Microsoft Announces Availability of Windows 7 Beta and Windows Live

[Ankur Mittal]

In a keynote address at the 2009 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer announced the beta availability of the Windows 7 operating system as well as the availability of the latest version of the Windows Live, a suite of personal communications services and applications. “I’m thrilled to announce the availability of the Windows 7 beta, which is on track to deliver simplicity and reliability,” Ballmer said. “Windows 7 and Windows Live are part of an incredible pipeline of consumer technology that is making it easier than ever for people to communicate, share and get more done.”
The beta version of Windows 7, Microsoft’s next-generation PC operating system, can be downloaded today by MSDN, TechBeta and TechNet customers. Consumers who want to test-drive the beta will be able to download it beginning Jan. 9 at http://www.microsoft.com/windows7.
Microsoft also announced the global availability of Windows Live, a free suite of communications and sharing applications. Windows Live makes it easy for people to communicate, share and keep their online lives in sync and in one place with one login. The new and enhanced Windows Live services — including PCMag.com 2008 Editors’ Choice winner Windows Live Messenger — along with Windows Live Mail and Windows Live Photo Gallery are designed to work seamlessly with more than 50 popular Internet services
Source- Microsoft Press Release

[spidy333]

Thats nice.. cant wait to get my new system and testdrive Windows 7 on it...

[gary4gar]

I am Excited .
here are some more news:

Information on Downloading and Installing Windows 7 Beta
As of today, I am running the Windows 7 Beta on several different PCs including my laptop, my work PC, and my PC at home, which I upgraded recently to Windows 7 from Windows Vista SP1. (I’ll be outlining the PCs I’m using to test Windows 7 shortly.) I’m all connected with HomeGroup, I’ve got several different Libraries set up, and I’m loving the new Windows Taskbar. I’ve got Windows Media Center recording my favorite TV shows and my Zune 80 syncing up with the Zune software. And things are even better with Windows Live Essentials installed. I find the Windows 7 Beta to be an amazing beta release and I am extremely excited for you to get your hands on it later this week! I’d like to take a moment to share some specifics regarding the Windows 7 Beta that I think are very important for people looking to give Windows 7 a spin.

On January 9th, the Windows 7 Beta will be available for Windows enthusiasts to download via the Windows 7 page on Windows.com. The Windows 7 Beta is going to be available download-only (we’re not sending out physical media) and available for a limited time to the first 2.5 million people who download the beta.

The Windows 7 Beta will be available in English, German, Japanese, Arabic, and Hindi, and each language will be available in 32-bit and 64-bit versions (except Hindi which will only be available in 32-bit). Because the Windows 7 Beta will be offered download-only, it will be provided to you as an ISO image (an .iso file) that you download. After downloading either the 32-bit or 64-bit ISO image of the Windows 7 Beta, you will be required to burn the ISO image to a DVD to install Windows 7. So you want to be sure you have a DVD burner before spending the time downloading the ISO image.

To burn the ISO image of the Windows 7 Beta to DVD, if your PC comes with Nero or Roxio products – you should be able to burn the ISO image to DVD. If you don’t already have DVD burning software on your PC, you can also check out ImgBurn which is free and can be downloaded here.

The Windows 7 Beta only supports Windows Vista SP1 to Windows 7 upgrades. So if you intend to do an upgrade – be sure it is on a PC running Windows Vista with Service Pack 1. We are not yet announcing anything regarding finalized upgrade paths for Windows 7.

The Windows 7 Beta will be only available in one edition, which is roughly equivalent the Ultimate edition of Windows Vista.

Also, another important thing to keep in mind is that the Windows 7 Beta will expire on August 1st, 2009.

I also need to emphasize that this is a beta of an unreleased operating system. Be sure to backup all your important data. As much as the Windows 7 Beta completely rocks, part of the beta process is discovering bugs and reporting those bugs. Some of those bugs could possibly lead to data loss. I tend to be a risk-taker myself and have gone all-out with the Windows 7 Beta by putting it on almost all my PCs both at work and at home, but not everyone should do this. I recommend using Windows Vista’s Backup and Restore features to ensure your information is backed up before trying out the Windows 7 Beta. Click here for several methods of backing up your data in Windows Vista.

The Windows 7 Beta is targeted toward the enthusiast crowd – people excited and knowledgeable with technology. If you don’t quite understand much of what I’ve written above, it is probably best you don’t try to install the Windows 7 Beta.

If you are an IT Professional, you can visit the Springboard Series for Windows 7 on TechNet (see the Windows 7 tab) on January 9th to sign up for the Windows 7 Beta but also can also get access to dynamic resources including video walkthroughs and the new Windows 7 forums.

Source

[cool_techie_tvm]

Already using build 7000 and am pretty much satisfied with it

[gxsaurav]

Already using since 2 weeks legally . Its not my production OS, but just for testing purpose. All the drivers of Windows Vista install & work fine, so far no crashes. ATI Catalyst 8.12 gave problem so I installed the drivers from WIndows Update & it is working fine. I haven't tried any workstation applications yet.

[JojoTheDragon]

I'm also exited about it.

[crazy_awper]

I don't agree with you,I think This problem should be further analysis.

[niga84]

nice info thanks

[IronManForever]

I am excited. But I wont download it.

[ravi_9793]

Great news.... Thanks for sharing

[redhat]

I will be able to begin download at 11pm on 8th jan IST
Will i be able to get a copy of the beta then??
Also, if someone could link to a genuine torrent for windows 7 public beta...
(P.S. Mods, I know talking about torrents is prohibited here, but since the Beta is provided free of cost and its license says you are free to distribute, i suppose torrents for this can be allowed here)

[gary4gar]

Originally Posted by gxsaurav

Already using since 2 weeks legally . Its not my production OS, but just for testing purpose. All the drivers of Windows Vista install & work fine, so far no crashes. ATI Catalyst 8.12 gave problem so I installed the drivers from WIndows Update & it is working fine. I haven't tried any workstation applications yet.

Can it be installed in dual boot with Windows Xp?

I heard there are some issues with its bootloader?
any possible workaround?

Originally Posted by redhat

I will be able to begin download at 11pm on 8th jan IST
Will i be able to get a copy of the beta then??
Also, if someone could link to a genuine torrent for windows 7 public beta...
(P.S. Mods, I know talking about torrents is prohibited here, but since the Beta is provided free of cost and its license says you are free to distribute, i suppose torrents for this can be allowed here)

download from MS itself.
keep watching this page
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/default.aspx

[gxsaurav]

Originally Posted by gary4gar

Can it be installed in dual boot with Windows Xp?

I heard there are some issues with its bootloader?
any possible workaround?

I m writing a whole guide to get familiar with the user experience of Windows 7 but in the mean time just know that Windows 7 makes a 200 MB Partition for boot files if you have a blank hard disk. Since you are going to dual boot, then first Install Windows XP which will install in C:\ drive (usually). Now install Windows & Which will place its boot files in the C:\ drive where WindowsXP is installed. Now, you won't be able to see the drive with Windows XP Installed in the Explorer of Windows 7 but it is there & can be seen through Disk Manager. Since it is the boot drive, it isn't shown in Explorer. You will only be able to boot into WIndows 7 this way.

Now install EasyBCD because Windows & uses BCDEdit for boot configuration editing just like Windows Vista. In EadyBCD create a new entry for booting called Windows XP with Windows XP as setting & save it.

[redhat]

Originally Posted by gary4gar

download from MS itself.
keep watching this page
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/default.aspx

But I will not be at home and i dont have a high bandwidth connection at the place i will be. Hence shelling out around Rs.2k for a 3gb download of Win7 is foolish
So can i download it just now from somewhere??

[Sumeet_naik]

No physical media distribution..thats sad..

[SunnyChahal]

I am using it for 2 weeks now and I can say that it's very stable!

[cool_techie_tvm]

I had installed Win 7 as dual boot along with Win XP. Just noticed that in Microsoft Announces Availability of Windows 7 Beta and Windows Live Saurav had outlined some steps for booting into WinXP. Surprisingly i didnt have to do any of them. Just booted off the DVD and installed it in D:\ After installation the bootloader listed both Win 7 and Earlier version of Windows (WinXP). C:\ contains the WinXP installation.

Windows XP partition isnt listed on the explorer like mentioned by him.

[amitava82]

As long as Steam works perfect I'm in..

[gxsaurav]

Originally Posted by cool_techie_tvm

I had installed Win 7 as dual boot along with Win XP. Just noticed that in Microsoft Announces Availability of Windows 7 Beta and Windows Live Gaurav had outlined some steps for booting into WinXP. Surprisingly i didnt have to do any of them. Just booted off the DVD and installed it in D:\ After installation the bootloader listed both Win 7 and Earlier version of Windows (WinXP). C:\ contains the WinXP installation.

Windows XP partition isnt listed on the explorer like mentioned by him.

Try booting Windows XP. It gave me a "NTLDR missing" error.

I wrote something about Windows 7, have a look at my blog : The herald of Windows 7

[cool_techie_tvm]

^^ Naah didnt get any errors, am typing this from the XP installation on the same PC.

Lemme checkout the blog

[redhat]

Anyone, any options for alternative ways to download this? Since I will not be able to get through to the first 2.5million users since i will be away

[thewisecrab]

Can I triple boot this with Ubuntu/XP? ie. Will GRUB recognize Win7?

[sankha]

Will this Windows 7 not be another Vista??? I have to check it before using it.








________________________________
information protection

[gxsaurav]

Originally Posted by thewisecrab

Can I triple boot this with Ubuntu/XP? ie. Will GRUB recognize Win7?

If GRUB recognizes Windows Vista, then it will recognize Windows 7

[dd_wingrider]

Originally Posted by gxsaurav

Try booting Windows XP. It gave me a "NTLDR missing" error.

I wrote something about Windows 7, have a look at my blog : The herald of Windows 7

Nice blogpost dude, although i would remove the ghazni pic containing the hallmark of famous ripper group(XDR) from bwtorrents

But your choice in end

[thewisecrab]

I've got a really stupid/n00bish doubt.
Where is the download option for Win 7 on MS's web site?

[gxsaurav]

Originally Posted by dd_wingrider

Nice blogpost dude, although i would remove the ghazni pic containing the hallmark of famous ripper group(XDR) from bwtorrents

But your choice in end

Woops, will change it

[Krazzy Warrior]

Thats nice news...

[gary4gar]

Is it available for download?
I see nothing on Windows-7 page, it should be here by now!

[sachin_kothari]

^^the webpage says "Come back the afternoon of January 9." So probably have to wait some more time. Its still morning there.