Vista RC1 Public Release

[Guest]

Does anyone know when Windows Vista RC1 for the public is going to be
released. Everybody says it is going to be released in the coming weeks, can
someone tell me a date I hate waiting, I want to test RC1.

 

[Roy Coorne]

Does anyone know when Windows Vista RC1 for the public is going to be
released. Everybody says it is going to be released in the coming weeks, can
someone tell me a date I hate waiting, I want to test RC1.

First Read Then Post

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

Have at it. If you don't have a product key from the CPP beta 2 release you
can still evaluate it for 14 days. From the release notes, ": In RC1 + we're
allowing setup to continue without entering a product key - (sets product
type as Evaluation) The tickbox during setup that says to "auto-activate"
stays checked - so when the system attempts to auto-activate it will fail
with a non-descript error message and not tell you it is trying to activate
without you entering a key. Workaround: Go through the steps you normally
would to "change" the product key."

By that time the CPP will be taking new enrollments and you can get a
product key then.

 

[Andre Da Costa [ActiveWin]]

I guess you didn't see my post:
From the Windows Vista Blog:
"Some sites out in the community have begun posting links to the Customer
Preview Program (CPP) download of Windows Vista RC1. Before you jump up to
get your own download of RC1, please bear in mind these facts:

If you previously registered for the Windows Vista Beta 2 Customer Preview
Program 2 and received a product key (PID), that key will work for the
Windows Vista RC1 release as well. You need not re-register; you will need
to download the RC1 ISO image, however. Microsoft has just today begun
sending download links via email to previous Customer Preview Program
participants who registered for Windows Vista Beta 2 back in June. Not all
emails are being sent simultaneously, so there may be a few hours' delay in
delivery of yours.

The Customer Preview Program has yet to open back up for new registrants.
Therefore, if you do not already have a PID and were not part of June's Beta
2 CPP, you will need to wait until the CPP opens to the public in order to
register for a PID and install RC1. I expect that this will occur in the
very near future, so keep watching this blog.

In other words: if you choose to download RC1 now and weren't part of the
Beta 2 CPP in June, you must wait until the CPP is opened to the public
before you'll be able acquire a PID that will enable you to install RC1.

Please be mindful of the above when making your decision to download. I
must confess that while I and everyone on the team certainly appreciate your
enthusiasm for downloading, registering and testing RC1, posting comments to
this or any other MS blog asking for product keys won't get them to you any
faster. There's nothing I can do to accelerate the public availability of
RC1; but, I can keep you informed, and pledge to do exactly that.

So, once the RC1 Customer Preview Program officially opens up to new
registrations, you can expect a post here letting you know. Thanks for your
patience in the interim "

Check out the Windows Vista blog here:
http://blogs.technet.com/windowsvista/default.aspx

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Andre;
You missed a relevant fact.
RC-1 and Pre RC-1 can be installed without a Product Key.
I have not tried other builds.
If a key is not entered, a choice of which version to install is listed,
Ultimate, Starter, etc.
However since it can not be activated without a key, it will cease to
function in 14 days.

 

[Andre Da Costa [ActiveWin]]

Interesting, very interesting, I gotta try this.

 

[Andre Da Costa [ActiveWin]]

Oops, thanks, but I forgot to day, I am sure most users want to test it for
more than 14 days.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

The user can provide a product key easily with the link to the right of the
activation link on system properties.

 

[Jane C]

As it happens, that's what I'm doing on my 3rd partition...trying out the
different SKUs. Business Edition is getting evaluated there (x86) at the
moment. Starter Edition is next ;-)
x64 RC1 Ultimate is happily installed on another partition.

 

[SAM-R]

The problem with this is if you choose Home Premium and then get a RC1 CPP
Key, it will not work because the key is for Ultimate not Home Premium.

 

[Andre Da Costa [ActiveWin]]

I want see whats in Enterprise.
--
http://adacosta.spaces.live.com

As it happens, that's what I'm doing on my 3rd partition...trying out the
different SKUs. Business Edition is getting evaluated there (x86) at the
moment. Starter Edition is next ;-)
x64 RC1 Ultimate is happily installed on another partition.

 

[Jane C]

That's the only one missing from the list. Probably because it will not
be a retail version and only available to SA etc.

 

[Andre Da Costa [ActiveWin]]

--
http://adacosta.spaces.live.com

That's the only one missing from the list. Probably because it will
not be a retail version and only available to SA etc.