Windows 7 W7 full release query

[spitlizard]

Does anyone know how the official release will impact on those of us currently using the beta.

In other words, when it is released properly, will we be able to upgrade our betas to the official release or have to do a complete re-instal

 

[wpurcell]

Good Morning! As far as I know, there will be no upgrade to the final version from the beta. This is the same as it was in Vista. We are allowed to use the beta version in order to assist in working out bugs in the OS. That being said, I have my Visa at the ready for the final release!

 

[Kyle]

It will be impossible to upgrade, simply due to the fact that the beta expires Aug 1st, and the final version won't be finished until at least October. That's not even taking into account the possibility that they'd even LET you upgrade.

 

[Radenight]

It will be impossible to upgrade, simply due to the fact that the beta expires Aug 1st, and the final version won't be finished until at least October. That's not even taking into account the possibility that they'd even LET you upgrade.

Is this a known fact now Kyle? That the final will not be released at least until October?? I only ask because I'm curious and haven't seen any official reports on it yet... It would be great if it was released in October.. or at the very least in time for Christmas season 09..

 

[ldkoi]

Yeah, i burned copies of my OS backup for Vista too. Good old acer, with the hidden partition.

 

[Kyle]

Is this a known fact now Kyle? That the final will not be released at least until October?? I only ask because I'm curious and haven't seen any official reports on it yet... It would be great if it was released in October.. or at the very least in time for Christmas season 09..

Yes, this is a known fact.
If you catch up on your Microsoft internal documents, you'd see that RTM date is set as "October 3rd or Later (2009)". It's been that way for nearly two months now. =P

 

[hammydown]

Indeed Radenight it would be great if it was released in october after all the criticism over VISTA i think microsoft wants to double cross there T's and double dot their I's just to make sure.

 

[maddmaxx]

Well that sucks for al of us who are running XP. We are doomed to a clean install of 7. I hate that. That's why I bought Ghost 12 so that I didn't have to reload every damn program, system settings, etc. When Xp got hosed which I must say was way more than I expected. Well maybe M$ will at least give us poor Xp users a price break on 7. I'm not expecting much from them to be honest. Maybe $10.00 off retail.

 

[Mike]

You could always buy the Vista upgrade and then upgrade to Windows 7, but that's probably a bad idea. You could just back up your critical files and get ready to re-install software.

Some have predicted a release candidate build that may get pushed out to TechNet or MSDN, so there may be a saving grace for some of us if there is an upgrade option from the beta. There have been no announcements on whether or not you will be able to upgrade from the beta builds to the final version, but it is probably unlikely.

 

[maddmaxx]

At least by then I won't be going into it without first hand knowlege of the OS so at least that's something and maybe a decent price break will help ease the pain of a clean install. I just about have all of my programs from XP up and running on 7 anyhow. Anyone who has done a clean install without using a back up program can testify to the pain of reloading everything. I finally got sick of it and brokedown a got Ghost 12 and man what a good investment that turned out to be. Painless.

 

[mehrlicht]

But, what about those people that have the beta cracked (and activated) with no expire date...
Will they be able to upgrade to the retail version?
The retail version will allow upgrade from XP and Vista (will it block the betas?)

 

[hammydown]

No because first off the upgrade installer will detect that the program is illegally installed on the machine still and has been cracked. It will not allow it to upgrade. And no it is the same thing you either have to have VISTA or XP installed or their is no chance that it will upgrade.

 

[spitlizard]

I found this on M/S's own website: -
-
Removing the Beta
The Windows 7 Beta will stop working on August 1, 2009. To continue using your PC, please be prepared to reinstall a prior version of Windows or a subsequent release of Windows 7 before the expiration date. We recommend doing a custom (clean) installation.
-


The way I interprete this is there will be means to contunually upgrade until the final release comes out

 

[jimbo45]

Hi Guys -- I've posted elsewhere that you can upgrade quite easily from XP===>W7 on another post. It doesn't necessarily mean you have to purchase a copy of VISTA but you'll need access to a copy (Borrow one or - get one from -- see attachment).

I don't normally condone these sources but you aren't actually going to run the OS on your computer as a working OS then slightly different considerations apply.;

Also I really do think MS should providfe a direct XP==>W7 upgrade path -- a compatability check built in like VISTA's will eliminate those programs that really WON'T work.

However I'll explain again how to do it.

Windows XP HOME ==> W7

1) Run VISTA compatability check -- and uninstall anything it says WON'T RUN as you won't be able to uninstall these later. You'll get errors wrong OS / Can't execute on this OS etc etc.

2) Upgrade to VISTA Ultimate 32 Bit or VISTA HOME PREMIUM 32 Bit.

DO NOT ENTER A SERIAL NUMBER. REPEAT DO NOT ENTER A SERIAL NUMBER.

I prefer going via the ULTIMATE package if you can get it but HOME PREMIUM will do.

3) Run Windows Update (you will need at least SP1.)

4) Run Upgrade to W7 Will take around 2 - 3 hours -- but hey presto everything will work (all your old apps etc etc). Those that absolutely won't run you'll have found out in step 1). A Virtual Machine is the only solution if you MUST have these apps and want W7.

XP PRO===>W7. AS above but you CAN ONLY USE VISTA ULTIMATE 32 Bit.

The W7 Upgrade doesn't actually check for VISTA Windows Activation so even upgrading via an OEM copy will work.

Please be aware however that if you use an OEM copy of VISTA you'll need to complete the upgrade within 3 days as windows will expect to be activated within 3 days rather than 30. (And being an OEM copy - if it's already been used on another machine activation will be refused in any case).

Once you've upgraded to W7 then normal activation works fine.

Some people prefer a Clean install -- however I've done 2 or 3 upogrades from XP without any problems whatsoever -- the Clean upgrade gave me a few problems when re-installing older programs and hardware - apart from the sheer hassle of finding serial numbers and fixes I'd applied after the original program installs.

Cheers
jimbo