Oh, but I forgot... BitTorrent is evil and has no legitimate uses.

Paris, no legitimate uses.

...well, I got it off a torrent, but after enough searching around, I found that https://www.microsoft.com/betaexperience/productkeys/win7-64/enus/default.aspx gave me a valid download link and matching key (that I just used on my existing install). I think you have have signed in and gotten though the Technet registration process for it to work though... but it's worth a shot (change the 64 to a 32 if you're silly enough to want the 32bit one)

Since the rest of the internet downloaders have, maybe they should consider seeding a torrent, then we could all get a legal copy without this delay and the strain on their infrastructure!!! - written from IE8 in windows 7 that i got from msdn legally yesterday! (it ROCKS BTW!) :)

it insists the public beta was never posted. (Quote)

Well this just shows how much MS knows about it's own web sites as the download was available on the UK site. I twice managed to get to the "enter your email address" page before the "server busy" appeared, followed very shortly after by 404 errors, then "this page you are searching for does not exist". Now the page address re-directs to the Windows 7 home page.

http://www.microsoft.com/uk/windows/windows-7/beta-download.aspx

Ah the pleasure of dealing with a well set-up software company... Not

anyone?

its the perfect way to do a download like this.

but microsoft are a bunch of tossers busy demonising p2p, so it will never happen.

Long Live those who do (WoW, TPB) :-)

where's the PH angle?

Microsoft has never really "gotten" the internet has it....

I thought we have all been beta testing since 1989 with windows based products.........................

Here's an idea, why not use Bittorrent to distribute it if they are having trouble keeping up with demand?

Is that a large rodent I smell?

got my key about 11pm last night (9/1/08), took an hour or two, but eventually got in...

How difficult would it be to implement a bittorrent server? Or publish it to the akamai infrastructure which they already use for other things?

Sounds like they're stalling to me (what a shock): "we tried to release it on time but didn't because too many people would have downloaded it".

Slow downloads would be preferred to no downloads (imho).

I'm sure that if they put it on a linux server, it could handle the demand!!

After Mr Ballmer promised W7 availability I am sure staff will support and make manifest his claim/assertion of availability?

Posted a few minutes ago by Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc on the Windows 7 Blog:

'I know many of you are concerned about getting a product key for the Windows 7 Beta and concerned about missing your chance to get a product key. I can't say much on this just yet but I will say you this: don't worry. :-)'

... for those wishing to test drive it in a sandbox environment:

http://www.tuxdistro.com/torrents-details.php?id=1434 (torrent, 191 seeders, 2.6GB Compressed/ 5.8GB Decompressed

According to reports it works fine - good luck!

Paris, 'cause her lucky number is 7.

That explains it then.

</SHAME>

is it that hard to set-up a BitTorrent tracker? even private tracker if you insist. It would have saved you from adding dozens of servers and could let people have really great download speed!

I guess people at MS really don't like other people's technologies...

Its not "Windows 7" its "Vista with a few GUI tweaks"

When you consider that what is putting many millions of small businesses off upgrading is the problem of supporting two architectures (XP and Vista) I cant see how adding a bunch of new GUI features that 99% of office workers will ever use addresses this.

Paris, she's dumb enough to install it.

Is it just me or are others suspicious about the current amount of 'hype' surrounding Win7?

How convenient is it that MS (who must have one of the biggest online infrastructures in the world) are having problems with such a 'popular' beta download? Front page news anyone?

The direct download links work just the download pages don't link there: (I obtained these from the description on a torrent download!)

32bit: http://download.microsoft.com/download/6/3/3/633118BD-6C3D-45A4-B985-F0FDFFE1B021/EN/7000.0.081212-1400_client_en-us_Ultimate-GB1CULFRE_EN_DVD.iso

64bit: http://download.microsoft.com/download/6/3/3/633118BD-6C3D-45A4-B985-F0FDFFE1B021/EN/7000.0.081212-1400_client_en-us_Ultimate-GB1CULXFRE_EN_DVD.iso

Although I hope M$ haven't gone with the "start as you mean to go on" principle, because this windows 7 beta has a "feature" where it apparently scans the hard drive and any network shares (!!) and trashes any mp3 files it finds (!!!!) so make sure you install this hotfix before letting it lose on your network:

32bit: http://download.microsoft.com/download/7/D/0/7D0A4440-7B8F-4ABC-8BEE-1AF6D80047EE/Windows6.1-KB961367-x86.msu

64bit: http://download.microsoft.com/download/F/B/7/FB7BC04D-66E6-413F-94F0-A54D0196EBDE/Windows6.1-KB961367-x64.msu

I downloaded it from here about 11.00am GMT

http://download.microsoft.com/download/6/3/3/633118BD-6C3D-45A4-B985-F0FDFFE1B021/EN/7000.0.081212-1400_client_en-us_Ultimate-GB1CULFRE_EN_DVD.iso

Now to pray my test machine survives. :)

Although M$ isn't the only member of the self-inflicted DDoS club. It is odd that this isn't the first time they done this to themselves. I thought that these guys were supposed to be specialists in providing enterprise-class data center hosting and application services.

Given that the aggregate of earlier Windows variants still predominate the corporate desktop, it's no surprise that the world+dog would want to check out Win7 to see if it's worth their time to build and QA an image or three for deployment. Or with XP now 6 years long in the tooth, whether they should just go back to debugging that Linux desktop build they were planning.

Sometimes Old Bill's lackey's do show a spark of creativity.

Brilliant manipulation of the press. Announce a beta, purposely underprepare the hosting server, then make big spash with claiming massive demand for thier new product, so huge it requires them to rebuild thier servers.

That is so good, expect to see Steve Jobs and Co copy it within 12 months.

I know demand for this is enormous, but why is it taking so long for an entity the size of MS to add additional capacity? And what poor planning on their part anyway---it's not like they haven't offered beta products for download before...

I watched the site go from "server too busy" to "not available" to "maybe later" around 3pm EST yesterday.

Have they never heard of bittorrent? it's not just for "pirated" stuff, many Linux distros use it to avoid the need for massive download bandwidth each time a new release comes out, too.

Typical MS always trailing 10 years behind Linux...

... and it's the same as the ones that other people are getting. Supposed to be 10 installs per person/product key but they are giving out very few product key, most people are getting the same ones.

How on earth do they plan to limit this to 2.5 million people? Microsoft really have no idea what they are doing.

Happy face for Microsoft giving everyone a free OS.

Yea. Feature complete. Vista was suppose to be "Feature Complete" but WinFS was missing. Have fun with that Beta. I'm not touching it.

They only ever let me download binaries.

Mines the one with the leaked Windows7.sln on the USB key in the pocket

that i have just successfully downloaded BOTH betas (64-bit and 32-bit), and ALSO got both keys legally from the microsoft website via TechNet..

It's on!

It's back up and running!!

Go get your keys!!!

Mine's with two keys in the inner pocket - ciao!

Funny how often Microsoft claims to want us to have "the best possible experience".

Anybody ever had such a thing from them?

Just had a look on the website and its now available. Going to take a couple hours for me to download though :(

As of this time, the Windows 7 Beta is now available for download.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/beta-download.aspx

Beta's just gone live and after several attempts at clicking on "Download Now" on the download page using FireFox 3, and nothing happening, I suddenly thought to try IE7... guess what? It worked first time - the Java applet installed and the MS Download Manager started.

FF users - if you want the beta and it's not starting, switch to IE and try it there.

Intentional? Or just sloppy coding by MS that their applet only works with IE?

I sense a drama coming on...

I was always told that the difference between 'alpha' and 'beta' was that 'alpha software' is not yet feature complete and highly likely to contain bugs, wheras 'beta software' is feature complete but may still contain significant bugs.

But then I've been in the industry for over 15 years, so being such a noob what would I know :p

It's working now. Took two attempts to get the download started but so far so good.

I'm actually downloading it now no problem. OK, I know I'm probably being a masochist but even the Vole has to have the benefit of the doubt occasionally.

Yeah, but is it really 7, I counted and it should be 45, yada yada yada

(cue to a long discussion about which windows version is which)

Where's the clueless moron icon? Oh, wait.

If it has webbed feet, a bill, waddles when it walks and quacks, it's a duck. For whatever reason, here is promising but not delivering. And that is Microsoft being Microsoft at it's very best. For whatever reason, promising but not delivering.

So I can test it out on my hardware?

There isn't one?

When is Windows going to be ready for the desktop...