Microsoft Begs Win 7 Testers To Clean Install

Barence writes "Microsoft is imploring millions of Windows 7 beta testers to perform a clean install of the forthcoming Release Candidate, rather than upgrade from the beta. 'The reality is that upgrading from one pre-release build to another is not a scenario we want to focus on because it is not something real-world customers will experience,' the company claims on the Engineering Windows 7 blog. Those who attempt to install the Release Candidate over the beta will find their path blocked." I've read complaints that reviews of new Linux distros often focus too much on the installation process; Microsoft seems to understand that complications at installation time (dual booting? preserving an existing data partition?) can sour one's experience pretty thoroughly.

Comments

Re:Soft machines for testing

[Spuds2600]

It's also kind of a good thing that Microsoft has decided to send this 'beta' release to such a wide audience. Those that use Windows SHOULD all be beta testers of the software with the understanding that each successive release should start clean.

I'm sure a lot of the "beta" testers are simply people that are very very hot to try out the new (and supposedly improved) release of Microsoft's new OS.... they often are just savvy enough to format and reinstall windows and nothing else, and don't really know how to 'test' software.

The 'soft machine' concept is really something that users should be introduced to when installing the beta Windows software. A window should pop explaining the concept, and advising that trying to upgrade a beta to a new beta or release candidate could cause massive problems, and the only way to truly experience the improvement of the build is to start from scratch.

Microsoft should continue this trend they started. I believe that with the wide variety of hardware and software out there, it has the capacity to allow Microsoft to build a vastly better product, and understand what it takes to build an OS for the less savvy computer individual.

Windows does what without a clean install?

[thtrgremlin]

Being in a bind and needing to setup a machine with Ubuntu at one point, all I had with me was an Xubuntu 6.06 alternate CD. Installed and updated to 9.04 alpha 5 quickly and fairly easily. There was one small issue that required me to use dpkg to force the installation of a package apt-get would not let me upgrade (mutual dependency conflict) and with almost no prior knowledge was resolved in
If someone was trying to install XP, but didn't have a disk and asked "Well, I got a Windows 95 CD, shouldn't I be able to use that and just update?", they would probably get a lot of weird looks... but the appropriate response would be "No, it isn't like Linux".

Hell, I once had a broken Gentoo machine I could not fix, I gave up and with no external media or even downloading an iso just switched it over to Ubuntu in a couple of hours... though in all honesty, I hope never to do that again.

Re:Microsoft Begs Win 7 Testers To Clean Install

[Runaway1956]

Except now Windows is as secure, easier to install, has more products, and behaves 'smother' then Linux.

Is as secure? Uhhhhh - you'll have to offer more than a "take my word" statement to that effect. Windows what, is as secure as what, exactly? You are hoping that Win7 is as secure as SEL?

Ahem. You'll excuse me if I wait for a LOT of people to start saying so? Experience teaches us that every time Microsoft enhances their security, first, people defeat that security on their own machines, then the crackers defeat that security from the outside.

As things stand right now, I'm simply not believing that a default installation of ANY Windows system is as secure as a default installation of ANY Linux. Or, Mac for that matter. Win2003 is the most secure MS operating system I have any experience with, and it doesn't even stack up to a default Ubuntu install, IMHO

Let's turn your little "challenge" around. You tell us why you think Win7 is so very secure, alright?

You should be aware that I actually like Win7 - it really is an improvement on everything I've seen before. But making claims that it is as secure as Linux seems pretty ridiculous.