Windows 7 now 'available to all'

2cvbloke

The latest Windows release will be available to everyone after a surge in demand crashed the Microsoft website on 9 January, the original release date.


In response, the company has lifted a planned limit on the number of copies of the Windows 7 Beta available for download.
Microsoft delayed the launch by one day to add "more infrastructure and servers" to cope with demand.


The unlimited download will last for two weeks, according to Microsoft.
Microsoft had initially planned to restrict downloads of the software to 2.5m copies, but now says that unlimited copies will be available until 24 January.


After that, the limit will be reinstated, though it looks likely to be surpassed by then.


Laurence Painell, product manager at Microsoft, said that it had removed the download limit so that Windows 7 would be available to "a much wider audience".


Shocking demand
"We would expect a beta to only be of interest to tech-enthused and those that have a vested business interest, to look at an operating system for testing purposes," Mr Painell explained.


"We didn't quite anticipate the demand that we saw."
Windows devotees flooded the Windows 7 blog with comments while waiting with bated breath for the delayed download.


A commenter on the blog called Adinelus posted from Romania on 9 January: "Thank God it's Saturday tomorrow, otherwise I would have missed this.


"Hope you guys have some spare servers…because millions wait for you!"
Mr Painell stressed that consumers should be aware that they are getting a preliminary version of Windows 7 which is meant for testing.


As a result, the software is likely to have problems that haven't been ironed out, and Microsoft does not provide technical support for it.


"It's not ideal for every consumer to install and use it on a daily basis," he explained.


Microsoft encouraged people with MSDN (Microsoft Developer Network) or TechNet accounts to download the software through their subscriptions, to avoid the congestion on its public sites.




Story from BBC NEWS:

_http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/technology/7825111.stm



Having tried this myself, I successfully downloaded "7" and installed it on my Portege M300, it went on with no problems until I got into Windows, when I found out that there are no compatible drivers for the Intel 82855 Graphics chipset, so I haven't tried it out to it's full potential. It comes with Windows Media Centre built in, has very few default applications (the usual games etc), and for those not used to Vista, it's blummin' confusing trying to find your way round!!!

It has few themes to play with, probably has the Aero thingy, but I couldn't test that as I had no drivers and probably didn't have enough video memory anyway. Speaking of memory, these are the recommended requirements:

• 1 GHz 32-bit or 64-bit processor
• 1 GB of system memory
• 16 GB of available disk space
• Support for DirectX 9 graphics with 128 MB memory (to enable the Aero theme)
• DVD-R/W Drive
• Internet access (to download the Beta and get updates)

Also, you need a pretty recent system to use Vista and some XP drivers, otherwise it's a no-go...

One thing I liked was the default wallpaper, which features a lovely blue and red Siamese Fighter Fish, very similar looking to my own little SFF, so I have nabbed that wallpaper for use in XP...

So, if you want to try it, download the DVD-ISO for yourself while you can here:

_http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/beta-download.aspx

Analoguesat

Bloody hell - 16 GB of available disk space

Just how much crap have they got in their operating systems these days???

Analoguesat's message to the world Analogue forever!

2cvbloke

Yep, I gave it a 20gb partition, but forgot to check to see how much it used, but 16GB from a 2.44GB DVD, they must have used one hell of a super compression algorithm!!!

irart

Vista didn't last long, due to lack of popularity, most people still use XP. In fact many have ditched Vista and gone back to XP. If Windows 7 is similar, I can't see a great clamour for that either. 16 gb - unbelievable!

PaulR

It's all old news. This is the real Windows 7.

Attached Thumbnails

 

PaulR As I get older I find myself thinking about the hereafter - I go into a room and then wonder what I'm here after.

pontiend

16 GB.
Thank god I will not be able to get it on to my eeepc.
In fact it will not go on anything else of mine.

acezon

hey,
Im running windows 7 and even though its the beta its running much faster and smoother on my HP Mininote, which is only a little 1.2ghz machine,
Just checked and the windows folder is 3.67GB and the program files folder is only 800MB so no where near the 16GB the're claming you need.

irart

I expect the extra room will be needed for all the service packs, updates, and improvements Microsoft will find necessary for the thing to work properly.

compufunk

........also memory swap space takes up uite a bit of room. There is a hidden folder in the system directory (C:\) that takes up quite a bit of space too.

From the screenshots I've seen, it looks very much like vista.

rolfw

Just downloaded it, was thinking of rebuilding my old P3, so may as well put this on it.

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irart

Let us know how you get on rolfw, and what you think.

rolfw

Will do, I'd put it on my P3, but it is only 600Mhz and 750MB of RAM, so may not be for a week or so yet when I build the new one. Worth downloading it now even if you are not immediately thinking about it.

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2cvbloke

Given that it refused to work with my Portege M300's graphics chip, I think your old P3 system may not have any drivers for it at all, so, good luck!!!

rolfw

Not going to even try it with the P3, that's destined for the recycle bin. Will probably use an all in one main board, as I only want to use it as a second PC for internet access.

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aileen

Reading the above makes me so pleased I switched to Apple three years ago.
Never a single problem since. Unix based of course.

pontiend

Don't bin the p3.Stick a linux distro on it.It will be good enough for the net.
Ubuntu is a good one.

pgh13

Take note the MS website says that the Beta version will only work until August then you'll have to buy or reinstall your old OS

pgh13

My Install went smoothly but Windows folder is 7GB. I was impressed when I told it to autodetect drivers for Twinhan DTV card and it came back with what look like BDA drivers but Media Centre still says no tuner detected

compufunk

I've been using it since Friday and I have to say I like it. I upgraded from vista. Everything that worked before the upgrade is still working now, so thats a bonus. I was surprised to find that the fingerprint scanner on the dell still worked. I was sure that it wouldn't.

I remember upgrading from win 98 to 2000 + XP caused problems with a lot of apps and drivers.

Its very similar to Vista, but with some nice tweaks to the user interface and a slightly different concept on how personal files are stored.

The search function on the start bar is also slightly improved.

They should not have called it windows 7, but Vista Final Release because, overall its just Vista the way it should have been released. There is nothing there that would make me want to pay for an upgrade.

Dont know how much has changed under the bonnet apart from the touchscreen technology they are touting. Personally I wouldnt want peoples grubby fingers all over the screen.(or my own for that matter)

I've read reports that its faster, but I cant tell the difference. Its definitely more stable though.

mhku

To keep it simple, Microsoft will be producing 5 versions of Windows 7:

Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Business and Ultimate.

hmm....

src: tomshardware.com/news/windows-7-basic-business-ultimate,6910.html

2cvbloke

Whatever happened to the Home, business and Sevrer versions?

Like Windows98, Windows NT4 Workstation, Windows NT4 Server?

Now if you want fancy frills you have to pay twice as much as just the base operating system, no wonder Linux is a better option, being free aswell as everything they add onto it which can produce an identical environment to what Microsoft charge ridiculous money for...

mhku

MS intend the next release to be the finished product- no more Release Candidates:

blogs.msdn.com/e7/archive/2009/01/30/our-next-engineering-milestone.aspx

How much code is new and how much is Vista with such a quick development cycle?

compufunk

I dont know, but really seems just like Vista revamped.