Windows 7 RC Expiration Process to Start Valentine’s Day

Beginning on February 14th at midnight, the Windows 7 expiration process will start–with infrequent warnings first, then more frequent notices, then forced restarts every two hours, then a complete expiration and a black desktop. Here’s the full schedule from Microsoft’s blog:
“On February 15th, people still running the Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) will receive a [...]

Windows 7 RC Downloads Come to an End

If you wanted to snag a release candidate copy of Windows 7 via Microsoft’s Web site, you’ve missed your chance. As of this morning, a message on the site reads:
“Sorry, the Windows 7 RC is no longer available for download. If you’ve got the download and need a product key, they’ll be available until October [...]

Windows 7 Beta Testers Must Uninstall RC for Final Upgrade

It appears that Windows 7 beta testers who are using the publicly available release candidate of the new OS will need to uninstall the pre-release software and re-install their valid Windows XP or Windows Vista edition before applying the final Windows 7 upgrade.
Microsoft states:
“When you install the final version of Windows 7, you’ll need [...]

Bi-Hourly Shutdowns of Windows 7 Beta to Begin

Neowin reports that Windows 7 beta users who are still on build 7000 will start to experience bi-hourly shutdowns on July 1, 2009. The shutdowns are Microsoft’s mechanism to remind users to upgrade to build 7100. On August 1st, all betas will expire, and begin to show the “Windows not Genuine” message.
You can avoid this [...]

Prepping Your System for Windows 7 RC1

Today, Microsoft released the first Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC1) [Download here]. Many users are likely to encounter a variety of issues, such as startup problems, application crashes, performance hiccups and more, after the update. Here’s a run-down of the best methods for preventing these issues and making your update experience a smooth one:
Backup First [...]

Windows 7 XP Mode to Be Publicly Available May 5

Microsoft has announced that it will post a downloadable beta of the Windows XP Mode tool for Windows 7 alongside the public release candidate on May 5th. The releases will be available from the Microsoft download center.

Windows 7 RC, Vista SP2 Hit Microsoft’s Private Servers

The official Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC)-the same build 7100 that leaked earlier–and the final build of Windows Vista SP2 have hit Microsoft’s private servers, and are now available to eligible users, specifically:

Microsoft Connect subscribers: members of the closed beta program
Technet and MSDN subscribers: paid account holders (accounts start in the $2500-range)

Subscribers are experiencing some [...]

Windows 7 RC (Build 7100) Bugs: Blue Screens and More

Users are noting a variety of issues after updating to the Windows 7 Release Candidate, build 7100:
Bugs

Blue screens (BSODs) Some users have reported an increased incidence of BSODs after the update to Windows 7 build 7100. Some of these cases may be related to a conflict between the Kasperskey antivirus software and new security updates [...]

Windows 7 RC Leaked: What’s New, What’s Fixed, What’s Broken

[Updated Sun., April 26th; 1:30 PM PST]
The unofficial release candidate edition of Windows 7, available to authorized beta testers, has leaked. The new release, build 7100, includes a number of significant enhancements and resolves some bugs extant in previous releases. It also provides some significant feature enhancements.
What’s new

Better performance Several users have reported increased speed [...]