Windows 7 Team Blog : Windows 7 Beta

Showing Our Thanks to Windows 7 Beta Testers….

Brandon LeBlanc — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:12:49 GMT

Last week, I blogged that members of the Windows Technical Beta Program would not be receiving a complimentary copy of Windows 7. Normally I hate to be wrong but in this case, I’m stoked that I am.

To show our appreciation, members of the invitation-only Windows 7 Technical Beta Program will be eligible for a free, final copy of Windows 7 Ultimate. For more information on how to take advantage of this, refer to Paul’s post in the .Beta_Program newsgroup for details.

Tell Paul that Brandon sent you - and be sure to thank him!

Clarification on the Date for Bi-hourly Shutdowns for the Windows 7 Beta

Brandon LeBlanc — Tue, 26 May 2009 06:54:58 GMT

Over the weekend, some of you may have received an email from us reminding you that the Windows 7 Beta expires on August 1^st, 2009. In that email, we ask that if you are still on the Windows 7 Beta that you should consider moving to a “non-expired” copy of Windows such as the Windows 7 RC or Windows Vista because bi-hourly shutdowns will begin June 1st.

The Windows 7 Beta does expire on August 1st, 2009; unfortunately the date for when bi-hourly shutdowns will begin for the Windows 7 Beta was incorrect however.

Bi-hourly shutdowns for the Windows 7 Beta will begin July 1st, 2009 as we’ve stated both here in this blog post on May 5th and also in the Windows 7 RC FAQ.

We apologize for the confusion and inconvenience this may have caused.

I’ll be posting a reminder that bi-hourly shutdowns will begin for the Windows 7 Beta as we get closer to July 1st.

In the meantime, if you’re still on the Windows 7 Beta you should certainly look at giving the Windows 7 RC a try! You can register to download the Windows 7 RC here.

The Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) is here!

Brandon LeBlanc — Tue, 05 May 2009 12:50:00 GMT

As we previously announced, today the Windows 7 RC is now available for anyone interested in giving it a spin! Typically, a release candidate is the last development milestone before release to manufacturing (RTM), signifying that engineering and development have made significant advancements and that the code is entering the final phases of testing. Essentially, the Windows 7 RC is the result of a lot of the great feedback we received during the Windows 7 Beta. That’s why I’m so excited to use it and excited for YOU to use it!

So do you want to put the Windows 7 RC through its paces? Just like with the Windows 7 Beta, you can register to download the Windows 7 RC at the Windows 7 page on Windows.com.

You will be required to register in order to download the RC. This is where you will also be provided with a Product Key to activate your copy. Previously issued Product Keys for the Windows 7 Beta are not intended for continued use, we are recommending that you register and get a new Product Key for the Windows 7 RC.

The Windows 7 RC will be available for download as an ISO image which will need to be burned onto a DVD. Additionally, consistent with the Windows 7 Beta, the Windows 7 RC will be available in one edition – Windows 7 Ultimate.

The Windows 7 RC will be available in English, French, German, Japanese and Spanish and each language will be available in 32-bit and 64-bit versions.

Current Windows 7 Beta users please take note: we encourage you to NOT upgrade directly from the Windows 7 Beta to the Windows 7 RC. We are asking (and recommending) people either do a clean install or upgrade from Windows Vista SP1 – as these are the officially supported upgrade paths for Windows 7. For more information on the upgrade experience for the Windows 7 RC – see this post from the E7 Blog. On my PCs, I will be doing clean installs of the Windows 7 RC. While there is a workaround for doing a Beta-to-RC upgrade, I would like to ask you to join me in helping the Windows engineering team by using only the supported installation and upgrade paths for the Windows 7 RC.

Please remember: both the Windows 7 Beta AND Windows 7 RC will expire.

For Beta, bi-hourly shutdowns will begin July 1st, 2009. You will be alerted to install a released version of Windows and your PC will shut down automatically every 2 hours. On August 1st, 2009 if you are still on the Windows 7 Beta your license for the Windows 7 Beta will expire and the non-genuine experience is triggered where your wallpaper is removed and “This copy of Windows is not genuine” will be displayed in the lower right corner above the taskbar.
For the RC, bi-hourly shutdowns will begin on March 1st, 2010. You will be alerted to install a released version of Windows and your PC will shut down automatically every 2 hours. On June 1st, 2010 if you are still on the Windows 7 RC your license for the Windows 7 RC will expire and the non-genuine experience is triggered where your wallpaper is removed and “This copy of Windows is not genuine” will be displayed in the lower right corner above the taskbar.

I suggest making plans to move to a released version of Windows well before the automatic shutdowns start to occur to prevent data loss. Remember, pre-release versions of Windows are unsupported.

As with any pre-release version of Windows – I recommend backing up your important data before installing it (see backup methods for Windows Vista, which also apply to Windows 7).

For more information on the Windows 7 RC, I suggest checking out the Windows 7 RC FAQ on Windows.com.

Be sure to spread the word - let your friends know to give the Windows 7 RC a spin! The Windows 7 RC will be available to people for download through July.

Thank you for testing out the Windows 7 Beta! Your feedback with the Windows 7 Beta has been essential in making Windows 7 a great Windows release! And we also appreciate your help with trying out the Windows 7 RC.

And of course as we’ve been saying for some time now, we are committed to making Windows 7 available within three years of the General Availability of Windows Vista.

The 2009 MVP Global Summit

Mike Nash — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 02:46:19 GMT

Hi, Mike Nash here. I had the opportunity to deliver the Windows 7 keynote yesterday at the annual Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Global Summit here in Seattle. Every year we have the privilege of hosting over 1,400 members from our MVP community in a multi-day summit where we do deep drill downs on our products and get very direct feedback from them. This year the product and engineering groups hosted 700 sessions across 70 Microsoft technology areas, presenting over 140 sessions focused on Windows 7, IE8 and Windows Live expertise areas.

MVPs are independent technical experts and early adopters of Microsoft technologies who voluntarily share their knowledge and experiences in offline and online technical communities to help other technology users to solve problems, discover new capabilities and get the most from their technology investments.

Our MVP community as a whole, represents more than 90 countries, speaks 30 different languages, and covers more than 85 Microsoft technologies.

We have thousands of MVPs around the world, with hundreds who are specifically focused on the Windows Desktop Experience, Windows System and Performance, Internet Explorer, Digital Media, Media Center, Printing and Imaging, Tablet PC and more. We rely on them heavily to be our critics and infuse our conscience with how customers are experiencing the Windows client operating system while sharing insights into how we can continue to improve our products and most importantly the customer experience.

Our MVPs have been very engaged in testing and reviewing the Windows 7 Beta, since our first pre-release build was made available at PDC and our feature complete beta that was released at CES in January. MVPs have provided support by contributing to over 40,000 posts on the Windows 7 Beta Forum where technical enthusiasts can find answers to questions with MVP subject experts contributing to an 85+% answer rate during the beta timeframe. More importantly, MVPs are the one group that has an official feedback channel to file their bugs and input feedback directly to the product and engineering teams.

To date, our MVP community has provided great feedback from their voice of the customer perspective to help us deliver on the next milestone of Windows 7.

I want to say THANK YOU to ALL our MVPs for their hard work in helping us to fine tune Windows 7 and put the final fit and finish on the product as we march to our next milestone of a release candidate.

In closing, we had a bit of fun at the MVP Summit producing an “I’m a PC” MVP video with the keynote audience with myself and Steve Ballmer. Have a look.

MVP "I'm a PC" Video

- Mike

Microsoft App-V Support for the Windows 7 Beta

Brandon LeBlanc — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 18:49:34 GMT

Our MDOP customers have told us that they want to see Windows 7 Support for Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) so that they can move ahead with their application testing for enterprise deployments of Windows 7 early on. We heard you loud and clear. Today we are announcing the availability of App-V 4.5 CU1 with support for the Windows 7 Beta.

All subscribers of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) can head on over to Microsoft Connect and register to download the update. This release will have access to the new technology for free as part of their current licenses.

For more information, see this blog post over on the MDOP Blog which also includes roadmap information around App-V 4.6.

MDOP is part of the Windows Optimized Desktop. A few weeks ago, Gavriella Schuster highlighted the value of the Windows Optimized Desktop for businesses and announced specifics for the Windows 7 Enterprise SKU, which is an Optimized Desktop offering. For further guidance of Windows Deployments in your environment, see Gavriella’s blog post on the Windows for your Business Blog here.

Speaking of Virtualization, have you seen Microsoft’s brand new website on Microsoft.com? Check it out.

Test Updates for Windows 7 Beta Users

Brandon LeBlanc — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 04:23:19 GMT

Starting February 24, we will be releasing up to 5 test updates to PCs running the Windows 7 Beta (Build 7000) via Windows Update. These updates allow us to test and verify our ability to deliver and manage the updating of Windows 7. We typically verify servicing scenarios during a beta.

Windows 7 Beta users will be notified that new updates are available beginning February 24 through Windows Update. Even if the user has Windows Update configured for automatic update – these test updates will not install automatically. Users will need to manually install the test updates through Windows Update.

These updates do not deliver new features or bug fixes. The test updates simply replace system files with the same version of the file currently on the system.

For more information, please visit the Microsoft Update blog.

Again, thank you for helping test Windows 7. Your feedback is extremely valuable!

Enabling Multi-Touch in the Windows 7 Beta

Brandon LeBlanc — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 22:06:56 GMT

Now that the Windows 7 Beta has been out for a while, I’d like to highlight how folks can try out Windows Touch, Windows 7’s new multi-touch capabilities.

In order to take advantage of it, you are going to need a PC that supports multiple touch points. Today – there are a few PCs on the market to choose from:

HP TouchSmart All-in-One PCs (IQ500 series & IQ800 series)
HP TouchSmart tx2 Tablet PC
Dell Latitude XT Tablet PC

To enable multi-touch capabilities on these PCs running the Windows 7 Beta you will need to make sure you have the latest multi-touch beta drivers. The driver allows the digitizer screen to support multiple touch points. Remember these are beta drivers, they still need to pass through our rigorous Windows Logo process before they are final, we can’t guarantee that all pre-Windows 7 PCs will have logoed drivers.

For HP TouchSmart All-in-One PCs: The driver is available from Windows Update. After you have installed the Window 7 Beta, open Windows Update from the Start menu. You might have to click the “Check for Updates” link on your left so it will find the driver, it is Optional right now so you’ll have to select it before it will install.
For the Dell Latitude XT and HP TouchSmart tx2 Tablet PCs: the drivers are available now on N-Trig’s website. N-Trig is the company that makes the digitizer in these PCs (you should read the release notes, there are some limitations, like no pen support you should be aware of and how to switch between Windows Vista and Windows 7). Please also note these are beta drivers and are not supported by Dell or HP.

Many features in Windows 7, which are available today in the Windows 7 Beta, take advantage of multi-touch capabilities and I thought I’d highlight a few with some tips here.

To make sure multi-touch is working try our new Paint. The latest version of Paint has some cool new brushes that are designed for multi-touch, click on the Brushes gallery and pick any one (I like the Oil Brush). Now try finger painting – this is also the easy way to see how many fingers your PC supports at the same time, some support two at a time, others support 4 or more.

Once you are done “painting” - try out Internet Explorer 8. The big touch feature here is panning; you can place your finger anywhere on a page and drag up or down to scroll the page – that’s a lot easier than trying to touch the scrollbar. You can also go back and forward between pages with your finger using Flicks: try flicking to your right (as if you were going back in a book) to go back.

You can also use touch to navigate along the taskbar. The new Jump Lists on the taskbar are touch optimized, instead of right-clicking on one of the icons on the taskbar, trying dragging up on it with your finger to literally pull the menu up.

Windows Media Center is also touch optimized. Ben Reed, Senior Product Manager for Windows Media Center, demoed this for Channel 10.

One last tip: To make buttons and controls bigger and easier to touch, you can tell Windows to display everything larger – this has really improved in Windows 7. Go to the Start menu and type display, and then open the Display Control Panel (which should be at the top of the Start menu). Choose the Medium (that’s what I use) or Larger size and you will find that everything is easier to target with your finger.

Reminder: General Availability for Windows 7 Beta Ending This Week

Brandon LeBlanc — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 04:47:27 GMT

I wanted to quickly remind everyone that this week general availability for the Windows 7 Beta will be ending:

February 10^th: Starting at 12am Pacific Time, no new downloads will be available. If you have already begun downloading the Windows 7 Beta, you have until Feb. 12^th to complete the download.

February 12^th: Starting at 9am Pacific Time all downloads will no longer be available for the Windows 7 Beta. If you have not finished your download, you will be unable to do so.

After February 12^th, folks will still be able to register for product keys for the Windows 7 Beta.

The above schedule does *not* apply to TechNet and MSDN Subscribers.

Special thanks to everyone who is beta testing Windows 7!

Ecosystem Readiness Program helps partners develop products for Windows 7

Brandon LeBlanc — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 20:21:39 GMT

To help the ecosystem of software developers, device manufacturers, independent software vendors and others prepare for Windows 7 – I wanted to let you know about the Windows 7 Ecosystem Readiness Program.

The Windows 7 Ecosystem Readiness Program is designed to help hardware and software partners ensure that their existing applications, devices and systems will be compatible with Windows 7. The program provides partners with access to Windows 7 builds, application testing labs and toolkits through Microsoft Connect to help with their development efforts to build innovative solutions for their customers.

If you are a hardware or software developer, I encourage you to visit the following sites where you can get tools and resources you need to get started on the path to Windows 7:

MSDN – Windows Client: www.msdn.com/windows
Windows Hardware Developer Central: http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/win7

Mike Nash, Corporate Vice President of Windows Product Management (and author of many blog posts here on The Windows Blog), discusses the new program and how partners can prepare for the availability of Windows 7 in a Q&A with Microsoft PressPass. Mike’s Q&A with PressPass is a great way to find out what we’re doing to ensure the ecosystem will be ready for Windows 7.

The Windows 7 Ecosystem Readiness Program is designed for hardware and software partners only.

For folks just wanting to try out Windows 7, please visit www.windows.com/windows7 to try the Windows 7 Beta. Hurry though as we are about to limit downloads for the Windows 7 Beta – see details in my blog post here.

General availability for the Windows 7 Beta to end

Brandon LeBlanc — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 02:35:04 GMT

First off: thank you for your interest in beta testing Windows 7! As we near January 24th, we wanted to update everyone again on the next steps for the Windows 7 Beta. The amount of feedback we have received has been amazing and continues to pour in. We are at a point where we have more than enough beta testers and feedback coming in to meet our engineering needs, so we are beginning to plan the end of general availability for Windows 7 Beta.

Because enthusiasm continues to be so high for the Windows 7 Beta and we don’t want anyone to miss out we will keep the Beta downloads open through February 10th. Customers who have started but not completed the download process will be able to do so through February 12th.

The shutdown of general availability for the Windows 7 Beta will occur in 3 phases over the course of the next few weeks:

Starting January 27th, the Windows 7 page will be updated with a warning that time is running out on downloading the Windows 7 Beta and that we will be limiting downloads shortly. People will be encouraged to register and start the download of the Windows 7 Beta sooner rather than later.
February 10th, new downloads of the Windows 7 Beta will no longer be available. People who have already started their Windows 7 Beta download and have not yet finished will still be able to finish their download and are encouraged to do so.
February 12th, people will no longer be able to complete their download of the Windows 7 Beta. Anyone who hasn’t finished downloading the Windows 7 Beta will be unable to do so.

Product keys for the Windows 7 Beta will continue to be available. So if you have the Windows 7 Beta but didn’t get a product key you will be able to do so even after February 12th.

MSDN and TechNet Subscribers will continue to have access to the Windows 7 Beta bits throughout the Windows 7 Beta phase. The above dates do not apply to MSDN and TechNet Subscribers.

Anti-Virus Solutions for the Windows 7 Beta

Brandon LeBlanc — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 05:54:09 GMT

Folks have been asking about anti-virus solutions that work with the Windows 7 Beta. In anticipation of this, Microsoft has been actively working with security partners to help them get their applications ready for Windows 7. Three security vendors have taken the build we released to developers at the PDC in October and have developed solutions available today that work with the Windows 7 Beta. The following anti-virus solutions are available via Windows 7 Security Provider page:

Symantec offers the Norton 360 3.0 Beta which works on the Windows 7 Beta
AVG offers AVG Internet Security and AVG Anti-Virus that works with the Windows 7 Beta
Kaspersky is offering a technical preview of Kaspersky Anti-Virus for Windows 7.

It is great to see that these partners were able to have their solutions working so early in our development process. We will add additional partners to the Windows 7 Security Provider page when they make Windows 7 versions publicly available.

Here’s where we stand

Brandon LeBlanc — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 00:24:15 GMT

I know many of you have had issues with the Windows 7 Beta site over the last 24 hours. As you may have noticed the download site has been up and running smoothly since this morning. That said, we apologize for the inconvenience that it caused some of you.

Due to an enormous surge in demand, the download experience was not ideal so we listened and took the necessary steps to ensure a good experience. We have clearly heard that many of you want to check out the Windows 7 Beta and, as a result, we have decided remove the initial 2.5 million limit on the public beta for the next two weeks (thru January 24th). During that time you will have access to the beta even if the download number exceeds the 2.5 million unit limit.

Thank you for your enthusiasm, interest and willingness to beta test. It has been great to see the positive early reviews and feedback. As you know, this is a beta product. We are working hard to get Windows 7 ready and right. Your input is a critical part of that process. Thank you!

Update on Windows 7 Beta Availability

Brandon LeBlanc — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 02:53:00 GMT

Due to very heavy traffic we’re seeing as a result of interest in the Windows 7 Beta, we are adding some additional infrastructure support to the Microsoft.com properties before we post the public beta. We want to ensure customers have the best possible experience when downloading the beta, and I’ll be posting here again soon once the beta goes live. Stay tuned! We are excited that you are excited!

UPDATE: The Windows 7 Beta site is up and working and as you may have noticed, it has been up for a while now.

Information on Downloading and Installing Windows 7 Beta

Brandon LeBlanc — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 03:51:35 GMT

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.

The Windows 7 Beta Kicks Off This Week

Brandon LeBlanc — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 03:38:11 GMT

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!