Windows 7 RC1 is Out!

JustinW

Super Moderator
Staff member
Alright a lot of us here probably know this already, but every beta tester should've got an e-mail around May 3 announcing the release of RC1:

Windows 7 Release Candidate Announcement
Thank you very much for your help in testing the Windows 7 Beta. Your feedback is invaluable in helping make Windows 7 a high quality operating system. With your help, we have reached the next major milestone on the journey to Windows 7: the Release Candidate (RC).
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On April 30th, the RC became available to MSDN subscribers and TechNet Plus subscribers.
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On Tuesday, May 5 (PST), the RC will be available to everyone via our Customer Preview Program. As with the Beta, the Windows 7 RC Customer Preview Program is a broad public program that offers the RC free to anyone who wants to download it. It will be available at least through June 30, 2009, with no limits on the number of downloads or product keys available.



So you don’t need rush to make sure you get your copy. When you’re ready to download the RC, it’ll be waiting for you.


To get the RC please use one of the following links:
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Developers
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IT Pros/Microsoft Partners
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Tech Enthusiasts/Consumers




IMPORTANT: If you are running Windows 7 Beta you’ll need to back up your data (preferably on an external device) and then do a clean install of the Windows 7 Release Candidate. After installing Windows 7, you will need to reinstall applications and restore your files. If you need help with the installation process, please see the Installation Instructions.


If you’re running Windows Vista, you can install Window 7 RC without having to back up and reinstall your programs and data. But to be on the safe side, please do backup your data before you start.


Please note: All users of the Windows 7 Release Candidate (including Windows Vista users who have upgraded to the Release Candidate) must do a clean installation of Windows 7 RTM. Please keep this is mind as you consider downloading the Release Candidate as opposed to waiting for the general availability release.


Thanks again for your help in reaching this important milestone. We hope that you will join us in testing the RC and finishing Windows 7!

I never check my mailbox hardly, so here's your mail message for those that never check it either.
 
Has anyone else found this as much of a disaster as me ?

Build 7000 was the slickest, fastest, most comprehesive, cleanest, easiest and most successful install of any OS of any type that I've ever installed.

Build 7100 Install has been an unmitigated disaster. It has had multiple blue-screens, "unexpected shutdowns", and interminable long periods of apparent inactivity.
For a kick-off, a very bad omen of things to come, it takes several minutes after "loading files" sitting in its "con-trails" screen before presenting the language selection option. Both Vista and 7000 DVDs are straight in without delay.

When it gets to the last step of the opening install screen (completing setup I think), it takes so long that I gave up and started the whole thing from scratch with a freshly formatted space instead of letting it replace the old W7.

It didn't help. It repeated the string of delays, blue screens and shutdowns, and I eventually left it at the last step running overnight, coming down to the give it the key and setup desktop phase in the morning.

It then continued with a sequence of more "unexpected shutdowns" and blue screens, and is presently "sort-of" installed, with a number of yellow exclamation marks in device manager, and a complete inability to shutdown except by forcing it out with the power-off button on the PC.

This is on exactly the same kit (+4GB RAM and a faster HDD) as 7000 installed to without the slightest fuss, and was running on (sweetly and beautifully) only a couple of hours earlier.

If you're one of those people who's taken the bold step to use W7 as your main OS, not just a testbed like me, think long and hard before committing to this build.
 
Hmm... I might not be upgrading mine than. I was going to do a clean install and hopefully work out this AVG issue i'm having but if its that much trouble...
 
Yeah, it sounds like instead of going uphill with the Win 7 development, they're going downhill...:frowning:
I just hope that by the time Win 7 final comes out, it doesn't suck as much (or worse) as Vista. :angry: I'm perfectly content with the way build 7000 is. If they can improve on that design, and not try designing a whole 'nother build, then it may be worth it to upgrade...
Otherwise, there's going to be a lot of angry people out there when they find out Win 7 final is as bad (or worse) as its predecessor, and they're going to be demanding a refund.
 
I find RC to be better than the Beta Build. I have had only 1 BSOD, all my drivers work, even more software works now and it is as fast and stable for me as XP is.

XP uses 35% of my 3GB of RAM sitting at the desktop.
win7 uses 38%.

Same apps installed, same items starting up at boot. A 3% increase in resources is fine by me.

Daemon tools installed, alcohol 120% installed but didnt work (Older version havent updated to see if the latest ones work or not). So far for me this has been the best. using it as my main OS. Even able to run F@H on it.
 
I haven't got as far as trying to use it yet Mak. That was just the install !
Did it install OK for you ? How long did it take ? Did you need to let it run all day/night to complete ?

When I installed 7000, not only was it quick and error free, it even auto-downloaded and installed all the updates, connected to AVG and auto-downloaded and installed the AV software.

7100, as I said was riddled with blue-screens and shutdowns, and hasn't really installed successfully at all, being semi-crippled from the outset, not even able to shutdown by itself.

If you got none of that, then I obviously have a hardware issue with 7100 that isn't relevant to your system.
7000 ran sweetly and installed effortlessly on the same kit.
 
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The install and everything went perfect for me. It took less time for my Win7 RC install than a vista install.

I have run the system for 5 days straight before i restarted. With running F@H and µTorrent all day and night on the system. With my normal apps. Outlook, Trillian, MSN, iReboot, Steam, Daemon Tools, and so on.

Everything is left on, including Steam, at all times to really test the OS. 5 days was the first reboot. I have been running it for another 5 days now and i dont plan on restarting it any time soon.

What is the error code? Cause i only use Win7 now and i have no issues running it on a Dell Dimension 8400. Same system i have used for XP/Vista.
 
The blue-screens were "Windows has been shut down to protect your system" ( a particularly inappropriate thing to do when there is no system yet) with no error number I remember, but some mention of a USB bug.

There's always been a bit of a problem with my card-reader plugged onto the mobo USB where it's there one day and disappeared the next, but although it's annoying when it goes walkabout and I can't use it, it's never caused Vista or 7000 a moment's problem.
The only other USB devices are 2 flash drives plugged in permanently (usually 3, but one's in the thinkpad at the moment), and again, they cause no problems for Vista or 7000

The unexpected shutdown messages were just that - no error codes.

I might give it another whirl tonight (it's not a lot of use as it stands), installing from scratch again with nothing connected to USB at all, and see if it still keeps tripping over its own feet.
 
Unplug the USB devices. Even i had to do that. Remember, this is a Beta still. not everything will work like it does in Vista or even in Build 7000. There were many Vista Beta builds where you couldnt have USB devices plugged in. Vista didnt have the appropriate drivers. Could very well be that situation.
 
Just about to give that a try when I've done my Vista housekeeping.
Bit of a retrograde step though if that's the cause.
7000 was the Public Beta and went on slick and clean with all my usual stuff plugged in. No missing drivers for anything. Even the TV card came up working in MC.
How can this be considered as a candidate for release (ie more of a finished product) if it has lost drivers and introduced bugs which were not present in an earlier build. Surely it's supposed to get better not worse.
 
Surely it's supposed to get better not worse.
Yeah, one would think that would be the case (i.e. for a product to get better with newer releases), but this is often not the case with stuff Microsoft makes for some reason...
Just take XP and Vista, for example. Vista came out later, so in theory, it should have been better than XP, but it wasn't. It was worse. :smile:
 
Just take XP and Vista, for example. Vista came out later, so in theory, it should have been better than XP, but it wasn't. It was worse. :smile:

At the time of Vistas release XP was already 5-6 years old, well into its mature years. XP wasnt so hot either just like Vista and now probably W7 (though its looking better) when it was first released. Tons of bugs and security holes that had to be addressed and it took them two SPs to do it. At least with Vista they have fixed most of the problems within a years time with SP1.

It may be newer, but it surely doesnt mean its better. MS is a business out to make money, so of course they're going to have a new version of Windows every so often for each of us to go spend a couple hundred on.

I am a bit worried about all this, but with help of the all the beta testers hopefully it'll be sorted out in the final product.
 
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At the time of Vistas release XP was already 5-6 years old, well into its mature years. XP wasnt so hot either just like Vista and now probably W7 (though its looking better) when it was first released. Tons of bugs and security holes that had to be addressed and it took them two SPs to do it. At least with Vista they have fixed most of the problems within a years time with SP1.
Not even close to most...:frowning:
It may be newer, but it surely doesnt mean its better.
Exactly my point...
What I'm getting at is since Vista is newer than XP, it should be better, but isn't. :brows:
 
A change of OS design is a different matter.
If you redesign something from the ground up, whether it's an OS or an app like Easy2, the fact that you write all new or largely new code means there are almost bound to be more bugs in the 1st release of the new product than in the last release of the old, so it can be simultaneously better (in features) and worse (in reliability).
What I'm talking about with 7000/7100 comparison is a bit different from XP/Vista.
7100 is supposed to be 7000 with all the bugs fixed and all the missing drivers added, not the other way round.
 
I don't mean to say XP is perfect either (because it certainly isn't), but I find it to be less of a resource hog than Vista, and less prone to BSODs, crashes, freezes, etc.
If I had my pick of which OS I want to be pre-installed on any computer I buy, I would have to say I would want OS X. But, unfortunately, you need a Mac for that (usually), which generally costs much more than a Windows PC. So I find Linux to be the best compromise. Granted, its not as "user friendly" as Windows (if you prefer to call all of the viruses and junk that you get in Windows as user friendly), but the "price" certainly makes up for that fact. :wink:

Addendum:

A change of OS design is a different matter.
If you redesign something from the ground up, whether it's an OS or an app like Easy2, the fact that you write all new or largely new code means there are almost bound to be more bugs in the 1st release of the new product than in the last release of the old, so it can be simultaneously better (in features) and worse (in reliability).
Well, exactly...
The very thing that bugs me so much about what Microsoft did with Vista is start from scratch all over again ! In my opinion, they would have been much better off if they had just improved on the XP design, instead of trying to design a whole 'nother OS, which failed miserably. What they should have done is just improved on the old code (for XP), and made it a hell of a lot better. >.<
What I'm talking about with 7000/7100 comparison is a bit different from XP/Vista.
7100 is supposed to be 7000 with all the bugs fixed and all the missing drivers added, not the other way round.
Just another good reason why I hate Microsoft's products...
 
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Surely it's supposed to get better not worse.

It has gotten better. USB drives now function as they should, Resource Usage is way down, almost 100% application compatibility. How is that NOT progress?

Just because they hit a glitch with the installer and some USB Drives makes it worse? Give me a break. If that is the case XP is the worst hunk out there since it cant even support SATA or ACHI by default. You have to manually create you own CD for support.

A Beta is a Beta is a Beta. It doesnt matter if it is the first one or the last one. That is why it is the Beta Stage. They have to know what setups it works with, what setups it dont, what driver support they need to get, what driver support they have.

With the changes that were made it is very easy that something could have affect USB devices on boot. It could have been through one of the many recomplies of the build that this support got messed up.

to think that they get better with later builds is a myth. Vista RC1 was 10x better and more stable than RC2 which by a funny coincidence was also the RTM Build. I had more trouble running RC2 than i did RC1. So no it isnt always true that later builds are more stable.

Plus because it isnt stable for you doesnt mean it isnt stable and is bad. Jsut because you have had difficulties doesnt make it bad. I have no issues, several hundred people i have talked to have no issue with it. Almost every person aside for maybe 10 run Win7 RC as their main and only OS.

I have more problems with a Final OS with 2 SP's than i do with this Beta. Vista give me more headaches than Win7 has. You would figure that M$ would have gotten those things fixed after 2 years right?

So it goes to show you that each persons experience is different. You have had issues and think it is bad, while i find it close to perfect and use it non-stop. It is a Beta, that is why they release it to get feedback on what needs to be fixed. I have tested my system now with 8 USB Items all plugged in and i still get a perfect install in under 30 minutes.

So yes many things have changed in this build. Much cod work was done. Sadly it affected your system. So head over to their forums and give them feedback. So they know and can make the adjustments. Sitting here gripping that it stinks and doesnt work will not get anything resolved.

Sorry if it seems like this is a bit harsh. It isnt intended to be. I am just giving my honest thoughts and and feedback that i have gotten not only from other sites but the M$ Forums as well.
 
to think that they get better with later builds is a myth.
I know it is. I never said they get better with later builds.
I said they should get better with later builds...
I don't know...that just makes more sense to me than each build progressively getting worse. And I'm not saying that each build is necessarily...
It just seemed that way after reading Terry's post on his experiences.
What I was basically saying was that I hope they don't continue to get worse with later builds. You misunderstood me.
Anyway, I'm not trying to start a flame war here on this issue, just stating my opinion, is all...:wink: And I realize you have had good experiences with the latest build, while Terry hasn't. No doubt each person's system is just a bit different, and so it is understandable if different users experience different results with the same product.
 
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I disconnected all the external USB stuff last night, and it got worse.
The install gave up half-way and told me to start again.
I'll have another go tonight with the mobo USB leads disconnected, and I'll research the stop code (which I noted down this time) before I start.

Mak, stop having a go at me. I'm only reporting the facts I'm experiencing with this build and contrasting them with the sublime experience of the 7000 install.

I'm not a habitual critic of all things MS and I'm happy that W7 finds nothing on your PC to object to, but unfortunately that's not my experience.
I'm not rubbishing W7 as you suggest, or complaining about the way it runs. I liked 7000.
I only wish I could get as far as being able to see how good 7100 is if I can ever get through Setup.

Don't take things so personally.

My experience is as valid as yours, and if I ever get the PC all back together with a functioning 7100, I'll certainly be feeding back my experience to MS, but I feel perfectly justified in sharing my experience with a group of old friends on here without being accused of being a miserable whinger.

There's a forum where I sometimes lurk for the latest info on some dodgy firmware in a DTR I own, waiting for a build that will fix some long-standing bugs. It has a couple of self-appointed heavy-posting users who make it their business to hurl abuse at new posters of the "If you don't like the way the machine works, why don't you b*gg*r off and buy a different one" variety. which means that virtually every thread on there is a mine of abuse and recrimination, instead of question and answer.

I hope this forum never descends to that status, so I'll continue to post factual accounts of my experience, and hopefully how I eventually overcome the problems, in the hope that it might help others who have similar difficulties, and I trust you'll make constructive suggestions as appropriate.

Are you using this build btw

7100.0.090421-1700_x64fre_client_en-us_retail_ultimate-grc1culxfrer_en_dvd.iso

or are you 32 bit ?

The USB - bug blue screen also mentioned "if this happens again - disable memory caching and shadowing in your BIOS" (I can't find any such options in mine btw), so I had a sudden thought "did I mistakenly get the 32 bit version ? " ( I've now got 6Gb on board whereas there were only 2Gb when 7000 went on) but as you can see, I have got the x64.
I might even try removing 4Gb temporarily anyway since that's the only hardware change since 7000 other than the fact that 7100 is installing to a 500gb SATA drive rather than the old 160 GB IDE which is now sitting in another DTV recorder.
 
Some deep stuff here everyone, all over the failures and success stories of a beta build. I'd hate to see this become a flame war myself, though at the moment its looking like a flame wall :frowning: I don't want to be on either side of this, as I respect both Terry for his concerns with problems in the beta as well as Alex for being optimistic about things working themselves out.

And actually I'm not too worried about all of this though I expressed it and niether should you guys. Everyones using usb devices now days and i'm sure they're going to have another RC to test usb support if they've really screwed it up.
 
Tried again last night with the mobo USB leads disconnected without any improvement, so started all over again with 4Gb RAM removed (the only difference in the hardware beween 7000 and 7100 installs).
That made no difference either, though I was back to square one with Setup running unattended all night after the BSOD and unexpected shutdown, coming down to the "enter Key" and configure desktop phase this morning.
The semi-working W7 still has 2 yellow "!" in device manager, and the "unknown device" I've deduced by a process of elimination is my Hauppauge Nova T 500 dual-tuner DTV card.
There was also a BSOD in safe mode when it was trying to install the IR remote driver for the card which mentioned USB again, though the IR is actually connected through the card by a mini phono jack, so I'm beginning to suspect that all the problems are related to that particular PCI card.

It's weird that it says that the card is an unknown device, yet it knows that the IR plugged into the card is an IR remote control for a known device.
My hardware engineering knowledge of USB is nil, but I'm assuming that the IR is "secretly" on the USB, and that might be responsible for all the BSODs.

I'm getting masochistic about this now, so I'll probable start from scratch again tonight, this time with the TV card removed, and see if I can get a half-hour install like Mak.

It's still a retrograde step driver-wise from 7000 though. This card was istalled automatically (both tuners) by 7000 and came up working in MC, with just a channel-scan needed.
 
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