Windows 7 RC and Activation Product Keys Now Live on MSDN and TechNet

Windows 7 Release Candidate is now live and available for download for the subscribers of Microsoft's portal for developers and IT professionals. Microsoft did reveal that it would start serving Windows 7 RC bits via MSDN and TechNet subscribers on April 30, 2009, and the Redmond company managed to live up to its promise. In case you happen to have a MSDN or TechNet subscription you will be able to use the links provided below in order to download the fully fledged Windows 7 Release Candidate bits straight from the source. Members of the MSDN and TechNet networks will be able to grab not only the actual bits of the Windows 7 RC but also product keys designed to activate the development milestone.

One aspect worth noting is the fact that, while on the first tries there were no problems accessing MSDN Subscriber Downloads, at the time of this article the error “Sorry, we were unable to service your request” is returned instead of the respective area of the portal. Repeated tries all end up in the same page load error. No word yet from Microsoft explaining the issue.

Ahead of delivering the bits for MSDN and TechNet subscribers Microsoft served Windows 7 RC to partners. Subsequently the Release Candidate of the next iteration of Windows was leaked and offered through various third parties, including torrent trackers. However, April 30 represents a milestone in the availability of Win7 RC, with Microsoft broadening the testing pool of Build 7100. Come next week, on May 5, 2009, the Redmond company will give the green light to the public downloads of Windows 7 RC Build 7100. If activated properly, Windows 7 RC will permit testers to run it until early 2010, when it is scheduled to expire.

“Listening to our partners and customers has been fundamental to the development of Windows 7,” revealed Bill Veghte, senior vice president for the Windows business at Microsoft. “We heard them and worked hard to deliver the highest quality Release Candidate in the history of Windows. We have more partner support than we’ve ever had for an RC and are pleased to say that the Windows 7 RC has hit the quality and compatibility bar for enterprises to start putting it through its paces and testing in earnest.”

Update: Download links are now live.

Technet Downloads:

- Windows 7 RC (x86) - DVD (English) - Windows 7 RC (x64) – DVD (English) - Windows 7 RC Language Pack (x86) - DVD (English) - Windows 7 RC Language Pack (x64) – DVD (English) - Windows 7 RC Checked Build (x86) – DVD (English) - Windows 7 RC Checked Build (x64) – DVD (English) - Windows 7 RC Release Notes (English)

MSDN Downloads: