Updated: Windows 7 Beta Downloads Will be Available Soon - Microsoft's Servers Already Can't Handle Demand
When Steve Ballmer announced that the first public beta of Windows 7 would be available today, it was already clear that there would be a tremendous demand for the next version of Windows. The last we heard was that the beta will be available at noon PST today, even though the download link from Microsoft's TechNet site are already making the rounds on Twitter.
Update: You can find direct download links here, but without a registration key, your beta version will expire in 30 days. Microsoft's registration servers are still down.
Update 2: Looks like Microsoft is going to delay the release of the product keys for a little longer. They must have seriously underestimated the demand. No ETA for when the servers will be back up.
Update 3: As of Sunday morning PST, product keys and downloads are finally available on the Windows 7 page.
TechNet and MSDN subscribers can already download the beta, but the general public will have to wait until noon. However, if the current state of Microsoft's servers is any indication, you will have to be very lucky to get your copy anytime soon.
Demand for the public beta is clearly high. All day long, neither the Windows Team blog, the Microsoft Partner homepage, nor the TechNet download have been working properly. Even the official Windows 7 site was unavailable for a good part of the morning.
By limiting the download to the first 2.5 million users, Microsoft has created an artificial scarcity that is driving users to the site early. While this is clearly a sign that users are eager to get their hands on the (legal) beta and that Microsoft's marketing did a great job, Microsoft's infrastructure clearly wasn't prepared for the current demand.
If you manage to get a hold of the download, let us know in the comments.
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I snagged it yesterday - it took quite a few restarts with the download, but i've installed it and even at this early stage it appears to work well. It is very quick, especially in comparison to vista, feels a lot more rounded and complete than vista does and the media center looks finished!
I assume we need to successfully complete the registration process to receive a cd-key, right? It'd be nice if they'd fix these problems already...it's not exactly shocking that Windows 7 would have this kind of demand.
you can install without the key and come back sometime in the next few weeks to grab a key so don't let that slow you down.
oh and direct links to the ISO's are now popping up :)
I just posted on my blog
@steve - thanks - I just added a link to your blog to the post
Hi Steve,
You are the man! I got the link from your blog. I waited forever to get it from the official site. I even fired off a mail to Steve Ballmer to complain. Anyway, this is good. I'll see how the installation goes, etc. Thanks for the heads-up.
Divine.
Thank you for the link! Now on to try and get the registration...
Even MSDN is extraordinarily slow. Getting 80KB/s where usually it's in the MB range.
Found a download link, it should be finished in an hour or two. Apparently there are some simple tricks to prolong the period you can work without entering a key to 120 days. This might be necessary because it still is not possible to get a valid key from Microsoft due to the heavy load.
I got a link from Channel9 (MSDN's developer video site) and downloaded the beta, you don't need the key to install it and from what I read, apparently hacks are out already to avoid needing a key (although the product still expires in August, I believe).
Pardon my bluntness my friends, but if you download windows 7 you are a fool.
These are the same con-artists that swore just months ago that vista was the be all to end all and later tried some cock-a-mamie scheme to rename it amigo or some such garbage. They now have untold law suits pending in court for alledgedly ruining peoples livelihoods and businesses and in my opinion, this is nothing more than their latest round at raising money.
Windows 7, in my educated opinion, is nothing more than Vista repackaged with service pack 2 and now 3. Dont waste your money. Type in the words vista sucks in Google and get an idea of what experienced windows users feel about this absolute sham. Do not get ripped off again. Microsoft has caused so much damage globaly that Germany's Ministry of the Interior recently signed an agreement with IBM to switch public administration computers to Linux and open software.
Linux offers a great and free operating system which has become quite impressive with its full features of firefox browser and many many open source programs. It is also now compatible with almost all of your favorite programs. Windows and Microsoft have ripped off enough of the public by now. Please do not fall for this latest scam! Wake up people.
Joe Griffin - a recovered Microsoft user and victim