Will You Buy Windows 7???

My point is that I am using Windows 7 RC1 - Build 7100 64 Bit already.

My last PC died, so I decided to use Windows 7 as it supports more then 4gb of ram.

I imagine I am not alone amongst people doing a new build.

When the final version comes out in October. Lets say I buy it.

There is no upgrade.

So how can you get a Windows 7 RC1 system backup to Windows 7 Final Build with hundreds of programs in under 3 hours?

Isn't the point that you would need to reinstall all the programs, because otherwise the dll hooks (or whatever they use) wouldn't be correct?

Any 'image' (and I have that because its backed up to a Windows Home Server) is going to be of the RC1 installs, and not the Final Build. So surely, you would need to reinstall all the programs, settings etc etc???



(Though this point on the Wiki page leads me to think one may be coming in Jan 2010. In which case I would just wait until then, as there is really no problem with the RC1 version.

Actually, come to think of it, wasn't the RTM version relesaed to Technet and MSDN on the 15th July?

Can anyone comment on how the final version compares to RC1?

Upgrades to Windows 7 E will require a clean install until upgrade versions are released in Jan 2010[citation needed] due to ongoing testing, as Windows Vista contains Internet Explorer, which would have to be removed by the upgrade procedure.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7_editions#Comparison_chart
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There is no Final version yet. The RTM versions linked/mentioned above are rumoured to be RTM but not officially confirmed yet. There is said to be one sub build (16836) left before it gets the official outing and can be downloaded but for us an E version ISO would have to be leaked as it seems a normal Prem/Pro ISO won't work with our E keys.
 
Stuarts said:
(Though this point on the Wiki page leads me to think one may be coming in Jan 2010. In which case I would just wait until then, as there is really no problem with the RC1 version.
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That would only apply for people upgrading from XP or Vista, not from the RC. As said already, MS has never allowed users to do an upgrade install over a pre-release OS. It makes no sense for them to even support it.
 
It makes no sense for them to even support it.
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Makes plenty of sense to me.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/271795,what-you-need-to-know-about-windows-7-rc--feature.html

Washington - Millions around the world have downloaded the free release candidate (RC) of Windows 7, Microsoft's planned successor to Windows Vista. So many downloads of Windows 7 RC have been processed, in fact, that the yet-to-be-officially-released operating system already accounts for almost 1 per cent of the current operating system market, by some estimates.
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Its stupid not being able to upgrade from their own product that is used by millions of people and is 1% of the market.

How different can it be from the final version?

It would be straightforward to put out an upgrade path.

Remember, we are talking about upgrading to a legit copy from them. It is bizarre that they don't want to make that as simple as possible.
 
They said right at the start it was a testing OS only, and so wouldn't have proper support nor an upgrade route. If people weren't aware of these facts before they installed, that's their own fault really.

I do see your point, but at the end of the day the RC is for testing only. MS probably don't want to spend the time or money on making an upgrade route for those testers when they've already said that a) there won't be one, and b) you shouldn't use it as your primary OS. The fact that it's been stable and reliable enough to actually use as a primary OS is just a bonus.

I know nothing about the specifics of how an upgrade install works, all I know is that I'd never want to do one. But I can only imagine the number of topics on here saying "I upgraded to 7 from the RC and now it's broken! Help!" if they allowed it.
 
I have to agree with TheVoice on this, it was released as a test version for use by professionals and interested parties, never as a replacement/full time OS. If you took the risk it was made fairly obvious some time ago that there would be no upgrade.

Can't see the problem myself, should've dual booted or used it on a spare machine to test it so no sympathy from me.
 
Stuarts said:
Its stupid not being able to upgrade from their own product that is used by millions of people and is 1% of the market.
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Windows 7 is pre-release code though, it's purely for testing purposes. As mentioned before, if you're someone that is going to use the Windows 7 release candidate as if it was a full released operating system then that's entirely up to you. However, please don't go and then complain that you have to do a fresh installation when Windows 7 is actually released because you installed every single one of your applications and are treating like it is release code when it's clearly not which you were completely aware off from the very start.
 
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m4cc45 said:
Did 500 machines in 3.5 days... using a mixture of Altiris and Ghost - using Ghost via the network doing multicasts to several machines at a time and then Altiris (again using PXE) for around 30 at a time as it was much slower than Ghost we used both.

M.
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Bet that kept the network busy.
 
Fire Wizard said:
Windows 7 is pre-release code though, it's purely for testing purposes. As mentioned before, if you're someone that is going to use the Windows 7 release candidate as if it was a full released operating system then that's entirely up to you. However, please don't go and then complain that you have to do a fresh installation when Windows 7 is actually released because you installed every single one of your applications and are treating like it is release code when it's clearly not which you were completely aware off from the very start.
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Doing a reinstall is no problem though. At least not for me!
 
I dare say I will figure it out.

I don't think I should have to though.

The very fact that it is used by so many people should make it a no-brainer for their marketing department to twig that an upgrade path would be a good idea.

Surely the idea from Microsft is not to have millions of users using a release candidate that makes them no money. It is to get them using a legit copy that they paid for as soon as possible?

Putting roadblocks up to that by making it a pain in the arse to upgrade makes no business sense.

Yes I will be able to figure it out, but yes, I do think it is stupid of them to make it that I have to 'figure it out'; rather then just shove a windows cd in and be good to go.
 
I would imagine that MS have considered it, but can only assume that it's not technically feasible or just not worth the effort. It also has the danger of setting a precedent; the next time they release a beta/preview OS people might feel that they should get the option to upgrade it to the full version again. If people are using 7 as their main OS that's a great sign that MS have done something right with this one, but at the end of the day it's still not a full release, so users simply aren't entitled to full support.
 
There is no Final version yet. The RTM versions linked/mentioned above are rumoured to be RTM but not officially confirmed yet. There is said to be one sub build (16836) left before it gets the official outing and can be downloaded but for us an E version ISO would have to be leaked as it seems a normal Prem/Pro ISO won't work with our E keys.
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Found this here on a possible final build,

http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2009/07/first-screenshots-of-windows-7-build-7600-leak.ars[/URL]
 
I would imagine that MS have considered it, but can only assume that it's not technically feasible or just not worth the effort. It also has the danger of setting a precedent; the next time they release a beta/preview OS people might feel that they should get the option to upgrade it to the full version again. If people are using 7 as their main OS that's a great sign that MS have done something right with this one, but at the end of the day it's still not a full release, so users simply aren't entitled to full support.
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I cannot believe that an upgrade can be very difficult technically to achive. This is a release candidate after all. Not a beta. And its essentially the identical operating system.

And they only release operating systems every 3 years, so it hardly matters if they do set a precedent. They are a software company after all. Its not as though I expect them to break rocks or something! Once every three years a modicum of common sense is not unreasonable.

Regardleess though, they should do it in their own interests not mine.

All they accomplish by not having an easy upgrade path is that I, and others, will wait 6 months until about January 2010 or March, just before the funky 2 hour shutdown starts (precisely because it does work well, there is no pressing need to essentially downgrade from Windows Ultimate ie RC1 to Windows Premium or Windows Pro.)

By then, the dust will have settled, and there will be a ton of information about how to transition painlessly.

Had they have had an 'upgrade' path I would have bought it and upgraded in October, just to get it over and done with in an hour.

As it is I will be hanging onto my money for another 4 - 6 months.

Money that could have been collecting interest in Microsofts bank account.
 
You're not really doing yourself any favours by waiting though, it's only going to cost more.

In any case, MS still get your money (and perhaps more of it), so I doubt they're too bothered. The pre-order offer has been a massive success regardless.
 
By your own admission Stuarts they arent going to lose sales and when you eventually do it it will cost a premium to upgrade.

Dont see how MS are losing out on this :confused: - they saved money not having to create or support an upgrade path for an pre-release OS especially when the vast majority of users they are targetting wouldnt be aware of the RC or perhaps the ability to install it...

To me this is just cutting off the nose to spite the face - only you are losing out...

ps3ud0 :cool:
 
If PR has a value then they are losing out. I will downgrade in the end. But will not be thinking fondly of microsoft on the days they make me go through the pain of it all.

I am sure Windows 7 will be a success.

Its actually pretty good. Though as I said before, its nice, but I can't honestly say that there are too many killer differences from XP.

But the fact that it doesn't nag at you like Vista, has a nice taskbar tweak, runs 64bit, and is happy with ssd out of thebox; makes it worth the bother.

Prior to Windows 7, I was happily running XP, and had zero inclination to upgrade to vista.

If you are doing a new build, then Windows 7 is a no-brainer.

Its annoying though that the virtual XP thing isn't native to the Premoium edition. As I would imagine a lot of stubborn XP upgraders.

The Pro and Ultimate editions seem to offer extremely little for a vast hike in price.
 
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Stuarts said:
If PR has a value then they are losing out. I will downgrade in the end. But will not be thinking fondly of microsoft on the days they make me go through the pain of it all.
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They haven't made you go through anything. You are using the OS as your full time OS when it's not intended for that purpose. In fact, they've given you the privilege of using the OS prior to release.

Why should they provide an upgrade path (and work out solutions to any problems arising from this) when you're meant to be using XP or Vista as your main OS?

Stuarts said:
The Pro and Ultimate editions seem to offer extremely little for a vast hike in price.
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Is there that much difference between the HP and Pro once you take into account the new pre order price for HP is still 50% of RRP? (Genuine question, I haven't done any research).
 
The plain fact is that it is in their interests to have an upgrade.

No-one is forcing them to offer support.

When was the last time you phoned up microsoft for support???

Never probably. Like most people.

You can talk about what people should or shouldn't do until you are blue in the face. The fact remains that irritating a million plus probable customers is not very bright.

They should provide an upgrade path. Not doing so is stupid from a business perspective, Stupid from a PR perspective. And stupid from a common sense perspective.

Even if I spent all my days 'testing' this operating system, I would still want whatever the hell I was testing to simply be upgraded. And not wiped out. That is dumb.

I believe that HP is about £50 pre-release. Pro is about £100 apparently (though I am not exactly sure were from). So twice as expensive even pre-release.

The price isn't the problem for me. The lack of an upgrade path is. That is stealing my time for no good reason, and will confuse the hell out of many people who downloaded the RC to see whether it was annoying like vista, or good enough to be useable. Liked it, but are now faced with having to figure out backing up their entire system prior to an upgrade, and trying to replicate whatever changes they made maybe 6 months ago.

Anyhow, I know we have licensing evangelists here, who will insist I read six legal dictionarys before figuring out what the hell 'testing' means. But Microsoft aren't stupid.

People test stuff in the real world by using it.

What do you reckon Microsoft think people do with it for 12 months?

They use it of course. That being the case, Microsoft should just get with reality, and provide an easy path to move to the real version when it comes out.
 
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