Windows 7 Official Public Beta

[Brad.]

This beta is an upgrade for Vista SP1. According to the official blog it can only be installed as an upgrade from Vista SP1,

Lol wut?

For real?

[Astra.Xtreme]

virtual box it's free and does the job as long as you have virtualised compatible cpu.

For some reason I get a warning box that says I should switch to 32-bit video and that it's currently set at 24-bit.

Any idea how to make that switch? I don't see anything in the settings.

[Kronir]

This beta is an upgrade for Vista SP1. According to the official blog it can only be installed as an upgrade from Vista SP1, this only applies to the public beta, also the downloads will be available for a limited time only, the limit of 2.5 million applies to the number of keys to be given out. If you don't get a key you can still use it for 30 days.

So it can only install on top of Vista Sp1, then? :/ Guess I'll have to install a second install of Vista... >.<

[Shaun N.]

No.. It's there for a reason, to help you tell MS about any bugs you encounter. You ARE going to do that, right?

lol i thought that

[MrChainsaw]

^

You've got to be kidding me. I actually got 2 (legit) vista keys, one is unused, so I can still use it. :D

[geoken]

No.. It's there for a reason, to help you tell MS about any bugs you encounter. You ARE going to do that, right?

I'll do it just like I did in Vista, with the built in tool. I sent at least a dozen during the Vista trial, and even made use of the screen recording functions.

Like I said, it's redundant. The feedback tool is in the start menu and there is also a desktop shortcut by default. It also gets launched during any crash or problem report.

[Eponymous]

Lol wut?

For real?

That's not true...the guy in the blog later explained he was talking about Upgrade scenarios...but you still can do a fresh install with this Beta...

[MrChainsaw]

posts are flying into this thread xD

[Crenshaw]

What kind of hardware are you running might I ask? While Windows 7 does seem to perform better on lower end hardware than vista, it will not be like day and night.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4200+

ASROCK S939Dual-SATA2 M1695 8CH SATA2, RAID PCI-E16

ASUS X1950PRO PCI-E 256MB 2xDVI HDCP

Corsair XMS 1024 (2x512) PC3200 400MHz TWINX

It's not that bad i guess, but even XP runs slow at times.

[Brad.]

That's not true...the guy in the blog later explained he was talking about Upgrade scenarios...but you still can do a fresh install with this Beta...

Yeah I was like, wtf no ''custom install''? :p

[Hurmoth]

:omg: The Windows 7 site is so incredibly slow!

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

So it can only install on top of Vista Sp1, then? :/ Guess I'll have to install a second install of Vista... >.<

No, you can install the beta onto an empty partition as well.

[MrChainsaw]

:omg: The Windows 7 site is so incredibly slow!

Yeah I know, I can't even load the main page!!

[Gally]

Lol wut?

For real?

So it can only install on top of Vista Sp1, then? :/ Guess I'll have to install a second install of Vista... >.<

That's what the blog says, i read it yesterday, i'd quote but the server is too busy, if anyone gets on take a screenshot.

Edit:

?On January 9th, the Windows 7 Beta will be available for Windows enthusiasts to download,? Brandon LeBlanc, Windows communications manager on the Windows Client Communications Team, revealed.

?The Windows 7 Beta is going to be available download-only (we?re not sending out physical media), and available for a limited time to the first 2.5 million people who download the beta. The Windows 7 Beta will be available in English, German, Japanese, Arabic, and Hindi, and each language will be available in 32-bit and 64-bit versions (except Hindi, which will only be available in 32-bit). Because the Windows 7 Beta will be offered download-only, it will be provided to you as an ISO image (an .iso file) that you download.?

Users will be able to download either the 32-bit, or the 64-bit flavor of Windows 7 Beta. Due to the fact that the bits are packaged as ISO images, Windows 7 Beta 1 will have to be burnt on a DVD prior to installation. Still, because it is delivered as an ISO, Win 7 Beta can also be effortlessly installed into a Virtual PC 2007 virtual machine. Microsoft informed that the Beta bits of Windows 7 would expire on August 1, 2009.

?The Windows 7 Beta only supports Windows Vista SP1 to Windows 7 upgrades. So, if you intend to do an upgrade ? be sure it is on a PC running Windows Vista with Service Pack 1. We are not yet announcing anything regarding finalized upgrade paths for Windows 7,? LeBlanc added. ?The Windows 7 Beta will be only available in one edition, which is roughly equivalent [to] the Ultimate edition of Windows Vista.?

[Kronir]

No, you can install the beta onto an empty partition as well.

Oh, good, that saves a good 40 minutes of work. :D ....Come on, 3PM!! :)

[Griffin]

Hrm Looking forward to setting this up on a VM. Couple more hours to go!

Quick Question is that 3pm EST when they are releasing it?

[MrChainsaw]

Yey, the site loaded, where's the download link??

[Mannlich]

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4200+

ASROCK S939Dual-SATA2 M1695 8CH SATA2, RAID PCI-E16

ASUS X1950PRO PCI-E 256MB 2xDVI HDCP

Corsair XMS 1024 (2x512) PC3200 400MHz TWINX

It's not that bad i guess, but even XP runs slow at times.

Yeah, the amount of memory is definitely holding you back. I just gave my X2 4400+ to my brother in law. With 4GB memory, it runs Vista just great.

[jingarelho]

That's what the blog says, i read it yesterday, i'd quote but the server is too busy, if anyone gets on take a screenshot.

just instaled it with no vista instaled on the machine and is working fine!

[Chicane-UK Veteran]

It's pretty slow on a VM actually :| Just burning the DVD to try it on some actual hardware..

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Tbh if I were you guys I'd just grab the image by other means and get a beta key off MS today.

I mean, what's the actual difference between getting it directly off MS and off the web? The image, CRC, and everything else is identical.

Feel good factor that it's come directly from MS? :laugh:

It'll save you the hassle of error 500, timeouts and slow downloads :p

[Unimatrix Xero]

Yey, the site loaded, where's the download link??

its not released yet...still another 5 hours to go

[Mike]

That's what the blog says, i read it yesterday, i'd quote but the server is too busy, if anyone gets on take a screenshot.

blog states:

The Windows 7 Beta only supports Windows Vista SP1 to Windows 7 upgrades. So if you intend to do an upgrade – be sure it is on a PC running Windows Vista with Service Pack 1. We are not yet announcing anything regarding finalized upgrade paths for Windows 7.

appears to be talking about upgrades only ;)

[MrChainsaw]

its not released yet...still another 5 hours to go

Dam, well the site is darn slooooow, only chrome can load it for me.

[jingarelho]

you dont need a key for 120 days, it gives you 30 days to trial, at the end you can renew the trail 3 more times like in the Windows 2008 server.