• Windows 7 SP1 Beta Live on the Download Center


    The downloads for the first Beta development milestone of the upcoming upgrade to Windows 7 are now live on the Microsoft Download Center, in addition to TechNet, where they were first released.

    It appears that Microsoft is working to make it as easy as possible for the broadest pool of early adopters to download Service Pack 1 for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 and start test driving.

    There are no less than six Windows 7 SP1 Beta releases on the Download Center now, and all that users need to access the bits is a genuine versions of Windows.

    “Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Beta helps keep your PCs and servers on the latest support level, provides ongoing improvements to the Windows Operating System (OS), by including previous updates delivered over Windows Update as well as continuing incremental updates to the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 platforms based on customer and partner feedback, and is easy for organizations to deploy a single set of updates,” Microsoft stated.

    Still, Microsoft continues to offer basically the same thing as it has since Windows 7 SP1 Beta went live earlier this year, namely English, French, German, Japanese and Spanish versions of the upgrade.

    Users will need Windows 7 RTM or Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM in order to install and test SP1 Beta, and must know that there are no new features as far as the Windows client is concerned.

    Here are the downloads users can grab through the Microsoft Download Center:

    - WUSignUpTool_x86.exe - This tool enables your 32-bit Windows 7 machine to participate in the public beta via Windows Update. Run this tool and then check for updates in Windows Update.

    - WUSignUpTool_x64.exe - This tool enables your 64-bit Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 machine to participate in the public beta via Windows Update. Run this tool and then check for updates in Windows Update.

    - windows6.1-KB976932-X86-INTL.exe - This application installs the public beta to a 32-bit machine running Windows 7.

    - windows6.1-KB976932-X64-INTL.exe - This application installs the public beta to a 64-bit machine running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2.

    - windows6.1-KB976932-IA64-INTL.exe - This application installs the public beta to an Itanium machine running Windows Server 2008 R2.

    - 7601.16562.100603-1800_Update_Sp_Wave0-B1SP1.0_DVD.iso - This DVD ISO disk image contains the 32-bit, 64-bit and Itanium standalone update packages for the public beta,” Microsoft revealed.

    “The software will stop running on June 30, 2011. You may not receive any other notice. You may not be able to access data used with the software when it stops running.

    “It is important to note that you must uninstall the Service Pack 1 Beta prior to installing future builds, including the final release, of the Service Pack. Upgrades from the beta will not be supported,” the company added.

    Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1) Beta and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1) Beta are available for download here.

    Source: Softpedia