The Windows 7 Beta Kicks Off This Week

[z3r010]

I would like to take a moment and share some exciting Windows news being announced tonight by Steve Ballmer during his keynote address in Las Vegas – kicking off the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show.

In October, we revealed the next version of our Windows operating system – Windows 7 - to software developers at PDC2008. And at WinHEC 2008 in early November, we showed Windows 7 to hardware developers. This week at CES marks the first unveiling of Windows 7 to the broad public. Windows 7 is designed with improved navigation and a streamlined UI (including the new enhanced Windows Taskbar) that puts commonly used resources within easy reach. People using Windows 7 will find everyday tasks on their PC are easier and faster. That includes sharing data to all your PCs and devices whether you’re at home or in the office. Windows 7 also builds on the substantial investments we’ve made in the fundamentals in Windows Vista to improve security, reliability and performance.

Tonight we are specifically announcing that Windows 7 has reached a very important milestone in its development cycle: the beta milestone. And starting this week, the Windows 7 Beta will be made available to Windows enthusiasts interested in beta testing – giving people a chance to check out Windows 7 for themselves.

As of tonight, MSDN and TechNet Subscribers will have access to the Windows 7 Beta. Starting January 9th – everyone else will be able to go to the Windows 7 page on Windows.com and download the Windows 7 Beta. The Windows 7 Beta will be available in 32-bit and 64-bit flavors. The Windows 7 Beta will be download-only – we will not be sending physical media out.

More details about downloading and installing the Windows 7 Beta are coming but for now you should check all the resources here – including screenshots, an interactive guide and the press release: www.microsoft.com/CES.

We are very excited for enthusiasts to get their hands on Windows 7 - we can’t wait for people to starting using Windows 7 and letting us know what they think!

And in completing the Windows experience with Windows Live – we are announcing tonight the final release of Windows Live Essentials – which will be available for download at download.live.com. We are also announcing two key partnerships tonight for Windows Live: Facebook and Dell. In the next few months, Facebook users will be able to share activities and updates from Facebook with their Windows Live network. And Dell will be pre-installing Windows Live Essentials on their consumer and small business PCs. Brian Hall, General Manager for Windows Live, has all the details over on the Windows Live Team Blog.

The Live Search Team is also announcing a partnership with Dell where they will distribute Live Search on a majority of consumer and small business PCs beginning in February. Click here for more from the Live Search Team.

In the meantime, if you want to see Windows 7 in action – check out these videos on Windows.com!

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More...

 

[z3r010]

It's on Technet Now

Just got my key and activated 7000 x64

 

[octomobiki]

technet is different than microsoft connect?

I'm unable to find where to get a key.

 

[z3r010]

 

[z3r010]

technet is different than microsoft connect?

I'm unable to find where to get a key.

Yes it's different, you need a paid technet or msdn subscription to get a key & download before friday.

 

[octomobiki]

Yes it's different, you need a paid technet or msdn subscription to get a key & download before friday.

ah gotcha - thanks for the quick response.

 

[mansrm81]

It's on Technet Now

Just got my key and activated 7000 x64

Congrats John

 

[DiamondNRG]

I knew there was a reason not to crack it! Good job Microsoft! Too bad CES was NOT ENTERTAINING so far, almost everything they showed was old news and they didn't give Windows 7 enough time.

 

[XxKOLOHExX]

dang i cant wait arrrggg lol well i guess i have to.

 

[Adamd]

I knew there was a reason not to crack it! Good job Microsoft! Too bad CES was NOT ENTERTAINING so far, almost everything they showed was old news and they didn't give Windows 7 enough time.

Maybe they did not bother because everyone who is interested is going to be getting the beta and trying it out for them self lol

 

[rickh925]

I am downloading the beta as I type, but when I try to "get keys" I get a message that just says an error has occurred show below in plain ASCII format(cut/paste). Has anyone seen this? I wonder if the server is overloaded?

Rick
-------------------
error An Error Has Occurred

There was an error error while trying to retrieve requsted key information and we cannot process your request.

You can try to:

• Close your browser and retry the operation again in a few minutes.
• Contact Support
• Read the On-Line Self Help

Reference Id: 26AEF762

This error has been logged with the reference number noted above. Please use this reference number if you contact support.
_______________________

 

[Mark]

Hi rickh925, welcome to the forums,

Where are you getting the keys from?

 

[rickh925]

Hi rickh925, welcome to the forums,

Where are you getting the keys from?

My paid Technet subscription. This page in particular. I tried to put it inline but the screen shot of the page is attached instead.

Rick

 

[rickh925]

Just a comment on my issue, I can download other keys including the keys for 2008 Server R2 beta with no problems so I assume it is particular to Windows 7. I can't really work with it today so it probably doesn't matter for now.

Rick

 

[ittech]

looking forward to a report on the public beta, i have a nicely running 7000 build with my virtual drive and media center internet radio.....i'm not sure that the beta will be in my best interests for the meantime.

 

[rickh925]

My paid Technet subscription. This page in particular. I tried to put it inline but the screen shot of the page is attached instead.

Rick

Well, now the page says:

The activation keys are currently unavailable. Please install without using keys and check back in a few days to claim the keys. Sorry for the inconvenience.

So I'll do just that. I wonder if the key generation servers are just overwhelmed.

 

[FrAgZoU]

rickh925
I have the same problem i can't get my cd-keys from my MSDN subscription page ! Have the same error

The activation keys are currently unavailable. Please install without using keys and check back in a few days to claim the keys. Sorry for the inconvenience.

 

[limneos]

what is the difference between Windows 7 Beta and Windows 7 Beta Checked Build ???

 

[rickh925]

what is the difference between Windows 7 Beta and Windows 7 Beta Checked Build ???

From the MSDN Website: [My emphasis at the end]

The free build (or retail build)

The free build of Microsoft Windows is used in production environments. The free build of the operating system is built with full compiler optimizations. When the free build discovers correctable problems, it continues to run. Distribution media containing the free build of the operating system do not have any special labels — in other words, the CD containing the free build will just be labeled with the Windows version name, and no reference to the type of build.
​

The checked build (or debug build)

The purpose of the checked build of Microsoft Windows is to make identifying and diagnosing operating-system-level problems easier. The checked build differs from the free build in the following ways:​

• • Many compiler optimizations (such as stack frame elimination) are disabled in the checked build. Disabling such optimizations makes it easier to understand disassembled machine instructions, and therefore it is easier to trace the cause of problems in system software.
  • The checked build enables a large number of debugging checks in the operating system code and system-provided drivers. This helps the checked build identify internal inconsistencies and problems as soon as they occur.

Because the checked build contains fewer optimizations and more debugging checks than the free build, the checked build is both larger in size and slower to execute than the free build. As a result, the free build is used in production environments unless it is necessary to use the checked build to identify serious problems.

 

[echrada]

rickh925
I have the same problem i can't get my cd-keys from my MSDN subscription page ! Have the same error

MS reported a technical fault and they are working on it.