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Microsoft wrote: Welcome to the Windows 7 Beta Customer Preview Program

Published: January 2009

* Learn about Windows 7 Beta
* Test Windows 7 Beta in your lab environment
* Stay informed on updates and resources


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. We think you’ll have the best experience if:

* You are willing to participate as an active beta tester and provide feedback to help us complete Windows 7.
* You have an extra computer available to dedicate to testing beta software.
* You can back up your PC, install and reinstall Windows, and reconfigure your home network connection.
* You’re comfortable troubleshooting your own PC problems. There’s no technical support available for the Beta.
* You understand how to burn an ISO file to a DVD using your computer’s DVD burner.
* You have a system recovery disc and know how to use it.
* You enjoy participating in an interactive community of beta testers, sharing experiences and feedback in real-time.


Microsoft isn’t providing technical support for the Beta and isn’t responsible for business-related downtime. Don’t install the Beta on your primary home or work computer. When the Beta expires on August 1, 2009, you’ll need to reinstall a released version of Windows to keep using your computer. (See Installation Instructions.)

These are the Microsoft minimum hardware recommendations for systems that will be running the Windows 7 Beta. These recommendations are specific to the beta release and are subject to change:

* Processor: 1 GHz 32-bit or 64-bit processor
* Memory: 1 GB of system memory
* Hard drive: 16 GB of available disk space
* Video card: Support for DirectX 9 graphics with 128MB memory (in order to enable Aero theme)
* Drive: DVD-R/W drive
* Internet connection (to download the Beta and get updates)

Note: Some product features of Windows 7, such as the ability to watch and record live TV or navigation through the use of “touch”, may require advanced or additional hardware.

To learn more, see Windows 7 Beta: Frequently Asked Questions.

Thank you for participating in this beta program and helping us build the best operating system for you and your end users.



Select the Windows 7 Beta version you want to download
Ready to get started? Choose between the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the download, based on the version of Windows you are currently running and your machine’s hardware configuration. Each version is available in five languages: Arabic*, English, German, Hindi*+(32-bit only), Japanese
*When downloading in these languages please note that you will receive future communications in English.
+This language only available in 32-bit version.

* Memory: 1 GB of system memory
* Hard drive: 16 GB of available disk space
* Video card: Support for DirectX 9 graphics with 128MB memory (in order to enable Aero theme)

General Zod wrote:Only 2.5 million? Shit. I'll be lucky if there's downloads available once I get home. Looks like I have a use for my spare laptop if I can actually get a copy.

Destructionator XIII wrote: For each beta downloaded, Microsoft has to pay for ~5 GB of data transfer from their server and the other associated server loads from that traffic. This is a relatively small cost, but still a cost, and thus something they'd ideally want to avoid if they can.

General Zod wrote:This is where something like bittorrent would be incredibly handy to implement and reduce costs. But I suppose Microsoft doesn't want to use evil file sharing technology.

Thanks for your interest in the Windows 7 Beta. The volume has been phenomenal -- we’re in the process of adding more servers to handle the demand. We’re sorry for the delay and we’ll re-post the Beta as soon as we can ensure a quality download experience.

Beowulf wrote:Doesn't require much luck to get the key.

DesertFly wrote:

Beowulf wrote:Doesn't require much luck to get the key.

Not anymore it doesn't. I finally managed to get the files and key (three, in fact accidentally) and install it.

It's been working well so far, although having to install all my programs over again is a pain.

phongn wrote:Go go VMware.

Destructionator XIII wrote:Gah, I got the iso, burned it, then set off to install it over the Linux install on my brokenscreen laptop.

It starts up and lets me nuke the Linux partition. It looks like the install is proceeding, so I delete the iso from my other computer's hard drive. (Which is really tight on space.)

And then the install fails saying required files are missing. I clean the dvd and try again to see the same thing.

The internet tells me that reburning it at a lower speed might help. But that means downloading it again and using another one of my dvds. So annoying.

Looks like it worked though; I burned the image to a RW at 2x without problem. I suggest you guys try burning at low speed on your first try to avoid this.

The new taskbar sucks. It looks like something from KDE 4. What the hell were they thinking? I can't figure out how to change it away from suck either. Turning off groupings and turning on labels makes it close to Vista.

Then it looks ok. I can't find Windows Classic, but Aero is cool, so I don't need it.

BBC wrote: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.

Braedley wrote:I have to agree with phongn. I love how it's much more compact, and mousing over gives nice previews of the windows.

Ryushikaze wrote:Well, after taking a moment to cock about with the UI, it's a lot easier to get the system to look how you like it than in Vista, though I still cannot seem to make the navigation buttons and path pane to vanish from my windows, which is kind of irritating.

Thus far, the only thing I've had issue with is that Google Chrome simply does not work, and that quite a lot of my installation files (on the computer from the last OS) wouldn't work until I copied and pasted them.

Resinence wrote:

Ryushikaze wrote:Well, after taking a moment to cock about with the UI, it's a lot easier to get the system to look how you like it than in Vista, though I still cannot seem to make the navigation buttons and path pane to vanish from my windows, which is kind of irritating.

Thus far, the only thing I've had issue with is that Google Chrome simply does not work, and that quite a lot of my installation files (on the computer from the last OS) wouldn't work until I copied and pasted them.

Actually you can get Chrome working, Link

I like Win7's UI. It uses more vertical space sure but vertical screenspace isn't a problem in the first place, in older window's versions the tabs became unreadable due to being squished so much.