Windows 7 Beta Now released for download

[FirefoxRocks 0]

(For reference purposes, in this article, W7 refers Windows 7 Beta)

 

Recently, W7 has been released for download. Initially the download was released yesterday (Friday), but the massive amounts of traffic trying to access the download crashed Microsoft's servers rather quite promptly so the download was delayed to sometime today.

 

To download W7, you must have a Windows Live ID (@hotmail.com; @msn.com; @live.com emails will all do). Go to the Windows product page located at https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/products/windows and click Download the Windows 7 Beta. Currently, W7 is released in 5 languages in both 32 and 64-bit editions.

 

It is highly recommended that you do a backup of your computer, because this isn't any piece of beta software (e.g. Mozilla Firefox 3.1 beta), this is a beta operating system! You have a high chance of losing data when working with partitions, formatting and operating systems, so BACK UP YOUR DATA!!!

 

You need a blank DVD to burn the ISO image onto, once you do that you can boot to it (if you don't know how to get your BIOS to boot to this, it is best not to try W7 right now ). The minimum system requirements are:

Minimum recommended specs call for:

1 GHz 32-bit or 64-bit processor

1 GB of system memory

16 GB of available disk space

Support for DirectX 9 graphics with 128 MB memory (to enable the Aero theme)

DVD-R/W Drive

Internet access (to download the Beta and get updates)

And yes, like anything tech-related, these specs could change.

Once you boot from the DVD, the installation looks fairly similar to the one in Windows Vista. It should be pretty straightforward from there on (I'm currently at the stage where it is setting up services).

 

Please thoroughly read through Microsoft's technical notes on the download page and do not use this on your primary computers!! Remember, this is a beta. One thing you may wish to note is "Watch the Calendar", this beta expires in August. Microsoft may or may not release additional betas after that date, so be prepared to uninstall it

 

After using it a while, please post your opinions and stuff about W7 onto here!

 

IMPORTANT NOTE: I am currently running W7 on Microsoft Virtual PC 2007, since I only have 1 computer that has that amount of memory in it (my primary computer unfortunately). If you do decide to install W7, this may be a good choice.

 

Hope this helps!

[xboxrulz1405241485 0]

I used VirtualBox for virtualization. Windows 7 is very snappy. However, the new taskbar PISSES me off. It's so counter-productive, it's not even worth putting into the new version of Windows. I haven't been so frustrated at a Windows release (well, minus ME) before.

 

 

Even BSoDs don't piss me off as much as this new taskbar.

 

xboxrulz

[wutske 0]

I have it running in virtualbox too. It works, as long as virtualbox is stable. The kaspery anti virus software is horrible, don't try it because it'll keep crashing and booting in safe mode to disable kaspery in virtualbox is very, very, very ... slow. The idea for the new task bar is good, but it might have been a bit smaller, especialy because it makes the usefull height on a 16:10 screen even smaller. I like it, it's worth trying it

[xboxrulz1405241485 0]

I have it running in virtualbox too. It works, as long as virtualbox is stable. The kaspery anti virus software is horrible, don't try it because it'll keep crashing and booting in safe mode to disable kaspery in virtualbox is very, very, very ... slow.
The idea for the new task bar is good, but it might have been a bit smaller, especialy because it makes the usefull height on a 16:10 screen even smaller.

I like it, it's worth trying it

AVG works perfectly.

xboxrulz

[FirefoxRocks 0]

AVG works perfectly, but Comodo Firewall does not. You need to use the Program Compatibility thing in order to install it. And it sometimes hangs during installation of the firewall kernel, causing the program to be half-stuck in there and causing BSoDs whenever a firewall event is triggered.So far, these programs work fine:Firefox, Safari, Opera, Google Chrome, Apple Software Update, Notepad++, AVG Antivirus, and Windows Live Messenger (I don't like the new version)I am going to test more software to check compatibility.

[xboxrulz1405241485 0]

I think for the most part for programs not installing is just their version checker hasn't been updated for Windows 7 since 6.1 never existed back when they were published.This is like when Windows Vista was in beta.xboxrulz

[yordan 10]

I also have a single machine, so I try it in a virtual machine.I love the look-and-feel of the installation program.And, yes, AVG installs well, whereas McAfee refuses installation.

[Atomic0 0]

I tried the new Windows 7 Betas in a VMware virtual machine I set up on my computer. It works very nicely, except for the Aero Glass theme, which doesn't work since the graphical requirements are not met by the virtual machine. Unfortunately, most of the new desktop effects don't work as a result.One problem I have found is that when I try and open one of the games, the whole operating system and virtual machine crashes and hangs.

[xboxrulz1405241485 0]

It's because like Vista, the games in Windows requires a GPU. Unfortunately, there isn't really a GPU or even an IGP in the virtual machine.It's very sluggish in VirtualBox.xboxrulz

[pyost 0]

I haven't try the new version myself (come to think of it, I haven't tried Vista either ), but from what I have read, the public response is mostly positive. It seems to be faster than Vista, which is a huge advantage, given that the mentioned operation system was... Sluggish

[xboxrulz1405241485 0]

It's best to try both to see the actual differences because it doesn't make sense to compare things just from what you heard.xboxrulz

[Atomic0 0]

I have tried both since I run Windows Vista Ultimate on my main computer, but haven't got the time to try Windows 7 in depth. On the surface, there are many changes to the UI in many place, such as the taskbar and control panel layouts. Generally, it runs more fast and stable than Windows Vista, although I have experienced crashes with Windows 7 in my virtual machine, which I have not been able to find a solution for.From the reviews I have seen on top technology news sites like Engadget and Ars Technica, the underlying part of the operating system hasn't changed much from Windows Vista, apart from improving the speed of running the operating system and changes to the user interface to improve usability.

[thasoldier 0]

I will try Windows 7, now I am using Vista, but they say that Windows 7 will be better than vista, so i must try it:)

[xboxrulz1405241485 0]

ya, but it may not be as secure: http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

Which is understandable, it makes a huge difference in security esp. if u compare XP with Vista.

xboxrulz

[turbopowerdmaxsteel 0]

I tried Windows 7 on a triple boot along with Windows XP & Vista. From what I saw, it seemed pretty good. The taskbar is a great improvement. It is smart enough to detect ongoing operations in Windows (courtesy of progress bars) and show the progress inside the Window's icon. I used to have the Quick Launch toolbar disabled. Integrating it with the taskbar is also something I like.In terms of compatibility, I was pretty satisfied. All of the Vista compatible applications ran without a hitch. For installations of some legacy applications, the Operating System was able to suggest compatibility modes just like in Vista.Windows 7 is supposed to be lighter than Vista but for some reason it used up more memory on my 1 GB system. I have switched back to XP for now and will try it again when I upgrade my system.