14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1) Beta is now available for download from Microsoft along with Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Beta, and is important to understand the resources that the upgrade requires of early adopters for testing. Obviously, end users or business customers that want to take SP1 out for a spin, need to already have copies of Windows 7 RTM and Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM in place, as there are no slipstream versions of Windows 7 SP1 or Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 available. And then, there’s the matter of the machines on which the upgrade will be tested.
According to Microsoft, the Windows 7 Minimum System Requirements involve: “1 GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor; 1 GB of RAM (32-bit) / 2 GB RAM (64-bit); 16 GB available disk space (32-bit) / 20 GB (64-bit); DirectX 9 graphics processor with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver; DVD-compatible drive and Internet access.”
As far as the software giant is concerned, the Windows Server 2008 R2 System Requirements are at least a: “1.4 GHz (x64 processor); 512 MB RAM, 32 GB or greater free disk space; super VGA (800 × 600) or higher resolution monitor, etc.”
Users looking over these requirements will undoubtedly notice that there’s something wrong with how much space Service Pack 1 requires for installation. And the fact of the matter is that the free disk space figures mentioned above do not refer to Windows 7 SP1 or Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, but to the plain vanilla versions of the Windows client and server released in 2009.
In fact, customers deploying Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Beta will only need 3.3 GB of free disk space for the 64-bit (x64) version of the platform, and2.8 GB for the Itanium-based flavor of the server OS, in the context in which they are performing a stand-alone installation. In the eventuality in which Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 is delivered through Windows Update, than the minimum free disk space required is even smaller, 2.5 GB for x64 and 2.3 GB for Itanium.
Of course, the free disk space requirements for Windows 7 SP1 are very close to those for the server upgrade. A stand-alone installation of Windows 7 SP1 requires 1.8 GB of free space (for 32-bit (x86)) and 3.3 GB (64-bit (x64)). Customers that will deploy Windows 7 SP1 through Windows Update (WU) will need 1.5 GB of free disk space for the 32-bit (x86) version of the upgrade and 2.6 GB for 64-bit (x64).
Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1) Beta and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1) Beta are available for download here.
Follow me on Twitter @MariusOiaga.