Hours left to download Windows 7 RC

Downloads of the Windows 7 RC will soon stop
Downloads of the Windows 7 RC will soon stop

Microsoft will turn off downloads of the Windows 7 RC in a matter of hours – after allowing millions of users to download a trial version of its forthcoming operating system.

Microsoft's Windows 7 RC was made available to the public for download in May and the cut-off date was eventually pinned to August 20 - at about 4pm BST.

For those that have a copy of the RC on disc but have not yet obtained a key to use it, Microsoft has suggested that they will still be offering this service.

Those who have grabbed a version will be able to use it fully until March 1, 2010 when the system will shut down every two hours until June 10 when it will not boot – with the full retail Windows release date October 22.

Brave decision

The decision to release the RC to the public was a brave one by Microsoft, but it has been ratified by the wealth of positive feedback about the successor to Vista.

TechRadar's Microsoft expert Mary Branscombe gave the operating system five stars in our extensive Windows 7 review, suggesting that the OS was 'the best version of Windows yet'.

Pre-sales of the Operating System left Microsoft 'overwhelmed' and the company is now looking forward to the full release in October.

TOPICS
Patrick Goss

Patrick Goss is the ex-Editor in Chief of TechRadar. Patrick was a passionate and experienced journalist, and he has been lucky enough to work on some of the finest online properties on the planet, building audiences everywhere and establishing himself at the forefront of digital content.  After a long stint as the boss at TechRadar, Patrick has now moved on to a role with Apple, where he is the Managing Editor for the App Store in the UK.

Latest in Windows
Person printing
Microsoft’s latest Windows 11 update exorcises possessed printers that spewed out pages of random characters
A PC gamer celebrating, sat in a gaming chair in front of a monitor
Windows 11’s Game Bar gets a fresh coat of paint, plus a tweak to work better on handhelds – and I like the direction Microsoft’s heading in here
Microsoft Copilot combines the Microsoft 365 apps, Microsoft Graph and Artificial Intelligence. Isolated 3D logo on a surface
Microsoft adds Copilot AI features to Windows 11's Photos app - and I actually don't hate them
A young woman is working on a laptop in a relaxed office space.
I’ll admit, Microsoft’s new Windows 11 update surprised me with its usefulness, providing accessibility fixes, a gamepad keyboard layout, and PC spec cards
Microsoft Surface Laptop and Surface Pro devices on a table.
Hate Windows 11’s search? Microsoft is fixing it with AI, and that almost makes me want to buy a Copilot+ PC
girl using laptop hoping for good luck with her fingers crossed
Windows 11 24H2 seems to be a massive fail – so Microsoft apparently working on 25H2 fills me with hope... and fear
Latest in News
Nintendo Switch 2 Joy-Con up-close from app store
Nintendo's new app gave us another look at the Switch 2, and there's something different with the Joy-Con
cheap Nintendo Switch game deals sales
Nintendo didn't anticipate that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was 'going to be the juggernaut' for the Nintendo Switch when it was ported to the console, according to former employees
Three angles of the Apple MacBook Air 15-inch M4 laptop above a desk
Apple MacBook Air 15-inch (M4) review roundup – should you buy Apple's new lightweight laptop?
Witchbrook
Witchbrook, the life-sim I've been waiting years for, finally has a release window and it's sooner than you think
Amazon Echo Smart Speaker
Amazon is experimenting with renaming Echo speakers to Alexa speakers, and it's about time
Shigeru Miyamoto presents Nintendo Today app
Nintendo Today smartphone app is out now on iOS and Android devices – and here's what it does