Windows 7 Release Candidate Released

It’s Finally Here!

Earlier today, Microsoft made the first release candidate officially available to the general public.  They have said that the RC (Release Candiadate) will be available at least through July 2009 and they’re not limiting the number of product keys, so you have plenty of time.  As long as you have a microsoft Live ID, you will be all set to download this free copy of the RC.

The RC will expire on June 1, 2010. Starting on March 1, 2010, your PC will begin shutting down every two hours. Windows will notify you two weeks before the bi-hourly shutdowns start. To avoid interruption, you’ll need to install a non-expired version of Windows before March 1, 2010. You’ll also need to install the programs and data that you want to use.  They include some installation guidelines:

You can install the Windows 7 RC on a PC running Windows Vista without backing up the PC—but we encourage you to make a backup for safe keeping. If you’re running Windows XP or the Windows 7 Beta, you’ll need to backup your data, then do a clean installation of the RC, then reinstall your applications and restore your data. If you need to do a backup, please see How to back up your PC for more details and a suggestion for how to backup a PC running Windows 7 Beta or Windows Vista.

To install and use the RC, you’ll need to know how to:

• Troubleshoot problems. You’re pretty much flying solo, so you’ll need to handle your own tech support, and rely on other RC testers for their know-how
• Burn an ISO file to make an installation DVD
• Install Windows
• Backup and restore your PC
• Set up a network
• Create and use a system recovery disk

They also say you need to have the following:

A PC with these system requirements:

• 1 GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
• 1 GB RAM (32-bit) / 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
• 16 GB available disk space (32-bit) / 20 GB (64-bit)

And a DirectX 9 graphics processor with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver.

You can start the beta download for the 32 Bit Version by Visiting  http://go.cosmicthings.com/w7-rc-x86/

The 64 bit version (for 64 bit computers only) may be downloaded at http://go.cosmicthings.com/w7-rc-x64/.  You must login and submit some information to download the RC.