14 DAY TRIAL // The first phase of the Windows 7 Beta expiration process is now just a couple of weeks away. Build 7000 is time bombed, a common practice that Microsoft has adopted for all software it is offering for Beta testing, and set to expire completely in just a month and a half. However, come the end of June, testers still running Beta Build 7000 will find their experience of using Windows 7 deteriorating. The operating system will still be fully usable, except for repetitive and automatic restarts.
“Heads up! The Windows 7 Beta will expire on August 1, 2009 so be prepared and plan to rebuild your PC with either the Release Candidate (RC) or another valid version of Windows before July 1, 2009. You will receive a warning two weeks prior to July 1; after this date, your PC will begin shutting down every two hours,” revealed a member of the TechNet Plus Product Team.
Microsoft made available for public download Windows 7 Beta in early January 2009. The start of May was synonymous with the delivery of the Release Candidate development milestone, Build 7100. Testers who want to continue using Windows 7 in the platform's almost finalized form can make the jump to RC. Windows 7 Release Candidate build 7100 continues to be available for download straight from Microsoft with the associated activation product keys. Properly activated, testers will be able to run Windows 7 until March 2010, completely for free.
Windows 7 is planned for RTM in the second half of July. The Redmond company is pressing onward with plans to have the successor of Windows Vista hit the shelves on October 22. Still, the company has yet to sign off the RTM code for the operating system. The latest development milestones of Windows 7 are still labeled RC, as proved by leaked builds 7227, 7229 and 7231.
32-bit and 64-bit Windows 7 (Release Candidate) RC Build 7100.0.090421-1700 is available for download here.