Download Windows 7 SDK RC

Hot on the heels of the Release Candidate of Windows 7 client and Windows Server 2009 R2, Microsoft has made available for download the software development kit for the two platforms, also in RC stage. Two packages went live on the Microsoft Download Center on April 4: Windows SDK for Windows 7 and .NET Framework 3.5 SP1: RC and the Windows SDK for Windows 7 and .NET Framework 3.5 SP1: RC (ISO). The former is designed to permit developers to perform a web setup of the SDK, while the latter offers the possibility for the ISO image to be burned on a DVD and then installed.

“The Windows SDK for Windows 7 and .NET Framework 3.5 SP1: RC provides the documentation, samples, header files, libraries, and tools (including C++ compilers) that you need to develop applications to run on Windows 7 RC and the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1. To build and run .NET Framework applications, you must have the corresponding version of the .NET Framework installed. This SDK is compatible with Visual Studio 2008, including Visual Studio Express Editions, which are available free of charge,” Microsoft revealed.

The package destined for web setup is labeled winsdk_web.exe, and weighs in at 3544.3 MB. Microsoft recommends developers to have at least 2.5 GB of free space to accommodate the SDK. At the same time, the company explained that users running the 64-bit version of Windows and Visual Studio 2008 would need to upgrade to Visual Studio 2008 SP1 ahead of deploying the Windows 7 SDK, to prevent functionality issues.

“For this release, the Windows SDK is available thru a DVD ISO image file so that you can burn your own DVD or web setup. Due to the large size of the ISO file, we highly recommend that you use a download manager tool to manage the ISO download. To verify that your download of the ISO file for the Windows SDK is correct, check that the CRC and file size match the following:

File Name: GRC1SDK_EN_DVD.iso
Chip: X86
CRC#: 0xBF75EF1B
SHA1: 0xE2567CBF7DF45D69A52869A915CF9EE093B80CAA

File Name: GRC1SDKX_EN_DVD.iso
Chip: AMD64
CRC#: 0x0241F71B
SHA1: 0x63A39CBE6976F3053F8DA3E8DBCAA79CFB2AE596

File Name: GRC1SDKIAI_EN_DVD.iso
Chip: IA64
CRC#: 0x5FB4007D
SHA1: 0x908CC7305189BD54A885291778C4D0A934AAE8FA.”

Microsoft Windows SDK for Windows 7 and .NET Framework 3.5 SP1: RC and Microsoft Windows SDK for Windows 7 and .NET Framework 3.5 SP1: RC (ISO) are available for download here.