Some owners may wonder if there is a way to download an integrated solution, for the case that they need to reinstall their operating system at a later point in time. If they do not have an integrated solution, they need to first install Windows 7 and then run all the updates online to get it patches and updated to the latest version. The operating system would be ready for use faster if Windows 7 could be installed with the SP1 integrated already.

That’s also the way to go forward for IT departments and networks, considering that bandwidth costs might shot through the roof if all network PCs needed to download the service pack 1 update from the Internet after operating system installation.

One option would be to slipstream the Service Pack 1 of Windows 7 and other updates. But that’s a technical process that takes some time. And, it is not really necessary anymore as Microsoft has made available direct downloads of Windows 7 versions that include the SP1. (note, some users may still want to slipstream, for instance to add specific drivers or tools to the installation process).

All downloads are provided as digital ISO images which need to be burned to a DVD. Windows users can use the built-in ISO burner of the Windows 7 operating system for that or any other DVD burner software that supports burning ISO images (like ImgBurn).

Here are the downloads:

• Windows 7 Home Premium x86 SP1 (bootable) [download]
• Windows 7 Home Premium x64 SP1 (bootable) [download]
• Windows 7 Professional x86 SP1 (bootable) [download]
• Windows 7 Professional x64 SP1 (bootable) [download]
• Windows 7 Ultimate x86 SP1 (bootable) [download]
• Windows 7 Ultimate X64 SP1 (bootable) [download]

The Windows 7 SP1 downloads come with a 30-day trial period, after which you need to enter a product key to continue using the operating system. The downloads are also handy if you have only received a 32-bit copy of your operating system, or no copy at all. [via]

Not all versions of Windows 7 are offered as trial downloads by Microsoft. That’s a problem for users who are looking for a specific version of the operating system that they want to download and install.

Below is a list of direct links to Windows 7 ISO images. These images can be mounted and installed directly, or burned to DVD. They do not come with a product key, and users have 30 days of testing before they need to enter a product key or rearm the operating system for another 30 days of testing.

Windows 7 Home Premium

• English 32-bit
• English 64-bit
• German 32-bit
• German 64-bit
• French 32-bit
• French 64-bit
• Spanish 32-bit
• Spanish 64-bit

Windows 7 Professional

• English 32-bit
• English 64-bit
• German 32-bit
• German 64-bit
• French 32-bit
• French 64-bit
• Spanish 32-bit
• Spanish 64-bit

Those two editions are the most common Windows 7 editions. All DVDs contain all editions of the operating system. A 32-bit Windows 7 Home Premium edition contains all 32-bit editions, and the 64-bit ISOs all 64-bit editions. The easiest way to switch those programs is to use a little portable application (called Windows 7 ISO Edition Switcher) to switch the ISO image that has been downloaded to another edition of Windows. It is for instance possible to turn a Home Premium edition into Ultimate, or Windows 7 Starter. It is still necessary to have a valid product key to activate the operating system. You can read the following article to find out how the portable software does it (How To Install Any Windows 7 Release Candidate Edition). Even though it is about the release candidate, it is still valid for the final version of the operating system.

How fast are the Windows 7 downloads? That depends largely on the load of the server, and the Internet connection of the local computer. We were able to get about 4.5 Megabytes per second, so that the downloads completed in under 7 minutes. The ISO images of Windows 7 have a size of about 2.3 Gigabytes.

The Windows 7 release candidate will expire on June 1, 2010 and start to remind the user about that from March 1, 2010 on by automatically shutting down every two hours. This still means more than 6 months of free testing for users who download the Windows 7 release candidate.

Users who have already downloaded it (or are about to) can get Windows 7 product keys from the same website the downloads are offered. Both 32-bit and 64-bit editions are offered in English, German, French, Spanish and Japanese.

A Windows Live account is required to complete the process.

It includes demonstrations, presentations and hands-on labs that help developers learn how to create applications that are compatible with Windows 7. The target group of the Windows 7 training kit for developers are software developers who want to make sure that their applications are compatible with Windows 7 and make use of Windows 7 specific features like the new taskbar.

The Windows 7 Training Kit for Developers includes presentations, hands-on labs, and demos. This content is based on Windows 7 RTM and it is designed to help you learn how to build applications that are compatible with and shine on Windows 7 by utilizing key Windows 7 features such as:

* Taskbar
* Libraries
* Multi Touch
* Sensors and Location
* Ribbon
* Trigger Start Services
* Instrumentation and ETW
* Application Compatability

And Application Compatibility topics such as:

* Version Checking
* UAC Data Redirection
* Session 0 Isolation
* Installer Detection
* User Interface Privilege Isolation
* High DPI

Microsoft has posted system requirements that need to be matched to take full advantage of the training kit. Mentioned are Windows 7, the Windows 7 SDK, Visual Studio 2009 and the windows Code Pack Api for the Microsoft .net Framework.

The Windows 7 training kit for developers comes as a single self-extracting executable that will uncompress the contents to a selected folder. The contents can then be accessed with a modern web browser. Software developers can download it from the Microsoft website.

Every tech blog is pointing to the official website and most users try to download it directly from there. This obviously leads to the server load that users are experiencing at the moment. A far better solution is to avoid the main server and head for the additional servers that are available. The Technet server (or MSDN) can also be used by anyone to download the Windows 7 Release Candidate. It is on the other hand still responsive offering a better user experience.

Just open the url offered above and sign in to a Windows Live account in the upper right corner first. After that pick your Windows 7 edition or editions that you want to download, fill out a small form and download the Windows 7 Release Candidate in the end. The process is almost fluent but guaranteed to work at this point in time whereas the official route will lead to server errors and blank pages.

We suggested that the problems could have been caused by an artificial limitation of network resources. While that was only one possibility it does make even more sense considering that Microsoft decided to lift the 2.5 million key limit for the next 14 days.

Every user will get a working Windows 7 Beta product key if he requests one before January 24. Users who want to request a key and download the Windows 7 Beta release can do so here. Everything seems to be running smoothly and without errors.

Due to an enormous surge in demand, the download experience was not ideal so we listened and took the necessary steps to ensure a good experience. We have clearly heard that many of you want to check out the Windows 7 Beta and, as a result, we have decided remove the initial 2.5 million limit on the public beta for the next two weeks (thru January 24th). During that time you will have access to the beta even if the download number exceeds the 2.5 million unit limit.

What’s your take on the release? Were the problems during the initial Windows 7 release caused by bad planning and underestimation of demand or intentional?

Later that day Microsoft posted a new message on stating “Thanks for your interest in the Windows 7 Beta. The volume has been phenomenal — we’re in the process of adding more servers to handle the demand”. The download has been postponed and Microsoft is tight-lipped about the new release date of the beta release.

This is not the first release that is going bad. And it is not always Microsoft that is not able to predict correctly. It seems that most multi-national corporations have prediction difficulties. Who would not have thought that users around the globe would access the Microsoft servers to get one of the 2.5 million Beta keys after the announcement that the keys would be limited?

A question that surely is coming up is whether this resource limitation was intentional. Is it good or bad news if many more users than expected wanted to download the Windows 7 Beta. It is bad news for the individuals who tried to download it but it is good news for Microsoft as all news sites will report that the demand is incredible high.

That means there are two lines of though here. One is that Microsoft got their predictions about user interest in the Windows 7 beta wrong while the other is that Microsoft did not make use of their full infrastructure in order to create a groundbreaking demand of the product.