Windows 7 Beta Download Extended Until Feb. 10
Posted 01/24/09 at 04:15:31 PM by Justin Kerr
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Microsoft has seen some pretty insane demand for its Windows 7 beta, so much so it couldn’t even keep it’s servers up. Once things finally leveled off Microsoft took the unusual step of removing its download cap of 2.5 million copies, and now they intend to extend the download period from January 24th to February 10th. Microsoft claims that it already has more than enough beta testers to meet its engineering needs, and they intend to prolong the availability of the beta merely to make sure everyone who wants to give it a try gets a chance.
Despite the fact that Microsoft intends to cease downloads on February 10th, those who already began the process will have until the 12th to grab the file off the official servers. For those of you hoping to activate copies of Windows 7 past this date, make sure you save your installation disk. Product keys will continue to be available well past the cutoff date, and activation servers will remain active.
MSDN and TechNet subscribers are unaffected by this announcement and will continue to have unfiltered access to the beta likely until the cut off date in August (though this has not yet been confirmed).
I tried Windows 7 the theme is........
Submitted by ghot on Wed, 01/28/2009 - 5:51am
....there is NO theme lol. Hopefully its because still in beta.....but if thats the only reason......it gonna be like 10,000 miles to RC1 :/
Take efficiency, and edit out all the intelligence and what you have left is a post-XP Microsoft operating system :)
Does the original Aero theme work
Submitted by MediaPackRat86 on Mon, 01/26/2009 - 12:28am
hey the windows 7 interface looks great in all but I'm in love with the Vista Aero interface and it'd take some time to get used to the new W7 interface so is there a theme for the standard vista aero? Maybe I'm im thinking this way just cause I havnt personally tried it yet......
Windows Aero Interface
Submitted by Danielt876 on Mon, 01/26/2009 - 9:05am
If your graphics card is up to date, and you get a rating of 2.0 or higher in the graphics category, in the Windows Experience Index, Windows Aero will be set as your default theme automatically.
Submitted by ghot on Sun, 01/25/2009 - 11:31am
..but not like you'd expect.....instead of there being a setting for shrinking the task bar...you have to right click task bar and choose properties and w/e tab to customize and check ....use small icons lol.....then the task bar shrinks to match lol
but hey it only took me 25 mins to find my other hard drives...now THATS improvement lol
the other thing i noticed was that the Windows 7 firewall is a fooking nightmare...it has more settings than a porcupine has quills, and they make absolutely no sense.
I think MS calling Windows 7 a beta is a really quite a stretch :/
Although these days I hate to say anything good about MS.....I have to admit that it handled the graphics, chipset, sata, ethernet and sound drivers w/o a hitch......(no driver installation needed, all worked flawlessly right out of the box, so to speak[but I was dual booting.....clean install may be whole different story]) ............that was just about the ONLY thing it did well.
There is NO classic view option either. none, period!
As for getting a copy..that was easy...simple .iso image...burned with nero 7 to DVD...donj't expect to see anything on screen when you put DVD in drive though....it doesn't yet have that function....just put in DVD rom and reboot (make sure BIOS is set to boot from DVD rom) and make SURE you choose the custom option..if you don't it will assume that you want to upgrade!
Dates: Win 7 Ultimate beta available till Feb 10th
Win 7 will function till Aug 2009
Both the 32 and 64 bit versions come in ONLY the Ultimate flavor.
I still don't know how i
Submitted by atomaweapon on Sat, 01/24/2009 - 9:55pm
I still don't know how i feel about that wide ass taskbar
Submitted by ghot on Sat, 01/24/2009 - 8:29pm
I have 2 HD's a 36gb WD Raptor, with Windows XP Pro installed on it and a Seagate 250 GB with 4 partitions (the 1st is Z:\... 2nd is D: BckUp1...3rd is E: BckUp2...4th is F: BckUp3.) Z: is bootable partition suitable for an OS. So, I DL'd the 64bit Windows 7 beta and installed it on the Z: partition on my Seagate HD. It took 26 mins to install on an AMD 5000+ black edition, over clocked to 3.2Ghz...not bad.
All went well with install. However, when I went back to my XP Pro install I had a few problems.
1. It screwed up Partition Magic 8.0 in that it renamed the D: and the F: partitions but left the E: partition alone. The only way I could fix this was through Computer Management > Disk Management by running check disk with the repair option. Only then could I access the properties pages for the D: and F: partitions. The weird part is....it didn't mess with the E: partition which has my XP Pro Ghost backups on it. Also for all you Zonealarm fans....there is no 64bit version of the free Zonealarm.
2. As for Windows 7 itself, it seems like MS took every setting for an OS and put them all in a shoe box, then shook it up and threw them at the OS.
3. So, I uninstalled Windows 7 beta from the Z: drive, fixed the D: and F: drives and am mnow going to use my XP Pro CD to fix the MBR....I've already DL'd the 32 bit version and will try that on another day.
So, far I AM impressed with the ease of installation, but definitely NOT impressed with the seemingly random choices of where the settings in Windows 7 are located.....if there is ANY rhyme or reason....I can't see it. In a few days when I've....recovered from my shock, I'll try the 32 bit version.
Note: my system is totally 64bit compatible, although I don't guess Partition Magic 8.0 is 64 bit compatible. Even though Patition magic 8.0 couldn't access the properties pages on 2 of my 2nd HD's partitions, Windows XP pro, still could....and when in Windows 7, I could also access them. Also be advised that in msconfig (after deleting Windows 7 from my Z: drive (which it renamed to C:)) on the boot.ini tab there is now a warning, to use BCDedit.exe to fix the MBR...only Vista has BCDedit.exe :/
It seems as if MS is assuming, incorrectly, that the only people who will use Windows 7 are those that already use Vista.
P.S. even the Windows CD repair console didn't fix the MBR....do like they say and make backups before you try this beta...I'm glad I did ;)
Submitted by jvc08 on Sat, 01/24/2009 - 4:33pm
how long can i use it?
I believe it expires in
Submitted by CTskifreak on Sat, 01/24/2009 - 4:54pm
I believe it expires in August. Don't quote me on that.
Submitted by wolf17 on Sat, 01/24/2009 - 4:02pm
I had trouble w/ wireless networking; otherwise, Windows 7 works well using VirtualBox.
If only...
Submitted by zstadt on Sat, 01/24/2009 - 2:51pm
If only I had a dedicated test PC.
I've got a copy of the beta .iso, but being a college student, I really don't want to install it on my primary (i.e. only) computer. Although I know I could run it (Intel dual-core 2.8gHz, 4gb ram, GeForce 8800gt, etc.), I'm afraid of losing important data and/or usage of my computer.
Are my worries unfounded?
The answer for you is
Submitted by whitneymr on Sat, 01/24/2009 - 2:56pm
The answer for you is virtualization.
But even with is specs, even
Submitted by b_boy_69_00 on Sat, 01/24/2009 - 3:59pm
But even with is specs, even if he's running XP, it would severely hinder performance. Running the 2 OS's at once would kill any speed increase of 7. His best bet, in my opinion, would be to partition off a section of his HDD, if he has enough space, and dual boot 7 and XP/Vista. That way he could retain his main OS for everyday stuff and mess around in 7 for fun. I would only do this though after backing up all critical files, just to be safe.
Submitted by zstadt on Sat, 01/24/2009 - 5:52pm
Gahh... sounds like more trouble than it's worth.
Submitted by geek14 on Sat, 01/24/2009 - 7:41pm
I have done so on a laptop that i just bought two months ago. Dual booted with vista/7. Took only about 30-45 minutes total including partitioning the drive then doing the install. I originally setup 7 in virtual pc but as noted earlier this causes you to lose some speed even on a good machine. So, after doing a clean install on my old desktop i couldnt resist giving it a go on my laptop. I have not had one single issue, in fact i'm typing this inside 7 right now. Specs: AMD Turion X2 2.1 ghz; 4gb RAM, ATI Radeon HD 3200, x64. 7 runs like a champ!
Submitted by zstadt on Sat, 01/24/2009 - 8:17pm
By the by, I am using XP as of right now.
I may just partition and dual-boot. Looks like I'll be finding some tutorials to read! (considering my lack of experience in this sort of thing)
Is this a safer alternative? In other words, if I were to do it this way, could I keep my existing data safe in XP, while being able to play around with 7?
Any help you can give (or have already given) is much appreciated.
Submitted by ubuwalker31 on Sun, 01/25/2009 - 6:39am
Before partitioning and dual-booting, just try it out on your current Windows setup using VirtualBox.
Just go ahead and download and install VirtualBox: http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads
If you need more help, watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p49C1Os90Zc
Submitted by zstadt on Sun, 01/25/2009 - 7:32am
Virtualization had been suggested before, but then it was pointed out that it'll hinder the performance.
Edit: Also, after watching that YouTube video, it appears as though I'll be missing out on visual features because of the lack of "graphics features" within the virtual setting.
Submitted by routine on Sun, 01/25/2009 - 9:41am
I dont know why everyone is saying it will run slow in Virtualization.
Lots of production applications run in virtualization.
I'm running Windows 7 using Virtual Box on my main pc and on a test bed laptop. Altho it runs better on the laptop, the virtual version is no slouch. You lose 3d with virtualization.
to reduce confusion
Submitted by Wild Alaskan on Sun, 01/25/2009 - 12:51am
To reduce confusion start the install from xp so your hard drive letters will stay the same. Otherwise if it is like vista it will say its on the c drive and when your in xp it will be in a different drive.
also an easy way to partition is parted magic http://partedmagic.com/ maximum pc wrote a very nice guide on how to use this. http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/how_to_repartition_your_hard_drive_for_free_without_formatting_or_losing_data
Submitted by zstadt on Sun, 01/25/2009 - 6:41am
So, what you're saying is, I should boot to Parted Magic (USB or burned CD), create a partition for Windows 7... but then run the installation within XP (installed to the partition) INSTEAD of booting to the 7 install (USB or burned DVD) and selecting "Custom" to install to the partition?
Sorry; this is all new to me! Thank you though.
Submitted by geek14 on Mon, 01/26/2009 - 7:50am
here is a step by step process on how to create a partition and then install 7. Hope this helps, its fairly straight-forward. http://lifehacker.com/5126781/how-to-dual-boot-windows-7-with-xp-or-vista
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