I'm not sure what happened between beta build 7000 and RC build 7100 butI am seriously contemplating going BACK to beta if I'm going to continue testing Windows 7. Windows 7 beta ran flawlessly. It was far more stable than Vista and had many of bugs/issues addressed (Offline Files) that never got fixed in Vista. I was VERY happy with Win7 Beta and was highly recommending that our customers upgrade to Windows 7 once it is released. I'm no longer recommending now since my dissapointing experience with the RC, so far.Since upgrading (reformat/clean install, might I add) to Windows 7 RC 64, my excitement to upgrade quickly turned to pure frustration after the first week of installation on TWO different computers.Iam running Windows 7 RC on an HP notebook and Dell desktop (both fairly newer PCs).Since the installation of RC: Windows Explorer crashes regularly (especially when I start typing in the name of a program in the Start Menu) Internet Explorer randomly freezesfrequently and continually must be restarted now my local area network connection no longer connects immediately after restart (now I must manually disable then re-enable my network adapter in order to connect to Internet) Offline Files no longer works, at all (please see my thread about offline files) These problems never happened with the beta (and my beta installations were an UPGRADEfrom Vista--not a clean install!)My great frustration lies with the fact that the beta build 7000 (64 bit) ran very good. Everything worked as it should, and I was actually shocked that that the BETAwas more stable than my previous installation ofWindows Vista! Now the RC is less stable and more problematic than the Beta. Forgive me if I'm wrong here, butI think that was supposed to be the other way around.In all I'm just left wondering what the #%& happened. I'm sorry for the angry tone but this is just plain rediculous.I'm curious to know how many other RC usersare experiencing this problem...

I am in a similar situation in that I am unable to install the RC due to BSOD's on install. I have had to go back to the beta as I am using Windows 7 for my home theatre. There has been a resounding lack of information back from Microsoft as to what has happened to cause these issues. Ah test software.....

Hi EriqHave you tried an upgrade of Vista with the RC build?From your description, this is the main difference between the way you tested the beta build and the RC build.It'slikely that some of the software/settings/hardware drivers, etc, that werepart of theVista upgrademade a differencein the clean install of the RC?Your frustration is understandable, but remember when testing a pre-release product, anything that can happen, usually does.Hope this helps.Thank You for testing Windows 7 Ronnie Vernon MVP

Hi EriqHave you tried an upgrade of Vista with the RC build?From your description, this is the main difference between the way you tested the beta build and the RC build.It'slikely that some of the software/settings/hardware drivers, etc, that werepart of theVista upgrademade a differencein the clean install of the RC?Your frustration is understandable, but remember when testing a pre-release product, anything that can happen, usually does.Hope this helps.Thank You for testing Windows 7 Ronnie Vernon MVP No. Because Microsoft recommended that you do a CLEAN install of Windows 7 RC instead of an upgrade over the beta. I would need to reformat and perform a clean installation of Windows Vista again, and I don't believe installing Windows Vista THEN ugprading to the RC now will solve the issues. I am aware of all the drivers and patches/updatesI had previously installed in the beta (and before in Vista). And I updated all of that after installing Win7 RCtothe same or newer versions of released drivers and patches/updates.I also don't believe drivers are to blame. It's an issue with Windows Explorer. It's an issue with Offline Files. I'm not having any problems with my display adapter or anything else, and don't believe drivers would cause things like Offline Files to NOT work. As far as hardware & drivers go, everything looks finein the Device Manager and Event Log. There is no new hardware added. All of my other software (Microsoft Office and Adobe CS3) that I use frequently has the latest available updates installed--the same updates that were installed during the beta build.

I just have to say that in my case Windows 7 x64 RC is much much better and more stable than the Beta was. I have had virtually no problems at all since installing the RC (clean install). Programs that would not run int the beta (BrotherControl Center 3 for one) work as expected. I can't speak to your problems but it doesn't seem to be universal.

I have also had issues with the RC, which were non-existent in the beta. While I used the beta, my hardware and software worked flawlessly for the most part. For example, I used HP's Vista software for my all-in-one Officejet 6310. It worked perfectly, especially when I updated it. Now, it doesn't update correctly, causing the scanning functionality (using the Scan-To button) to fail. Also, it runs MUCH slower on my single core Athlon 64 (single core, don't laugh), that the beta did (slower startups, IE runs slower, Windows Explorer occasionally crashes). I thought the RC improved the OS. What happened M$!!!!?!!!!?! Btw, this is on the 32-bit RC.

derosnec:Why is giving my experience in a public forum "contradicting"? I may have been just lucky but thats what happened to me.

Hi Eriq Actually, they have stated that they prefer the beta testers perform an upgrade install over Vista, since this will be the most common upgrade scenario for most users. See the following articles for details.Engineering Windows 7 : Delivering a quality upgrade experienceRegression bugs (Things that worked in Build 7000, but are broken in Build 7100) are the priorityitems for beta team.Hope this helps.Thank You for testing Windows 7 Ronnie Vernon MVP

No doubt, Eriq will get the urge to follow Ronnie's advice. It will be interesting to learn if that solves things for him. Here's my problem with that. My two test computers no longer have a trace of Vista, and Windows 7 IS built on the same code and kernel # of Windows Vista anyway. Logic tells me that I won't gain stability in Windows 7 by installing Windows Vista first then upgrading to Win7. That's a terrible path for being able to have a stable install of Windows 7.If I did reformat the drive and put Windows Vista back on to upgrade to Windows 7, I would be installing the same software anyway--except for some hardware drivers which have been re-written for Windows7 and I would have no choice but to use those drivers instead.I just don't see how requiring Windows Vista to be installed first will make my experience with Windows 7 more stable.

Also, are we ONLY testing an UPGRADE? Or are we testing clean installs AND upgrades? I've tested the upgrade process. It worked. We can't recommend to go back to Vista and upgrade just to have Win7. A clean install should work the same--if not better overall for an install of Win7.If that is the case, then Microsoft should have recommended that Win7 beta users re-install Windows Vista to upgrade to Win7 RC.

Hi Eriq Actually, they have stated that they prefer the beta testers perform an upgrade install over Vista, since this will be the most common upgrade scenario for most users. See the following articles for details.Engineering Windows 7 : Delivering a quality upgrade experienceRegression bugs (Things that worked in Build 7000, but are broken in Build 7100) are the priorityitems for beta team.Hope this helpsThank You for testing Windows 7Ronnie Vernon MVP Thanks. I'm not trying to be difficult and not take advice, but as an I.T. professional I have always highly recommendedthat customers do a clean install over an upgrade. Unless Microsoft is now saying that upgrades are BETTER than clean-installs when it comes to Windows 7.Also keep in mind that there are (at least for the customers in my area) a lot more users still running Windows XP than Vista for many reasons. And XP users can't upgrade anyway. They have to do a clean install of Win7. That would be very akward for Microsoft to require customers coming from Windows XP to find a way to upgrade/install Vista first then upgrade.

I was having problems with the Beta on my Pavilion DV9500t. I was going to remove it and stop evaluating until I installed the RC version. Now I'm considering removing Vista from my other partition. The only issue I have is that I can't install the software for my Deskjet 6300 when I tell it to connect using a LAN. Windows 7 will find it and install the drivers, but I can't install the software to use the other features. That's not a major issue to me since HP will probably offer software for Windows 7 when it is actually released. If not, the price of printers is cheep enough.

It is interesting that you mention this because with the Beta I had no Blue screens and now with RC in only a week or so I have already had one. Grant it I have had many more with Vista, in fact I had three with Vista while using the Beta as my primary and only booting Vista every now and then to scan with Trend Micro and use my Diskeeper defrag.

It is interesting that you mention this because with the Beta I had no Blue screens and now with RC in only a week or so I have already had one. Grant it I have had many more with Vista, in fact I had three with Vista while using the Beta as my primary and only booting Vista every now and then to scan with Trend Micro and use my Diskeeper defrag. If you are having consistent blue screens or BSOD's it is highly likely you have a hardware issue somewhere. In my experience most blue screens are caused by hardware problems, or drivers that relate to hardware.Do yourself a favour and test your system thoroughly.1)Obtain and run Spinrite 6 on your drive at level 4 and let it complete; it may take more than a day. Anything other than EEC errors likely means drive problems. (This will require you to make a boot CD and have your system setup correctly to boot from a CD also.)2) Locate and download Memtest 3.5 and make a boot CD. Use it to test your RAM for at least one full cycle. Note that errors may also indicate the need for a BIOS upgrade, change the BIOS RAM settings, or simply clean the RAM pins with a pencil eraser and reinsert (research how to take precautions from static electricity first!)3) Verify ALL internal wiring connections, because just as a penny tarnishes, so do the connections inside your computer. Don not forget the PCI and other slots when going through all the internal parts that can be plugged or unplugged from one another. (Please research about static discharge precautions BEFORE you do this)That is just a basic set of steps to go through if you have BSOD problems more than once a month on your computer.BSOD's will also be caused by malware,viruses, improperly installed OS and driver patches (you forgot to reboot or had a crash before you did), very badly written software, usually games or music software that access hardware directly. There are other issues also, but after this we would be getting into overly technical issues. At that point it is time to seek professional assistance for repeated BSOD's.IT Consultant for 27 years Currently work in the field 5 days out of 7, 12 hours a day minimum. I like my work. "Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." --Martin Luther King, Jr.

Hello Eriq,I think what Ronnie and Microsoft were going for by suggesting an upgrade path is not to imply that this is the way it need be done. It's a suggestion based on stability. Hardware manufacturers have been pumping out driver versions one after another just to keep pace with Windows Vista. As Windows 7 is also new and in need of drivers the suggested upgrade path for Windows 7 RC over a Windows Vista install is updated and stable drivers. Most if not all current Windows Vista drivers should work in Windows 7.

I've never seen a BSOD using beta or RC1. All of my hardware drivers are fine. I'm even using Windows 7 specific drivers provided by the 3rd party manufacturers themselves.The issues that I've been having relate to Windows Explorer crashing frequently and Offline Files no long working as it did in Win7 beta.

Thanks. Well it's too late now. I'm using RC1 and can't go back without wiping everything out just to reinstall Vista for the cause. I'll wait until Windows 7 RC2 comes out this Friday. Since I can't upgrade from RC1 to RC2, I'll have to do a clean install and cross my fingers that RC2 works like beta build 7000 did!

Repeat from above, but I never experienced a BSOD using beta or RC1. All of my hardware drivers are fine I'm about positive. The issues that I've been having relate to Windows Explorer crashing frequently from simple things like typing in a program name from the Start menu and Offline Files no long working as it did in Win7 beta.

Please, don't make people hungry for new releases they will not get in a serious way if they aren't MS partners, TAP or MSDN subscribers. Don'tinvite everyone to look for torrents and such.Mobile AMD64 3000+, VIA Apollo K8T800 chipset, 1 G RAM, ATIRadeonMobility 9700, 20x DVDRW, C:XPSP3 (55G),D:WIN7 (25G),F:DATA (250G)

Please, don't make people hungry for new releases they will not get in a serious way if they aren't MS partners, TAP or MSDN subscribers. Don'tinvite everyone to look for torrents and such. Mobile AMD64 3000+, VIA Apollo K8T800 chipset, 1 G RAM, ATIRadeonMobility 9700, 20x DVDRW, C:XPSP3 (55G),D:WIN7 (25G),F:DATA (250G) Isn't everyone with access to the technet forums here an MS Partner, TAP or MSDN subscriber? From what I understand (and confirmed by official sources) Windows 7 RC2 is coming June 12th to those subscribers. I don't believe RC2 it will be released to general public.If subscribers want to search and download from torrents, that's their problem. They could be infected by viruses and such. I would trust that people here know better. But that's not my problem.

Hi FolksI removed all of the Off Topic posts from this thread.When you see a post that is off topic please try to refrain from responding to that post. Responding only encourages the off topic poster to continue.Thanks for understanding. Ronnie Vernon MVPForum Moderator

There is no such thing as RC2, nor will there be. Your source is incorrect and not official. We frequently give out interim builds to TAP customers only, that's why TAP customers exist - to test interim builds. One went out today, in fact. If those were counted from RC, we'd be at RC4 already... ^_^Ned Pyle [MSFT] - MS Enterprise Platforms Support - Beta Team