Windows Vista Beta 2, RC1 and RC2 set to expire

re: Windows Vista Beta 2, RC1 and RC2 set to expire

Ashen — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 18:29:24 GMT

I know this is an old blog post, but I presume you're still reading the comments since you've responded quickly to other posts up to a week and a half ago.

I don't want to repeat myself here, but people do need to be able to reinstall their upgrade copies, even now August 28th has passed, so it'd be nice for official guidance on how to do that.

re: Windows Vista Beta 2, RC1 and RC2 set to expire

Larry Wood — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 18:26:03 GMT

Me too. I ignored the warnings and now want to save my data. Yes, you warned me. I am willing to buy the upgrade. Now that my machine is locked, how do I know which upgrade to buy?

re: Windows Vista Beta 2, RC1 and RC2 set to expire

zdzichu — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 15:27:18 GMT

Please help. I bought a laptop with the pre-released ultimate version for CCP. I have been ignoring the window that says the windows will expire. I had no idea that the OS will stop working. I bought the upgrade for Ultimate and tried installing it but it's not working. Your tech guys have little knowledge about the CCP version and told me that I needed to go and purchase the full DVD Ultimate version of the windows not the upgrade. Just form reading this blog I found more information than wasting all day with various tech guys on the phone. I wish I found this blog before Aug 28th when the windows stopped working. I have a lot very important information on hard drive and I don’t want to do a clean install. How can back up my data? I never had a 2 hour chance to back up my computer. This yellow background is killing me because I have limited access I can get online but I cannot access the desktop. Please help.

re: Windows Vista Beta 2, RC1 and RC2 set to expire

Ashen — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 00:41:44 GMT

There's a very important question left unanswered here as far as I can see: how do people reinstall their Vista RTM upgrade in the future?

For example, if my hard disk dies, how will I be able to reinstall RC1 and then upgrade back to RTM? There really needs to be some sort of official statement on this, especially since it's nearly 28 August, so the opportunity to log on to RC1 will come to an end (and please don't say to install from Windows 2000/XP, as the only requirement for the upgrade edition is to have a Vista CPP version).

re: Windows Vista Beta 2, RC1 and RC2 set to expire

Nick White — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 23:35:34 GMT

Hey again thingol79: while I've never had need to do it myself, it's certainly possible to use the full retail, non-upgrade version of Windows Vista Ultimate to perform an in-place upgrade (as well as a clean installation, of course). There is an "upgrade" option in the installation process in these versions; conversely, the Upgrade versions do not provide the option for a clean-install.

re: Windows Vista Beta 2, RC1 and RC2 set to expire

thingol79 — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 21:48:40 GMT

Thank you. Yes, I have RC1. But can I use the full retail version of Ultimate for an in-place upgrade, or do I specifically need the “Upgrade” version?

re: Windows Vista Beta 2, RC1 and RC2 set to expire

Nick White — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 20:06:20 GMT

Hey thingol79: per the chart above, an in-place upgrade is only possible in one instance: moving from RC1 to Ultimate. I would not recommend waiting to upgrade until after the 28th.

re: Windows Vista Beta 2, RC1 and RC2 set to expire

thingol79 — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 14:48:07 GMT

Is it possible to use a retail Vista Ultimate DVD (not an upgrade version) to do an in-place upgrade? And would it be possible to do an in-place upgrade after 28th August?

re: Windows Vista Beta 2, RC1 and RC2 set to expire

Nick White — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 20:13:12 GMT

Hey again crchambers: my advice for that late version number is to follow the guidance outlined for upgrading from RC2; in other words, I'd perform a clean upgrade installation.

re: Windows Vista Beta 2, RC1 and RC2 set to expire

crchambers — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 17:06:38 GMT

The version given out at the launch event is build 5840. From the chart I can't tell if this RC1, RC2 or something else.

re: Windows Vista Beta 2, RC1 and RC2 set to expire

Nick White — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 20:48:00 GMT

Hey crchambers: not sure exactly which version you received as I was not at the event in question, but the chart in the post above will tell you whether to expect to be able to perform an in-place upgrade or not.

You may have received a one-off pre-release version, thus it still works for you -- but I'd not bet on it working beyond 28 Aug.

re: Windows Vista Beta 2, RC1 and RC2 set to expire

crchambers — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 18:25:22 GMT

Ref: My comment on May 03 above. I am still running the copy of Vista given out at the launch event. Everything works but updates. It gives message that update fails, but does not say why. I think this is build 5840. Does anybody know if you can upgrade in place with this version?

re: Windows Vista Beta 2, RC1 and RC2 set to expire

Nick White — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 20:39:59 GMT

Hey Tremont: after 28 Aug you'll not be able to do anything with an installed copy of RC1, as far as I know.

re: Windows Vista Beta 2, RC1 and RC2 set to expire

Tremont — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 17:34:24 GMT

I have a copy of Vista RC1. It is not installed on any computer. Will I be able to use an upgrade copy of Vista to perform a clean install after August 28th?

re: Windows Vista Beta 2, RC1 and RC2 set to expire

Nick White — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 20:10:54 GMT

Hey macleg: you can indeed still download RC2, although it's not recommended that just anyone do so, primarily because it's unsupported and using it can be confusing for the novice user (I state this less for your benefit than for newbies who may read this comment).

It's located here: http://download.windowsvista.com/preview/rc2/en/download.htm.