Announcing: Windows 7 Release To Manufacturing
It's almost here! We're very happy to tell you that we've hit the last big milestone on the way to Windows 7: release to manufacturing. We're packaging up copies and manufacturers are putting it on new PCs. On October 22, you'll be able to get the final shipping product. Your feedback has helped us make Windows 7 more reliable, compatible, and manageable-and we'd like to thank you for that.
With general availability rapidly approaching, make sure you don't miss special offers and other launch-related news like details about community launch events in your area. A great way to keep up with what's going on is to sign up for one of our free newsletters. Not only will you get the scoop on the Windows 7 launch, you'll get useful information throughout the year.
Meanwhile, if you need to test Windows 7 in your environment-and ensure that your applications and hardware are ready-you can still download the Release Candidate (RC) anytime before August 20, 2009. Got the RC and need help? Experts on the Windows 7 Forums can help answer your questions. The forums also give you a way to share what you've learned with other people.
Saphire HD4870 Toxic 1GB /// Intel Mobile GMA X3100
Monitor(s) Displays
Dual Eizo 24" SX2461W /// 12"
Screen Resolution
1920x1200 /// 1400x1050
Hard Drives
Workstation:
5x 750GB Barracuda-11 on Areca ARC-1220;
4x 1.5TB Barracuda-11 on Intel ICH10R;
Volumes:
300GB RAID 0, 2.7TB RAID 10 on Intel;
100GB RAID 0, 1.4TB RAID 10 on Areca ///
Notebook: G.Skill Titan 256GB SSD
PSU
Tagan ITZ 1100
Case
GHS-1500 ///
Cooling
Thermalright IFX-14 + a slew of stealth fans ///
Keyboard
Logitech Edge ///
Mouse
Logitech Wireless Optical Trackball
Internet Speed
5Mbps down / 820Kbps up
Other Info
Main use: photography;
DVD Drive: L.G GGW-H20L Blu-Ray / DVD;
OC: QPI/DRAM @ 1.33v, CPU @ 1.293v, DRAM Bus @ 1.65v, CPU PLL @ 1.88v, CPU mult = 25x, BCLK = 160, DDR3-1604 @ 7-8-7-24
Thanks for downloading the Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC). This is the last big step toward finishing Windows 7. With your help, our engineers can check the fixes and changes they made based on Beta tests.
We rely on people like you to use the software before it’s commercially released. So if you haven’t already installed the RC, please go ahead. Having thousands of people use the software helps us test thousands of hardware and software combinations—a key to making things work great for you.
Getting started
You don’t need to do anything special to help with the testing. All you need to do is use the RC, and your PC will send information to our engineers.
IMPORTANT: If you are using the Windows 7 Beta, you will need to do a clean installation of the Release Candidate. The Installation Instructions will help you get started. Read them first to make sure you’ve got the information you need for a smooth installation.
As you use the RC, we hope you’ll discover:
- It works the way you expect: it’s fast, reliable, and works with your hardware and software - It’s simple and easy to use so you can just dig in and use it right away - It helps you do the things you want to do, and new things you may not have imagined
Learn more
- Learn more about Windows 7. - Use the Windows 7 online forums to exchange technical information with other testers. - Get news about Windows 7 on the team blog. - To get more general information about Windows make sure you’re subscribed to the Exploring Windows newsletter.
So, enjoy trying out the RC. We’ll check back with you in about 10 days with more information. Thanks again for your investment in Windows 7.
... and a whole bunch of others I imagine.
What?? A New version of Windows??