Windows 7 from Beta to RC

As we are in the midst of a flurry of EnergizeIT events we’ve met a lot of people who are already running the Windows 7 Beta 1, and even more are trying it out after attending the Windows 7 Install Fests.  Probably the most common question we get is when is the RC (and/or RTM) version going to be released.  I wish I could say, but I really don’t know, I can only read the same rumors you read online and wait.

The next most common question is “Can I upgrade from Beta to RC?” and the Windows 7 Engineering team answered that with a blog post today. 

Engineering Windows 7 – Delivering a Quality Upgrade Experience

In a nutshell the answer is sorta…  Once the RC ships you will have a few options on how to get the RC installed.  You can do an in-place upgrade from Windows Vista SP1 or you can do a clean install; however in-place upgrades from Beta 1 to RC will not be supported and in fact have been disabled.  If you read the blog post there are some really valid reasons why this has been disabled for the time being.

You’ll also find they posted a workaround that you can use in conjunction with Pierre’s post on installing from USB. You can also burn the updated ISO to a DVD.  While this does work I do encourage you to follow one of the other install paths; upgrade from Vista SP1 or perform a clean install.

Your feedback is crucial to making Windows 7 a success and the engineering team would not be where they are without this.  I encourage you to continue you this support by following one of the scenarios they will be supporting at RTM.  The more real-world scenarios that can be tested, the fewer issues that will appear when it hits store shelves.

I’ll be following the clean install path and using Windows Easy Transfer to move my accounts, data, settings and configuration.  While I will still have to install my applications, it won’t be that bad and I’ll be able to continue to provide feedback around real scenarios.

As soon as I have the RC build I will blog about the Windows Easy Transfer method so you can see the steps involved before you jump into the process yourself so stay tuned!