Comments on: Windows 7 beta upgrade won't be easy

Microsoft says that it wants people to go back to Vista and upgrade from that to the upcoming "release candidate" version.

[kaibelf]

Okay?

[ckurowic]

Yep. Windows sucks as usual.

[WebBuddha]

Is this a serious article? Are you seriously complaining that you have to remove a BETA product before you can upgrade? Seriously?

[ikramerica--2008]

to another beta...

[Fil0403]

Okay.

@ ckurowic: Yep. Anti-Windows comment sucks as usual.

@ WebBuddha: It's Windows, the complaint doesn't need to have any logic or make any sense.

@ ikramerica--2008: Nope, to RC.

[outacontrolpimp]

Basicly, they are saying they are spending more time making Windows 7 a great OS, rather then developing a way to upgrade from beta to beta. I fully support this decision.

I dont know why people complain, I used Vista for almost 2 years with SP1 and never had a problem with it. Just dont download a ton of junk.

@ ckurowic: Dont be mad that your not intelligent enough to run Windows, your Anti-Windows comment is pointless.

[JCPayne]

It stands to reason you should nerver use Beta Software on a box used for mission critical company developement. Actually if u really want to wait until most of the bugs or flaws are worked out wait until service pack 2 or 3 are released then upgrade to the new O/S.

[d3vildog69]

JCpayne

It says it when you download it (Or could) not to use it on a mission critical machine...

[jag0]

Well it is a beta and a WIP project so how is this surprising?

[aMUSICsite]

Yep if I was MS I would want everyone testing that the OS can upgrade from Vista/XP without problems too.

[Mark_Anderson]

It isn't surprising. They're two test versions so there will be compatibility issues.

Unless you're really silly this shouldn't come as a surprise.

[Perry_Clease]

Not being a programmer, other than simple scripts, I think that there is a probably a good reason for this procedure. They probably made a lot of changes that are best dealt with by throwing out the current beta version.

[BogusBasin]

You guys are so simple minded. All you have to do is drop into the command line and type c:\Wish_I_hadA_Mac\butI_wasTryingToBeCheap and then go modify the registry with hkey_when_will_I_learn.local

Then defrag and reinstall all your antivirus apps. If that doesn't work, you can call technical support, be on hold for an hour and talk to a guy named "Adam" that you can't understand. But think of all the money you will save! Amen

[monkeyfun14]

What does your comment have anything to do with this article?

**** my internetz kay

[another_cissp]

It says The system cannot find the path specified

[sanenazok]

@gravy: the original comment was slightly funny but your repeated "laughter" is just obnoxious. I think recess is over and time for you to go back to 6th grade social skills class.

[Throgged]

because your apple support is much better? i'd much rather deal with a polite foreigner than a snot nosed "genius" in a black t-shirt that can't give me a valid reason why the most awesomest laptop in the world stopped connecting to BOTH my routers for NO apparent reason forcing me to FACTORY RESET BOTH OF THEM in order for it work! Oh yeah that's a superior product alright. And i guess apple lets you upgrade from its beta releases to a final product? DOMINATION BY OBSCURITY!!! WEEEEEE. market share speaks for itself.

[macsdosuck]

I don't get you mac guys. If a mac is so great why does it languish at the bottom of market share? Wouldn't be that they're way over priced, way under powered and way to easy to crack, 9 seconds I believe. They are junk, always have been always will be. The PC rules for a reason ********.

It's plain and simple.

[ckurowic]

@ PC Zealots: Okay so look at BMW's market share versus Ford or GM....yeah enough said. Market share is not everything stupid.

[P5YcHoKiLLa]

Yeah and then you just got into the commandline and type C:\I_realised_I_needed_a_computer/that_people_actually_make_software_for/so_I_bought_what_the_majority_of_people_buy/and_decided_not_just_to_follow_other_people_and_be_a_sheep_cos_it's_trendy/get_a_life.cmd

[WebBuddha]

In case you hadn't heard, Apple now recommends all their users install anti-virus software. You must have missed the McMemo.

[pithenumber]

@ckurowic
compare BMW to Toyota
Toyota=more reliable
Scion(Toyota budget brand if that is even possible)=more reliable
and they both cost far less and have more marketshare than BMW

you can rig the comparison to support Macs or PC's making it pretty much pointless

[troyoverton]

@ Throgged:

Next time that happens... try assigning a new SSID to the router. I know its dumb, but I've seen it work several times. And BTW, this fix has nothing to do with the clients. Just a hiccup on a router. (Alot of G-band D-Links seemed to have this.)

If that didn't apply, my apologies. It's just that in my experience, every once in a while a very obscure fix rectifies even more obscure issues.

Peace!

[coachgeorge]

And if you do not have Vista in any form or function??????? Yea, I know Windows 7 is Vista done right.
I am going to run out and buy Vista so I can continue to participate in a beta test. To quote above "HaHaHahahaha".
Back to XP.

[timber2005]

Then you do the clean install of the RC of Win7.

[sanenazok]

I think definitely MS should get a thumbs up by forcing the beta testers to test upgrades of Vista. That will be the market for Win 7 Upgrades. Any computer running XP by this fall will be ready for donation not another $150 for a new OS.

[coachgeorge]

"Any computer running XP by this fall will be ready for donation not another $150 for a new OS." I will not donate my quad core, or my dual core, or my laptops etc. Maybe my MAC G3. Any takers?????

[sargear]

I'll take the G3

[Ted Miller]

I'll take the G3 since my Commodore 64 has been wearing out as a door stop.

[beaverman76]

This comment shows how IGNORANT AND UNINFORMED YOU ARE!!!!! One of the main goals of Win 7 was to become Lightweight compared to Vista. To adress complaints and to facilitate FUTURE NETBOOK APPLICATIONS ( An excellent side benfit being the ability to breathe new life into old hardware that could barely run Vista. I have proven this in my own experiecne using a Black Friday special Compaq laptop I bought at Wal Mart for $399 In 2006(Model V5305WM) It sports an anemic even by 2006 standards AMD Sempron 3300 That has a mere 128 MB of Cache, An upgraded 1 GIg of DDR 3200 and is sharing that with an ATI Radeon X200 Graphics GPU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was eligible for an express upgrade to VIsta Home Premium. So when I got my express upgrade I was exited to try it and to my dismay this became a painful experience. So I WENT BACK TO XP and later used the copey of VIsta on a PC I built. TODAY AS OF APRIL 10 2009 I have been running Win 7 Beta on that same Compaq Notebook!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IT WORKS GREAT BY THE WAY !!!!!

And it not only boots faster and performs better than XP did it looks and feels great doing it!!!!

[coachgeorge]

"The recommended approach, Microsoft said, is to go back to Windows Vista and upgrade from that. Microsoft asked testers to follow this approach as it will help the company get more feedback on the experience that the typical user will have in going from Vista to Windows 7. "
Let me offer some feedback into the experience the typical user will have.

Find another way. It's too bad, I was liking Windows 7. I also like XP Pro. I have the COA for XP. Will MS give a temp COA that will allow things to work with a borrowed copy of Vista so we can upgrade? What about file migration? OOPs thats right, I have a back up. I just have to re-install all of my software again.
I don't like Windows 7 that much.

[coachgeorge]

By the way, after doing their testing and providing feedback, do we get a discount on the final product?
After all, time is money and this upgrade will take time and money.


HaHaHaHa................I crack myself up sometimes..........

[Renegade Knight]

You can upgrade from Vista.
XP requires a clean install. That's how I had to do things to play with the Beta.

[greho]

Uh, we've been beta-testing Windows 7 for almost three years now. I think we all should get Win7 for free. Just trade in those beta, excuse me, Vista DVDs.

[monkeyfun14]

Maybe some of you should think about what the article says before jumping to conclusions.

Its do a clean install or upgrade from vista.

I would recommend doing a clean install anyways.

[coachgeorge]

Doing a clean install is NOT an UPGRADE. You Upgrade the OS, but it is not what is meant by doing an UPGRADE.

Doing an UPGRADE involves putting a DVD in the drive, letting it recognize the current OS, Keeping your installed programs, files intact, registry gets upgraded etc. Not doing a format, load software, load data backup. Hope you named your directories the same etc.

[rapier1]

uhh coach... when they actually release the product you'll be able to upgrade just like that. This is a *BETA* though and there are specific install/upgrade scenarios they want to be able to test. When it goes public the vast majority of people won't be upgrading from a beta version - they'll be upgrading from XP or Vista so they want to make sure that each release version extensively tests that. It may put some beta testers through some additional hardships but that's par for the course for beta testing.

[Magicland]

Bull, when it goes public, the MAJORITY of the people who had Vista will already be running the Windows 7 beta, because it's that much better. Those running XP have had no direct upgrade path, so they're likely still running XP. Microsoft would have to be pretty stupid to not provide an upgrade path for all those running 7 out there, as each one is almost a guaranteed sale. However, confronted with a painful and difficult upgrade, many will simply opt to continue running what they've already got, at least for the time being.

[rapier1]

The majority of people running vista have installed the win 7 beta? Do you seriously believe that?

[monkeyfun14]

@magicland

The majority of computer users need there hand held while doing simple computing tasks I doubt that even 1% of total computer users have the beta installed.

[tcr071]

So if I go from Vista to a new operating system it is not really upgrading unless I directly choose the "upgrade" option? Hmm... Interesting take I suppose. Here I was thinking that Windows 7 was an upgrade to Windows Vista and when I moved from Vista to Windows 7 it would be an upgrade. Thankfully you are here to tell me it isn't really an upgrade.

What is it exactly?

[DrtyDogg]

@tcr071: It is a new operating system.

[sparrowhyperion]

This is EXACTLY why I refuse to Beta test Mickeysloth software anymore. They put you through all this hassle like it is some sort of privilege to test their junk for them, and then they don't even give you a break on the overpriced but still buggy junk when it comes out. When are people gonna stop being herd animals and make Mickeysloth either test their own junk or at least give a discount to testers...?

[monkeyfun14]

Because anyone can test it...

Why should testers get a discount no ones forcing you to test it.

Should Ferrari offer people the chance to test their cars then give them 50% off?

[rhsc]

All this hassle, eh? according to the blog post, the only extra step you need to do to just upgrade from the beta is to change 1 value in 1 text file. What a frikkin hassle. Excuse me if I'm not very sympathetic

[Mark_Anderson]

I somehow doubt anyone who uses the term 'mickeysloth' has been remotely near W7.

Plus no-one cares.

[pithenumber]

Windows 7 pwns Leopard and edges past Ubuntu as my fav OS

you obviously don't have any idea what you are talking about

[Renegade Knight]

@monkeyfun14

Oh, but you can bet Ferrari actually pays their R&D folks and test drivers.

[coachgeorge]

" by monkeyfun14 April 7, 2009 3:21 PM PDT
Because anyone can test it...

Why should testers get a discount no ones forcing you to test it.

Should Ferrari offer people the chance to test their cars then give them 50% off?"

Yes, if you are participating in the development of the Ferrari. (cute analogy).

[rapier1]

And there will be more than enough people who are just happy to get their hands on it in any way that they'll do it for free. Which is pretty much how public betas work.

[tm_anon]

@rapier1

The people who are just happy to get it for free won't be the ones doing the prerelease testing for Ferrari.

Actually, most of the beta testers of Windows 7 aren't in the "ooh it's free, gimme" crowd, they're the ones who will be making the purchase for companies, the IT guys. They could also be the gamers or the Windows tech-savvy crowd.

So, tell me why exactly the exact people MS would want using this software shouldn't be able to get a discount on it? I mean, not the businesses so much but the testers definitely should get something back.

[sanenazok]

@tm_anon: The reason why people who get the free betas should not get a discount down the line is because that was never part of the deal. MS has never given discounts to public beta testers before, nor did they suggest that one would be coming around this time. You can pine after one all you want, but that doesn't create some sort of entitlement. By taking the time to beta test the software, business get a chance to test their systems and applications for free. That's worth quite a bit. MS doesn't sell overpriced hardware and so it makes money on its software (and quite a bit too). MS would not retain its position in the market if everything was being given away at cost or for free.

[monkeyfun14]

@sanenazok

They did give out Vista Ultimate to select testers before but those were only testers who made extremely good bug reports and I think Vista's beta was alot more closed.

[ScorpioKing1990]

Dude look where the auto industry is right now WITHOUT car companies doing crazy thing like giving discounts to people who used something they got for free. I can hear more bailout money already....

[rapier1]

@tm_anon,

I wasn't saying that the 'gimme its free crowd' woudl be the ones involved in doing development of the Ferrari or W7. I was saying that these are the people that are just happy to be working on the cutting edge. They're happy to do it for free because they get to be involved.

Also, previous beta testers (like for XP or Vista) had significantly more work to do than those in this public beta. Not only we're we using the software but we had to engage in various tests, fill out surveys, be actively involved in the community discussions and so forth in order to get the benefits (generally 2 to 5 free licenses). Since these public testers aren't vetted or required to do any additional work on top of using the software I don't see why they should get a bonus.

[BaronVonGerhard]

Upgrading an OS is rarely the best option, especially when it's a Beta to RC proposition. Install a fresh copy and enjoy the clutter-free goodness. Try Windows Easy Transfer to get your settings from Beta to RC after a fresh install. In an enterprise scenario, I can appreciate why upgrading 1000 PCs from Vista to Windows 7 RTM will make sense. Meanwhile, personal users should bite the bullet and reinstall.

[kevsmail]

Where are the bullet points on upgrading Win7 beta to Win7 RC (not going back to Vista method)?

[rhsc]

From the blog :
Here?s what you can do to bypass the check for pre-release upgrade IF YOU REALLY REALLY NEED TO:

Download the ISO as you did previously and burn the ISO to a DVD.
Copy the whole image to a storage location you wish to run the upgrade from (a bootable flash drive or a directory on any partition on the machine running the pre-release build).
Browse to the sources directory.
Open the file cversion.ini in a text editor like Notepad.
Modify the MinClient build number to a value lower than the down-level build. For example, change 7100 to 7000 (pictured below).
Save the file in place with the same name.
Run setup like you would normally from this modified copy of the image and the version check will be bypassed.

To paraphrase : download the iso, find sources\cversion.ini , change the minclient number to 7000, install

Really basic stuff

[kdog181518]

I don't know why so many people are complaining about this,it's called a beta test.when you installed it you was warned of certain things and knew what you was getting yourself into so stop whining about it.personally i prefer windows 7 and have no problem doing a clean install.windows 7 runs better on my crappy emachines than xp does,it runs really well actually.i've always refused to even try vista.

[Mac OS XP]

What if I want to do a clean install? That's what I did with Windows 7 beta, will I be able to do that with Windows 7 RC?

[monkeyfun14]

Yes

[ppartekim]

"We know many people (including tens of thousands at Microsoft) are relying on the pre-release builds of Windows 7 for mission critical and daily work, making this step less than convenient," the company acknowledged.."

Who in there right mind would use a BETA version of the OS for "mission critical" work. My companywould fire my ass for doing that. Hell, we MAY move to Vista after another six more months of testing.

[Vegaman_Dan]

Microsoft uses beta and RC versions of its own products for internal every day use. Think about it- you've got 70K employees and hundreds of thousands of systems, all inside a closed network environment which makes it ideal to test in every day use. Problems are discovered and addressed long before the public ever knows about it.

Heck, even those security patches people complain about not coming out fast enough are first tested thoroughly internally long before you see them publically.

The phrase, "eat your own dogfood" is apt. You test the product on your own system before releasing this to others. This is *common* in the industry.

[ddhboy]

Ugh. I'm running a macbook pro and did a bootcamp install of Windows 7 Beta. I didn't have a previous version of windows so none of that particularly mattered. I just don't like the fact that I'll have to clean install to get the release candidate, especially since it takes a bit of playing around and downloading to get everything functioning correctly in Windows 7. I guess that means I'm going to have to export out all my game saves... damn.

[Dr_Marten]

I would not relyon a BETA or a RELEASE CANDIDATE version in the same way you would with a final OEM or RETAIL version of WINDOWS or any other BETA or RC version of MICROSOFT software as;

1) It may cease to work.

2) It will probably cease to be updated and finally

3) It may still be "buggy" in the way that any SERVICE PACK or any ther update will probably fail to install.

It suprises me how many people treat a BETA or an RC version like the final piece of software and still use it for day to day stuff!!

[Angmarr]

funny how the BIASED articles doesn't seem to tell what the so called convoluted steps are LOL

When Win 7 comes you just upgrade from XP or Vista BABY, AND ITS GONNA BE HELL FOR ... what was it ... pear? banana? oh yea apple .... almost forgot!

[sanenazok]

I often forget about Apple, too. Just like people forgot about Silicon Graphics until it was in the news. Good thing Apple is better at self-publicity than SGI, but the two have about the same market share in their respective segments.

[dream_fly]

Just install it in the Virtual PC.

[Mr. Dee]

Well, I just prepared my laptop for the RC. I have three systems running Windows 7, each with a dedicated partition for the beta. My main PC at home I use Windows 7 on it daily (25 GB partition). The computer next to it an HP workstation is running 64-Bit Home Premium on a 50 GB. My strategy is to install RC on the workstation, do an easy transfer from my main PC running the beta to the Workstation, format the PC and install RC on it, then do an Easy transfer from the workstation to the PC.

I want to test an upgrade from my laptop running Vista Ultimate 64 bit to Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit. I have been running that install since December 2006, should be a really good test bed for feedback.

Here is a preparation article I created:
tinyurl.com/dj9wr5

[enzomedici]

Forget about Windows 7 completely is your best option.

[Lerianis3]

No, it is not your best option. *******, anyone? Just ignore this guy.

[d3vildog69]

You give no explanation as to why we should forget it.... Yup i'll follow your advice...