Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows
Home > Type > News > Welcome to the Windows 7 Beta Customer Preview Program

Welcome to the Windows 7 Beta Customer Preview Program

Jan. 9, 2009 Paul Thurrott | Paul Thurrott's Supersite for Windows

Ladies, and Gentlemen, start your browsers...

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. 

See Windows 7 for yourself

We are inviting IT professionals around the world to work with the Windows 7 Beta in their lab environments and secondary PCs to help ensure smooth adoption when the final product is available and to gather feedback from real-world settings.

How can you get involved?

1. Take a look at some of the new features and functionality in Windows 7 as part of our Springboard Series guidance on the Windows Client TechCenter on TechNet. As a partner you can also see additional resources on the Microsoft Partner Program portal.

2. Download the Beta for a hands-on trial.  For a limited time, Microsoft is making this pre-release version of Windows 7 available to the first 2.5 million people who download. Ready to take a test drive? You can get one by trying the Windows 7 Beta.

As promised, 32-bit and 64-bit versions are available for download. Have fun!

Discuss this Article 227

Delmont
on Jan 9, 2009
Ocean: GET LOST
Ocean
on Jan 9, 2009
Delmont: Got anything technology related to say?
rkpatrick
on Jan 9, 2009
@Lindy: Uninstalling a ton of legacy stuff is tops on my TODO list when I get home tonight (after a couple of beers), but the nasty part of it is that as easy as Vista is supposed to be to use, it provides no UI way (AFAIK) to forceably uninstall an application that has a bad installer (i.e. the kind that won't uninstall because it the installer won't run at all if the version isn't 5.x). It forces me to download the MSI SDK, dig through the registry to find product codes for the offending apps, and then zap the installation registration out of the OS. Frustrating because MS has almost a decade to get the install/uninstall/upgrade framework cleaned up.
Lindy
on Jan 9, 2009
I ran ME, I actually never had a problem at all. It was my gaming machine and my other PC ran 2000 which was my favorite Windows OS before Server 2008.
Waethorn
on Jan 9, 2009
@ "<0", all: You don't necessarily need to have added the WDK as a Connection on the Connect website. You can add a new Connection called "Windows Ecosystem". WDK users just got a special invite early. All other users can just add it manually to their Dashboard. Forget the product key for now. You can still the beta without it.
Dipsh t Admin
on Jan 9, 2009
tkpatrick, RevoUninstaller is your friend.
darkmax
on Jan 9, 2009
oh... now the door to the beat product key is slammed closed....
Waethorn
on Jan 9, 2009
"it provides no UI way (AFAIK) to forceably uninstall an application that has a bad installer" That would be a bad UX convention and goes against Microsoft's requirements, so one shouldn't be creating such apps in the first place. This is another reason why application validation and certification are good, and very necessary. "the kind that won't uninstall because it the installer won't run at all if the version isn't 5.x" It depends on whether or not it relies on MSI or just uses Installshield Wizard. For instance, I've been able to install Office 2000 on Vista under test environments, but it makes a big mess and doesn't uninstall properly. There are also some old Wise Installer programs that will install too. I always recommend that people get certified apps whenever possible. Usually apps that have been self-validated for Vista x64 will work fine for most users though, because it means that the vendor actually did enough work to get it to work for the nonstandard Program Files folder, as well as the updated system protection in the x64 version (when the app uses drivers, such as Slysoft's stuff). If an app is only supported by the vendor on 32-bit versions of Vista, BEWARE!
Waethorn
on Jan 9, 2009
"You can still the beta without it." meant to say "install/use" in there....
EricBPhoto
on Jan 9, 2009
One hour left. Dun dun duuuun. Yeah I know it's gonna be a total lock up with servers come online but still excited.
EricBPhoto
on Jan 9, 2009
@ Waithorn Yeah you can but you still need a copy of the beta to install. Torrents are going really really slow now too. Not that you should use the Torrents...I'm just saying.
Waethorn
on Jan 9, 2009
"Yeah you can but you still need a copy of the beta to install." Grab it from the Connect website then. I don't imagine they'll just suddenly close that download avenue because of those wanting to test the Windows 7 WDK, and Connect is open to anyone that wants to join.
RaaJ
on Jan 9, 2009
Wae: For some reason, I don't see a single mention of Win7 on the Connect website. What gives? Do you have a direct link to Win7 stuff on Connect?
JuryDuty
on Jan 9, 2009
Here are links directly to the iso files at Microsoft. But you'll still need to go through the link from Paul above to get your key: http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=1116187
AHackney
on Jan 9, 2009
I was under the impression when the beta was publicly available it would be posted in 4 different places. I only see Paul's link, I do not see it anywhere else on the site. I'm starting to get a little frustrated because I've been waiting on this all day, and months before today. Come on MS. Give your faithful a shot!
AHackney
on Jan 9, 2009
@Jury Have they already given out keys?
rlcronin
on Jan 9, 2009
Site now says "Windows 7 Beta, Coming Soon". Looks like they pulled it temporarily because of the load.
JuryDuty
on Jan 9, 2009
@AHackney -- From what I've been reading across boards, no. People have found the direct download link (which I posted above--and it's pretty fast), but it will only work for 30 days without the key. We have to go through Paul's link to get the key...and it doesn't seem anyone's been able to get one yet. EDIT: The TechNet page just changed to say "Windows 7 Beta coming soon!" So I'd say it's still to be released.
johnbaxter
on Jan 9, 2009
AHackney, I think the reason you are under the impression that the public availability will not be at Paul's link is related to the plain statement in the Windows 7 blog post 2 days ago that the download will be available from http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows7/ Of course, it's after the appointed time and the page doesn't have a link to the 7 download. That could be for a variety of reasons, such as Akamai not being ready.
pjc007
on Jan 9, 2009
And now the link at the bottom of that page after selecting 32-bit English is going straight to a 404 error. Could Microsoft possibly have underestimated the demand?
reddragon72
on Jan 9, 2009
the load is so bad that windows update is now offline! hahahahaha just tried several computers running win7 and none can connect to get updates.....
Waethorn
on Jan 9, 2009
@Raaj, all: "For some reason, I don't see a single mention of Win7 on the Connect website. What gives?" Look for "Windows Ecosystem" - that's Windows 7.
Waethorn
on Jan 9, 2009
@all: My downloads are now done. I have the x86 and x64 versions of Windows 7 Ultimate beta. 5.8GB in total at ~320KB/sec. Jealous?
kadarzsolt
on Jan 9, 2009
Could Microsoft possibly have underestimated the demand? NO. they just have a communication problem. they should have said the exact time when the beta will be out on the win7 site to avoid people (including myself) flooding the technet site bringing it down. also, stating the download limit was a bad idea. they should have said 15 or 30 days, that way the load would spread out, not cash servers.
Ocean
on Jan 9, 2009
You need the MS site for the key. JuryDuty's site says: x86 version hxxp://download.microsoft.com/download/6/3/3/633118BD-6C3D-45A4-B985-F0FDFFE1B021/EN/7000.0.081212-1400_client_en-us_Ultimate-GB1CULFRE_EN_DVD.iso x64 version hxxp://download.microsoft.com/download/6/3/3/633118BD-6C3D-45A4-B985-F0FDFFE1B021/EN/7000.0.081212-1400_client_en-us_Ultimate-GB1CULXFRE_EN_DVD.ISO
kenny~s
on Jan 9, 2009
Well, I'm really looking forward to running the Win 7 beta but I just wasted 2 hours trying to download it, just to have them pull it, so I'm going to pretend that I actually have a life and give this a rest until MS gets their act together. I figure that I'll be running 7 for quite a while so maybe waiting a few more hours/days isn't such a big deal ;-). Maybe even do some paying work =:-0
kadarzsolt
on Jan 9, 2009
@Waethorn Jealous? NO. I installed it 10 days ago, just waiting for a key.
mikegalos@msn.com
on Jan 9, 2009
To save on server load, could all the anti-Microsoft people skip the download and just jump ahead to where you tell us all how awful Windows 7 is without looking at it? Thank you
rkpatrick
on Jan 9, 2009
@Waethorn: "That would be a bad UX convention and goes against Microsoft's requirements, so one shouldn't be creating such apps in the first place." MS IntelliPoint does that, believe it or not.
brostbeef
on Jan 9, 2009
The site just says: Windows® 7 Beta coming soon! It seems they ran out of the 3 million spots. I never got past the sign-on page, which ticks me off. They better open up a few more spots
Ocean
on Jan 9, 2009
>>could all the anti-Microsoft people skip the download and just jump ahead to where you tell us all how awful Windows 7 is without looking at it?<< Stereotype much?
darkmax
on Jan 9, 2009
I found the x32 version slightly faster than the x64 one. Has anyone noticed, or is that just me? I got them installed one after another in the same partition.
EricBPhoto
on Jan 9, 2009
@ Mike Now that was funny. Needed that after sitting here all day. Good point tho.
JuryDuty
on Jan 9, 2009
On WindowsTeamBlog.com: Due to very heavy traffic we’re seeing as a result of interest in the Windows 7 Beta, we are adding some additional infrastructure support to the Microsoft.com properties before we post the public beta. We want to ensure customers have the best possible experience when downloading the beta, and I’ll be posting here again soon once the beta goes live. Stay tuned! We are excited that you are excited!
m04arch
on Jan 9, 2009
@ ocean: cruel, cruel, cruel... (only b/c i'm jealous)
kalewallace
on Jan 9, 2009
I'm about to absolutely have an aneurism if Microsoft can't get their act together... I was completely worthless at work today waiting for this.... The worthlessness continues...
LloydSparkes
on Jan 9, 2009
i've found that the 64bit Windows 7 can get upto 1gb of kernel memory, esp when installing office, VS, well anything msi based, but the 32bit version doesnt
brostbeef
on Jan 9, 2009
Update: Seems I'm wrong. They are updating infrastructure before opening the flood gates. http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/windows7/archive/2009/01/09/update-on-w... or shorter: http://tinyurl.com/7f74tz They will update the blog when they open it up again.
RaaJ
on Jan 9, 2009
FWIW, the links Ocean provided are downloading directly from MSFT's servers without having to go to the signup page. Hopefully we can get a key once the servers recover, and be able to use that key. I am putting an x86 build on a Dell Inspiron 8600 with 2GB RAM and 1.8GHz Pentium M; and x64 on a Lenovo Thinkpad T60 with C2D T5600 and 4GB RAM, as well as a Sony VAIO VGN-FW290 with a C2D T8600 and 4GB RAM. I hope Ed Bott is right in his article that the EULA for the Beta says the product could be installed on 'any number of computers' - implying that one key would let me install the same copy of Beat on all my laptops. Can anybody with the Beta already confirm if this is indeed the case?
darkmax
on Jan 9, 2009
@LloydSparkes I haven't even installed any other softwares, just the drivers and such. And Windows Live Messenger. But it seems the x64 is quite a bit more clumbersome.
mikegalos@msn.com
on Jan 9, 2009
Ocean I said "Thank you"
kalewallace
on Jan 9, 2009
GOT IT!!!! Downloading via direct link.... Kept refreshing this: https://www.microsoft.com/betaexperience/productkeys/win7-64/enus/defaul...
brostbeef
on Jan 9, 2009
@kalewallace: When I click your link it just redirects me to the official windows-7 page.
darkmax
on Jan 9, 2009
yup... been refreshing that site since 12 hours ago.....
LloydSparkes
on Jan 9, 2009
@darkmax which is werid, i found the x64 of Vista to be better, and a fair bit faster, im sure they will fix it before release. I'm using it on my main machine, as i have found Windows 7 to be remarkably stable, atm i have VS 2008 Sp1 going in i still need a beta key!!!!
JuryDuty
on Jan 9, 2009
kalewallace: when you say "got it!" do you mean you got the download or the key? From what I can tell, getting the download is not a problem. We're having trouble getting keys.
kalewallace
on Jan 9, 2009
@brostbeef I know. It's a copy-and-paste job. I just kept on (while signed into my Live account) trying and 1.5 hrs later, it finally gave me a really simple looking page that says: "Windows 7 Beta 64-bit Product Key You may use the following product key to activate your evaluation copy of Windows 7 Beta 64-bit." + Key + Download Link + Installation Instructions
kalewallace
on Jan 9, 2009
Also says: "Please print this page for your records. Downloading the Windows 7 Beta could take a few hours. The exact time will depend on your provider, bandwidth and traffic. The good news is that once you start the download, you won’t have to answer any more questions – you can walk away while it finishes. If it gets interrupted, it’ll restart where it left off. See this FAQ for details. NOTICE ABOUT THE H.264/AVC VISUAL STANDARD. This software includes H.264/MPEG-4 AVC visual compression technology. MPEG LA, L.L.C. requires this notice: THIS PRODUCT IS LICENSED UNDER THE AVC PATENT PORTFOLIO LICENSE FOR THE PERSONAL AND NON-COMMERCIAL USE OF A CONSUMER TO (i) ENCODE VIDEO IN COMPLIANCE WITH AVC STANDARD (“AVC VIDEO”) AND/OR (ii) DECODE AVC VIDEO THAT WAS ENCODED BY A CONSUMER ENGAGED IN A PERSONAL AND NON-COMMERICAL ACTIVITY AND/OR WAS OBTAINED FROM A VIDEO PROVIDER LICENSED TO PROVIDE AVC VIDEO. NO LICENSE IS GRANTED OR SHALL BE IMPLIED FOR ANY OTHER USE. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM MPEG LA, L.L.C SEE HTTP://WWW.MPEGLA.COM"
reddragon72
on Jan 9, 2009
looks like the technet eval is over cause on the link listed by Paul to the windows 7 beta site on tech net now not only says windows 7 beta coming soon but the "windows 7 beta" part is now a link that takes you to the windows 7 official site.
kalewallace
on Jan 9, 2009
@JuryDuty I've got the key and the page also includes a Download link. That link doesn't work, but it might because I'm on my Mac right now and it might be an ActiveX thing because it talks of being able to resume. I'm downloading directly from the Neowin link (and have been for a few hours). http://www.neowin.net/news/main/09/01/09/windows-7-public-beta-released-...

Please or Register to post comments.

Related Articles

IT/Dev Connections

Las Vegas
September 30th - October 4th

Paul ThurottYou'll have the opportunity to experience:
• 120 Technical
Sessions
• Networking with Peers
• Expert Speakers


Come See Paul Thurrott & Mary Jo Foley in Person!

Register Now

Office 365 InfoCenter

Get the latest insight and info from Paul

Read Now!

What I Use
Apr. 18, 2013
Article

What I Use: On the Road 21

Every so often, I publish an updated version of my “What I Use” document, which details the technology products and services I actually use day-to-day. Since I’m currently on my third business trip in five weeks, this is perhaps an ideal time to discuss the technology products I rely on when I travel and a few related points....More
Mar. 6, 2013
Article

What I Use: March 2013 35

Lots of changes since November, including a new PC-based home server running Windows 8, several new smart phones, new PCs and tablets, new cloud backup, Office 365 Home Premium and a nice doubling of my Internet speeds courtesy of Verizon FIOS....More
WinSuperSite.com
Related Penton Sites
Copyright © 2013 Penton Media, Inc