Windows 7 When Win/7 beta is over

[Kevinw596]

I was wondering, since there will be a several month gap between the end date of the beta and the release of the final win/7, how does this work? forgive my ignorance, this is the first beta i've ever used. Will I be able to access the files I have saved in my folders after the end date, or will the OS become unusable? I have a habit of not keeping up with the calander (which would suck if I had to appear in court) lol, but I'd hate to have anything important on my pc and find out that i should have backed them up earlier. I do have XP (my main OS) and win/7 on the same drive, so in worse case scenario I should be able to access win/7 files from my XP OS, shouldn't I? Thanks for any info on how beta works.

 

[splashchris]

I'm curious about this too. I have RC1 version 7057 installed, which supposedly has an expiration date somewhere around the March 2010 time frame. In theory this should give me some overlap once the final version comes out, but there's no stopping Microsoft from putting out an update patch that ups the deadline on the time bomb to expire sooner.

 

[Kyle]

When your build expires, Windows 7 will not cease to operate. You'll still be able to load windows, and access your files, however, running of any programs will cause "Warning messages" to appear before each program begins working, and there will be no internet connectivity. It's basically crippled, however you can still retrieve files.

 

[splashchris]

As long as I can get to my files, that's all I care about. Thanks

 

[GomJabbar]

When Win/7 beta is over......
......Turn out the lights.

 

[Kevinw596]

When your build expires, Windows 7 will not cease to operate. You'll still be able to load windows, and access your files, however, running of any programs will cause "Warning messages" to appear before each program begins working, and there will be no internet connectivity. It's basically crippled, however you can still retrieve files.

This is good to know! Now I won't be so hesitant to save my files here. Thanks Kyle!

 

[davehc]

This is an excerpt from the Vista beta testing program, which I raked up from my files. If it goes the same way, you will get several early warnings from Microsoft first.

".....customers who continue to use pre-release versions of Windows Vista will be able to log in for 2-hour sessions to retrieve data. After 2 hours of use, the PC will automatically reboot without providing the opportunity to save data. The opportunity to log in normally for these 2-hour sessions will be available only until 28 August 2007. It is strongly recommended that PC users running any of these pre-release versions of Windows Vista migrate their PCs to the final version of Windows Vista or another operating system prior to 31 May. "

 

[Kylethedarkn]

When is the date? Also do you think if I didn't use 7 until the actual release that I could upgrade to the full version from the beta?

 

[GomJabbar]

I have no inside information, but I think you will find that Windows 7 beta expires some months before Windows 7 RTM is released and sold. I certainly would not keep all my files on a Windows 7 box without a copy somewhere else.