Windows 7 Release candidate (RC)

Windows 7 is the next release of the Windows client operating system, built on the secure foundation of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. Performance, reliability, security, and compatibility are core tenets of this release as we collect your feedback to meet our engineering goals of making Windows 7 the best-performing and most stable Windows operating system to date. New innovations in the product are designed to augment your ability as an IT professional to better provision and manage increasingly mobile PCs, protect data, and improve both end-user and personal productivity.

:view: Release notes

:download: Windows 7 RC (Scroll down page. Select language and version)

:view: Windows 7 homepage

Copy these links into your address bar for direct download.

32-bit | 64-bit

Just got my MSDN's so gonna install it tomorrow. Stay Tuned.

I down loaded both the 32 and 64 bit versions yesterday. Installed the update on my Dell Insprion 530s 64 bit which has 4 gig ram and a dual 2.2 Intel CPU and was running Vista. Everything went very will on the upgrade. Never lost a file. Of course this morning it is doing 5 updates..:rolleyes:

OKay. my first impression is this is what vista should've been. first thing I did was transfer an 500+ meg ISO over my network. took about 2mins... so that was my first joy. then just poking around I like how they kept the eye candy of vista but made it easy to access what you need without having to click 10 pages deep into control panel just to get to the network connections. So far I'm pretty impressed.

I've been running it for a few months now, making my way up to the release candidate. So far so good. I've really noticed snappy performance on my SSD-drive laptop. I still get unresponsive-apps when I use the Windows 2008 admin tools for enterprise type administration.

Is there a time frame that this runs before timing out? Does it require any key code? Reluctant I am due to issues I have had with vista which forced me to reformat....imagine that...lmao...leary to install this one only to go down the same path....xp works great imho..;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by PIPER

Is there a time frame that this runs before timing out? Does it require any key code?

---

From the release notes. (link is in my first post ;) )

Quote:

---

You don't need to rush to get the RC. The RC will be available at least through July 2009 and we're not limiting the number of product keys, so you have plenty of time.

Watch the calendar. The RC will expire on June 1, 2010. Starting on March 1, 2010, your PC will begin shutting down every two hours. Windows will notify you two weeks before the bi-hourly shutdowns start. To avoid interruption, you’ll need to install a non-expired version of Windows before March 1, 2010. You’ll also need to install the programs and data that you want to use.

---

:p........:o.....Thanks Boss

You're welcome!

there is a load of good stuff in the exploreer and taskbar interface changes, it's not just pretty - its functional too!
:)

I installed Windows 7 yesterday, and I have to say I am impressed.
It took me a bit to like Vista, but now I love it. It has it cons of course, but XP had them too.
Some games still don't run fin on Vista, but run great on XP.
As for 7, I like it better than Vista. I like the task bar, and the OSX style. Yes, I said it!! Everyone was thinking about it :p
It is a heavy monster. I installed in a Optiplex 330, with a E4400 Intel 2Ghz with an Intel G31 video processor. I got a base Score of 2.8 (because of graphics), but I was surprised that the disk performance is 5.4, while at home is 5.5 (and I have raptors).
My network audit software detects it as Windows 7, and it was not able to read the screen saver patch, and the Auto Update options, meaning they changed some settings (the network scanning is thru Newt Pro).
I installed McAfee Enterprise VSE 8.5 patch 8, and it detects it as Vista with OS version 6.1, but OS build 7100. The installation failed the first time.
I have the PC joined to the domain, since that is what I wanted to test the most.
I installed Office 2007, and it installed fine.
Granted I had to re-configure the firewall to scan the PC remotely and to install the antivirus since I deploy from the server. and I love the firewall. The rule base reminds me of checkpoint. It seems complicated, but really it is easier. After inspecting the rules for 30 minutes, I enabled what I needed in 2 secs. There already were rules for what I needed (respond to ping in domain, and allow file sharing in domain).
One note, is that the security policy did not sync by itselft. I had to run gpupdate /force from the cmd to update the policy.
Bit defender took 15 minutes to scan the system (with only office installed) and the AV took 1:45 to scan the whole system.
VSE 8.5 SP8 does not report to Windows 7 in the new format so there is an item in the action center.
One detail is that the defragmenter is not eanymore in the Computer Management (just like in Vista) and they should have put it back.
The point that I like the most is the installation.
It was very similar to Windows 2008. I don't remember Vista since I did it long ago, but I believe 7 took about 30 minutes to give me the desktop after install, and this is in not a speedy hardware.
Once is out I am planning to go to 7 on my PC at home. I currently have Vista Ultimate but 1 year license from the Vista Launch. with luck, I will make it at about the same time :p