Source for Windows 7 RC??

Mitch Drumm · From: Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake

I have never been an early adopter, but I am fed up enough with Vista that I am seriously considering trying Windows 7, even though it won't be released for another 4 months.

Fumbling around at Microsoft, the only source I see for RC 7 is through a subscription to Technet, which costs about $250 up front.

If that's my only choice, I would probably grit my teeth and hold out until October.

Are there any legit free sources? I thought they would give the thing away since it explodes in March 2010 anyway.

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

Here is a link that I think will allow you to download Windows 7.

Click Me

Keep in mind that Windows 7 is basically Vista without the User Access Control (UAC)nags.

I have the 64 bit installed on a separate partition on my Vista 64 bit hard drive. To be truthful I'm not really using it as Vista is working great for me.

Dickie Whitley · Posted 23 Jun 2009 2:17 pm **Win 7 RC....**

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/download.aspx?icid=editorschoice_windows_7_release_candidate

Mitch Drumm · From: Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake

Jack:

Thanks for the response.

I had been at that location an hour or so ago.

Navigating from there to the actual download page, where you are asked to log in with a "Windows Live ID", which I of course don't have. I assume you can't get such an ID without coughing up 250?

Did you pay 250?

I may have more questions, but at this point I can't find a simple download page that doesn't ask for membership in something or other--such as Windows Live, whatever that is.

Mitch Drumm · From: Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake

To clarify, when I scroll to the bottom of Jack's link and choose 32 bit English, I arrive here:

http://tinyurl.com/m6pm8j

where the only apparent option is to log in, which I can't do as I am not a member of Windows Live.

Oddly, I can't scroll down in this new window. the last line I can see says:

shutdowns start. To avoid interruption, you’ll need to install a non-

Whatever there might be below that line is unknown to me; I can't scroll down.

Jon Light (deceased) · From: Saugerties, NY

I subscribed to Windows Live a while ago and it was free. I think (could be wrong) that it might be the a successor to their Passport registration.
I can't even remember why I subscribed---I think there was a discount being offered to some select ebay items or something. I never followed up and actually used the Windows Live.

Here is the rest of that paragraph

Mitch Drumm · From: Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake

Jack:

Thanks for the response.

I had been at that location an hour or so ago.

Navigating from there to the actual download page, where you are asked to log in with a "Windows Live ID", which I of course don't have. I assume you can't get such an ID without coughing up 250?

Did you pay 250?

I may have more questions, but at this point I can't find a simple download page that doesn't ask for membership in something or other--such as Windows Live, whatever that is.

Jon Light (deceased) · From: Saugerties, NY

http://windowslive.com/Get

https://signup.live.com/signup.aspx?id=258507&fl=wld2&rollrs=12&lic=1

Mitch Drumm · From: Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake

Jon:

Thanks for those 2 links.

I am suffering from a lack of nerve.

Not sure I want to get myself even further ensnared with MS than I already am--and I assume that is what "Windows Live" amounts to, in some form or another.

It's not for nothing that there isn't a simple "click here" to get a download going, like hundreds of other outfits use--MS itself doesn't seem to require "Windows Live" for many downloads.

Secondly: I have discovered that even if I jump through the required hoops and install Windows 7 RC, I would have to completely reinstall all of my apps whenever I choose to purchase the released retail version that will be available in October--you can't just install the retail version on top of the RC and leave apps intact.

So, it's a matter of weighing my aggravation with Vista versus the time and annoyance of doing 2 system rebuilds in the next 6 or 8 months instead of just one.

I'll continue to ponder this. What I read about Windows 7 tells me that it is more responsive, but I have issues with Vista that extend beyond responsiveness.

Jon Light (deceased) · From: Saugerties, NY

A) I don't blame you one bit for being reluctant to register your soul with MS. I used an anonymized (there's a messed up word) email address to try to put up a layer of distance.

B) I am far too faint of heart to screw around with my OS as you are considering.

Wiz Feinberg · From: Mid-Michigan, USA

Mitch;
Anybody who uses MSN Hotmail, or MSN Messenger, or Windows Live Mail already has a Windows Live ID. I use one of my (free) Hotmail logins to get stuff like Windows 7 beta and RC. I also login to Hotmail when I open Windows Live Mail, the successor to Outlook Express (deprecated).

Now, as to whether you should download W7 RC, here are some things you need to know and consider.

Windows 7 is still in Beta testing, even though the current build is named RC. Beta software is not guaranteed to be stable or compatible with your existing programs.
Windows 7 is going to go through some more changes before being Released To Manufacture (RTM).
You cannot upgrade Windows XP with Windows 7 RC. It must be installed into a separate (computer|hard drive|partition) and booted separately from your other OSes.
Windows 7 RC carries its own license that is not usable in the final product.
Windows 7 RC will expire in 2010. One month before the expiration date the PC will begin shutting down, every hour, on the hour (i think I read that right). You can restart it, but it will shut down again an hour later (?).
Because this is not an upgrade you must reinstall all applications, and recreate all settings and preferences. You can export your setting to a file and import them later.
Some applications are only licensed for a single installation and you may need to pay for additional licenses to install them into W7.
Windows 7 will experience interference and cause interference with Windows XP file permissions. I get a lot of access denied errors trying to access XP documents and settings files. Overriding these errors in W7 causes XP to lose permission to access those same files.
Windows 7 may not have native drivers for some of your hardware devices and none may be available yet from the manufacturers' websites (as W7 is still in beta stages).

If you still want to try Windows 7 RC despite these limitations and hassles, get a free Hotmail account and login to Windows Live with it and download W7 RC. Install it onto a separate drive, or create a new partition on the existing C drive and install it there. Do not allow it to overwrite your existing Windows installation or you will lose everything you currently have setup. All desired hardware and applications must be reinstalled into Windows 7. Some may be incompatible unless you install them in XP Compatibility Mode.

I am not certain that Windows XP users will receive an upgrade path to Windows 7. It looks like we are going to have to buy the full version and reinstall everything from scratch. However, we can export our files and settings, then import them from Windows 7.
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John Cipriano · From: San Francisco

I think Windows Live is still basically Hotmail. It used to be just email but now they have other services like blogs and photo galleries. If they're asking for an address, phone, etc, just don't give it or falsify it.

You can always try BugMeNot too:
http://www.bugmenot.com/view/live.com

I suspect they just required Windows Live for the Win7 download because they predict that "early adopters" are the type of people they want for Windows Live...it's still a developing product.

Edit: Wiz beat me to it. Yeah Windows Live isn't a big deal. But installing 7 might be a big deal, especially if they don't have drivers for all of your hardware.

If you're just curious to try it out you can do what I did and grab a VMware image here:
http://www.vmware.com/appliances/directory/61622

A few caveats:
- This is the beta, which may have expired, but you should be able to boot it and have some fun with it.
- You will need VMware Player, which is free.
- It looks like it's a torrent, so to download it you'll need a program like uTorrent. http://utorrent.com/

That may sound intimidating but installing VMware and especially uTorrent is extremely straightforward, and bringing up Windows 7 in VMware requires no partitioning of your hard drive, no messing with bootloaders, and no nuking your current system.

Mitch Drumm · From: Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake

Wiz:

Thanks for the sordid details.

I think I have to gut it out until the retail version.

I have only 1 PC (Vista) and I do not have a separate partition for W7. I would have to give up Vista completely and take a chance that W7 is less frustrating than Vista.

The upside would be speculation of faster boot times, faster response generally, and getting rid of some Vista quirks that are not amusing.

The downside is all the stuff you list.

If I knew for a fact that my Vista issues would go away with W7, it would be somewhere near a 50/50 proposition that I would go with RC 7. But I know nothing for a fact. I see anecdotal evidence of increased responsiveness, but not much else. I just read most of a 42 page thread on W7 RC and few of my concerns were even mentioned--the talk was about eye candy and minor features.

And I have no evidence one way or another that such crucial stuff as AVG, Spybot, online banking and bill pay would work as they do now.

The W7 RC FAQ says it will shut down every two hours beginning 3-1-10.

Have you found a site that purports to list what apps do and don't work with W7 so far?

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

I downloaded Win7 RC1 when it was first released and I don't recall having any "registration" issues and didn't have to pay any $$.

All my programs that I have in Vista 64 bit work in Windows 7 64 bit(that I've installed so far).

Win 7 starts up a little faster than Vista but I don't have everything in startup that I do in Vista. If I had the same items in startup it would be a toss up between Vista 64 bit and Win 7 64 bit.

There are some devices that I have that have Win 7 drivers but the Vista drivers work in Win 7. I have a stock home built system that uses all standard components, not proprietary like some PC vendors use and that may account for everything being compatible. I've seen a lot of posts with device driver problems, especially laptops, on the Dell users forum.

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