RC1 Download Details

[Craig]

RC1 is only available to participants provided with a Beta 2 product key.

Before proceeding, please read and take note of the following information.

You cannot upgrade your current Windows installation to Windows Vista RC1.

You cannot uninstall or ‘rollback’ Windows Vista to your previous Windows installation.

It is recommended that you backup your current system with a piece of drive imaging software before proceeding with the Windows Vista installation. This will enable you to restore your system to how it was before installation of Windows Vista if anything goes wrong. If you don’t currently have any drive imaging software, Windows Forum personally recommends Drive Image.

From personal experience, the best way to install Vista is as a fresh install and not as a dual boot with any previous Windows installation. To do a fresh install, simply turn on your computer, insert the DVD and follow the onscreen prompts.

If you prefer to do a dual boot you can do so by inserting the DVD while you are running your current Windows operating system. Using this option I have found some problems while using the previous version of Windows; although the previous version of Windows works, for some reason some of the applications installed with the operating system will not, and need to be re-installed.

With all that said, here are the download links:

Windows Vista 32bit

Windows Vista 64bit

Microsoft Download Page

Once you have downloaded your selected version, please check the MD5 hash before burning to DVD to ensure you haven’t got a corrupted download (details on the Microsoft Download Page).

In order to install, you will need to use the product key provided to you when you signed up for Beta 2. If you have forgotten your key dont worry, you should be receiving an email reminder from Microsoft.