7 for free is fab.
Lets hope this page is still up and we all have access when Windows 7 RTM hits
the keys issue is due to server stress, it happens often with the msdn site when they do a major launch. you'd be advised to follow the instructions further up this thread on how to get the keys without generating them before MS take action.
I've got the updated Vista ISO, but I wasn't seeing an Office 2007 w/ SP2 image. Has anyone found that on there yet?
on a quick note i don't see any wrong signing up to this. no where does it state any restrictions regarding survey or stuff like that.
on a quick note i don't see any wrong signing up to this. no where does it state any restrictions regarding survey or stuff like that.
You are entering the standard technet subscription portal and using a code to activate which is after the survey. The pages are there always, they have nothing to do with the survey so it won't mention it there. nothing bad will happen to anyone that signs up, other than the account being terminated. However, you are effectively stealing from microsoft if you plan to use any of these products at home or work. It's the equivalent of ransacking the goods from a grounded ship that wash up on a beach, it's not yours, but you're taking it anyway.....
poor design on MS's behalf, a stupid system wide open to being exploited in this way. I imagine someone will be being grilled in the boardroom right now
You didn't do the survey which was REQUIRED BEFORE you created the Technet acct. By not following the complete offer patch (survey) you are in the wrong.
It doesn't state any restrictions because the links that are at the top of this page, should not have been posted at the top of this page, or in the forums for that matter, unless all required info was posted with it.
The servers are probably getting nailed from all of the activity.
I do too...Ive tried with both FF3 and IE8.
We are unable to validate your customer information and proceed with your order at this time.
the downloads through your preferred browser that isn't IE. I'm accessing this "offer" via
my SeaMonkey browser, and each download as prompted to use the MS FTM app.
Any ideas?
Well, did anyone here actually get in was able to keep their keys/logons and generate keys?
I am able to access the keys I generated last night, after completing the survey.
Was working fine for me in IE for a bit, now I'm getting the same errors I had in Chrome. Servers must be getting hammered.
Cool, forgot to add the site to IE Tab....
It no longer works. Tried it on two separate systems, different user accounts, different browsers. Throws up a page saying the survey was already completed.
any ideas ? is it a technically good thing ?
It works...just takes awhile sometimes.
I've just checked both of my msdn accounts and the key generation is failing there also. I think they've taken it offline.
Last edited by GreyWolfSC on 03 Jun 2009 - 15:18
That's because it's still pre-release software. A technet key isn't going to be any different from the key that came with the public RC that EVERYONE had access to. It will remain evaluation software until the final is released on October 22nd.
We are unable to validate your customer information and proceed with your order at this time.
Duration (GMT-
Last Updated (GMT-
Benefit or Service: Impact:
Product key access
System slowness or access is being investigated
User Action:
We are working to get this issue resolved. Thank you for your patience.
Edit: Oops, the formatting got bust. Here's the error message:
Right now I have 26 Vista Ultimate keys from 3 TechNet subs (2 legitimate + this one), not that I'd ever use it that many. 26 keys + 10x activations = 260 different computers. That's alotta Vista Ultimate!
Extremely gutted
At least I was able to take advantage of the Microsoft Power Together a couple of year ago and get Office Pro 2007 and Windows Vista Business for free...
But this would have been very nice....
it definitely wasn't legal. neowin staff may be resonsible only to small extent. people who actually used it are more to be blamed. they should have thought about it as the "offer" was to good to be true.
Wish I had the coin to do it. I was hoping to get a key for Home Premium to install on my wifes machine to get her off of Business. My thinking is that if the Win7 reports are valid and Win7 Home Premium only upgrades from Vista Home Premium, I'd rather have that on her machine than the Business Editions of Vista/Win7.
Windows 7 Professional has all the features from 7 Home Premium anyway.
Most product keys from TechNet and MSDN allow for 10 unique machine activations, with unlimited re-activations on the same hardware.
They are not blacklisted at this point in time from what I can tell.
Having said that have not yet used any of the keys given.
Yep I too am getting the same thing.
here's what I'm getting now:
Server Error in '/offer' Application.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The resource cannot be found.
Description: HTTP 404. The resource you are looking for (or one of its dependencies) could have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable. Please review the following URL and make sure that it is spelled correctly.
Requested URL: /offer/technet_can.aspx
I hope I didn't miss it
All the windows 7 keys... expire june 1 2010.
Also if they want, they can invalidate all the generated keys through software updates.
MSDN account FTW...
The keys you see now will not work with the RTM copy, so those keys stop working when the ISO for whatever build you have expires.
And they won't invalidate the generated keys for the people who actually got in on the deal.
The keys you see now will not work with the RTM copy, so those keys stop working when the ISO for whatever build you have expires.
And they won't invalidate the generated keys for the people who actually got in on the deal.
I know... Developer... MS gave me an MSDN account. I don't get my software through technet, I get mine through MSDN, where I will get the RTM windows 7 in September or October.
The offer was also for feed back participants. I would not be surprised to see many keys invalidated, especially those who generated key after key for the same product, if you read the fine print on generated keys, volume key, you only need one. I run the same key on 5 different server 08 installs.
My thought exactly. Clicking the link still gives the 404 error code.
Just a heads up, I refreshed and there it was, my order confirmation.
I get the product page, but when I click "Buy" I get a 500 server error.
I just logged on to my company MSDN account and got the message above..... I guess the servers are just being bombarded.
I registered my account last night, minutes after this appeared on NeoWin, so I got my account.... and was able to browse keys and download files.... Can't access my keys now, but I am sure that will be fixed.
In the end, yes a few times.
edit: nvm I'm able to see them,but they load really slow.
I don't get the point either. That's far more than anyone could ever need in a lifetime, and if you share them you just get in trouble (the keys are tied to your account) and the keys blacklisted. It's probably also why the key server has been so swamped and why no one else can sign up now.
*drumroll*
Make more accounts.
*drumroll*
Make more accounts.
You know what you are mate? A ****ING HOG, some people can't even get in because of you're selfish BS.
*drumroll*
Make more accounts.
So you made 30 accounts? What a loser...
Server Error in '/offer' Application.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The resource cannot be found.
Description: HTTP 404. The resource you are looking for (or one of its dependencies) could have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable. Please review the following URL and make sure that it is spelled correctly.
Requested URL: /offer/technet_na.aspx
bah
Just logged back into the site and started downloading office software packages as well as Windows 7 Ultimate.
I had a small issue getting the key's to generate but eventually after 1 or 2 attempts worked just fine.
Server Error in '/offer' Application.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The resource cannot be found.
Description: HTTP 404. The resource you are looking for (or one of its dependencies) could have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable. Please review the following URL and make sure that it is spelled correctly.
Requested URL: /offer/technet_na.aspx
Does it still work??
https://om2.one.microsoft.com/opa/Product.a...ocaleCode=en-us
Last edited by Chewbob on 03 Jun 2009 - 19:24
Doesn't work.
Home | Worldwide
! We're sorry, the following error(s) have occurred:
Error
In order to use this site, you must have Cookies Enabled on your browser.
Go To Technet Subscriptions
|Privacy|Terms of Use|Contact us|
And yes, Cookies are enabled.
Different Link
but I still can't get in. I think this isn't a Technet issue but a .NET or Live services aren't connecting to this store. It gets stuck in a loop at signin account check after you click checkout.
yup *points up*
I was happy to get the "official" integrated Vista w/ SP2 ISO's while I could.
Yeah that's really the main reason I signed up for it.
I got that one too!
"Taddeusz2002: I just got ahold of TechNet support. They say that this pilot program was supposed to be a limited random invitation sort of thing. If you received an email inviting you then it was valid. What the support rep said is that someone posted the link on their blog. So everyone who was not officially invited to the pilot program has gotten their orders revoked."
Aparently, there was more to the story than posted.
check here for full story
In short, aparently there was a program for IT people to fill out some survey, and as a result of the survey, they were given access to those links to sign up. Someone at arstechnica aparently got ahold of the end links and posted it, so technically what we did was illegal, since we didn't go through the first survey, and now the survey is closed, so no luck for us
Why they didn't use this same security on this is anyone's guess.
I am sure I did this survey already via my email address.
Never mind, it seemed too true to start with. :sad:
You're in, dude. If you can get to the download page, then you have a valid subscription. Can't get keys? Guess what, neither can the paying users! There's too much traffic.
Come back in a few hours. Or days.
You're in, dude. If you can get to the download page, then you have a valid subscription. Can't get keys? Guess what, neither can the paying users! There's too much traffic.
Come back in a few hours. Or days.
The resource cannot be found.
Description: HTTP 404. The resource you are looking for (or one of its dependencies) could have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable. Please review the following URL and make sure that it is spelled correctly.
Requested URL: /offer/technet_na.aspx
To be fair to MS, had they left this open much longer, it could have done irreperable damage to there business, so I fully respect there descion to close the loophole.
Last edited by SirEvan on 03 Jun 2009 - 23:18
Last edited by hellomynameis on 03 Jun 2009 - 23:46
on the other hand any company posting a product up on ther web should honor it be it 3 months or 1 year .... i remember years ago something like this happened to Dell with 20" monitors was list on HUKD and they were made to honor the orders that where placed before they fixed the **** up ...but i guess MS wil just use ther vast amount of money to pay the judge/court off to rule in there favour that where all pirates and belong in jail ...FOR THERE OWN **** UP!! if u dont want use to get it SECURE the dam LINK/SITE!!!
Was any of this related to us, prior to Neowin essentially plastering "Come get free crap!" on their front page? No. We were only told half of the story, and acted accordingly.
No, it wasn't. There is no law that states that you are not allowed to make use of a website that Microsoft freely allowed people to access. There was no TOS displayed on the page that informed people that they were required to do a survey to access it. I managed to get keys for a good number of products, and am still waiting on some of them to finish downloading. People throw the term "illegal" around WAY too much around here for things that clearly are not illegal.
Neowin is really going downhill fast
ars technica posted it first, neowin just reported their news
I have 300 keys each for Vista, and Office 2007, which means 300 * 10 computers = 3000 computers be tested on!
Id ban this mother ****er just for being an idoit
So unless he made 30 accounts, he's talking nonsense
And downloads still work. I queued up a few things in their downloader (things like Dynamics AX but didn't download since I have no use for them and probably no need to test either, but still, just in case). Starting the download still. Good thing keys were made and saved while there was still time.
You can't be serious? They had a Pilot program that had a gaping loophole in it, a ton of people exploited it and they closed it. You call that greedy and overrated?
Pot meet kettle. You are a great example of the rampant unwarranted sense of entitlement around today. Correcting a mistake because it is being abused is their right and their duty.
Quit whining losers.
If your using it as its intended to set up test suites and test software on multiple system configs then yes.
You have always been able to view the list of downloadable software.
Being an IT guy, my company provides us MSDN accounts along with technet subscriptions. Most companies I worked for did. If your IT department does not have a technet subscription you really need to slap your director.
but ,now ,it's bad ,
i wonder if they will screw us over or not. i sure hope not.
because i just hope they CD KEYS i got (written down
but yesterday before they stoped this i got the ISO files for the x86 and x64 versions of Vista SP2 Ultimate.
Last edited by ThaCrip on 04 Jun 2009 - 10:27
i sure hope so.
If I were you, and you were able to log in before and get keys, try back in a day or two after they've had a chance to sort this out. You might get a pleasant surprise.
It happened. It doesn't matter if it was a mistake
dont know how accurate or anything that is but i figured it's worth posting.
I guess??? it's the next best thing to this failed offer
I hope they keep all of these recent subscriptions canceled. With all the moronic comments here, almost all of you do not deserve the free year!! You don't even know how the subscription works.
The keys are good for only your computers and good as long as you have an account. Next year I WILL invest the $399 and renew my account. It is an awesome resource in the right hands. Right hands basically means maybe 5% of the people who have commented on this!
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