Windows 7 Beta Download Without Limits

Martin Brinkmann
Jan 11, 2009
Updated • Jun 5, 2014
Windows, Windows 7
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We have posted an article about the problems that were encountered during the initial Windows 7 Beta release on January 9. Users who wanted to download the beta on the release date were greeted with all kinds of error messages which had the result that only a few were actually able to grab a Windows 7 Beta key and to download the release completely.

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?

Update: Windows 7 in the meantime has been released as a final version, which means that the beta version is no longer available for download. Microsoft in the meantime has even released the first service pack for Windows 7, and started to release public beta versions of the upcoming operating system Windows 8.

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Comments

  1. bunty said on May 27, 2009 at 10:34 am
    Reply

    where is the download link………..??

  2. FoeL said on February 15, 2009 at 11:25 pm
    Reply

    Microsoft is capping the number of downloads, so you may already be too late to get a copy.

  3. VD said on January 11, 2009 at 5:06 pm
    Reply

    I am fairly sure that the limitation auf keys was a marketing trick to rise interest in the beta version. But the miscalculation of the needed hardware infrastructure to give people access to the keys and download is due to bad planning.

  4. Flo said on January 11, 2009 at 1:21 pm
    Reply

    I can report that keys work just great. There is a tip on lifehacker how to get them. However it seems keys repeat themselves.
    Downloading was a huge problem, i kept getting timeouts at 8-10% (IE,FF, Download Manager), similar problems were reported in a forum by over 1k users, so they might still be “overwhelmed”.
    Was then able to grab it from a mirror.
    Although it would maybe mean aknowledging p2p, this would have never happened if also released to torrent communities.

    PS: When trying to dl with chrome, i kept getting an error telling me file is to big. Any idea on how to fix that for future issues?

    All the best,
    Flo

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