perhaps I'm just too tired, but I'm not seeing where I sign up for the program. Is there a way to ensure that I get an activation key once MS 'really' opens this to the public. I keep getting the same link in all my searches, but I dont' see a registration or sign up link anywhere.

I'd forget my head if it wasn't screwed on

Ah, so it was you I saw with the bolts in the side of your neck.....for a while there I was beginning to believe there was some truth to Frankensteins monster.

I just completed my download of RC1, but what a performance! Had the D/L running for 26 hours and only had 34% completed. Anyway, I stopped it for a few moments before resuming and got the remaining 66% in just over 2 hours. Guess I must've got on at an extremely busy time or something - then went out and to bed afterwards before realising just how slow it was going.

As yet I have not received an email regarding Vista RC1, but as I understand it, if I upgrade my existing beta 2 install and then put RC 1 over the top of it, I can use the product key MS sent me when I signed up for the beta to validate RC 1. Would that be correct, and if not, could someone please enlighten me as to how I do so? TIA.

starkers,
Clean Installs are working better than upgrades at this point. Yes, you will be able to use your Beta2 key to install and activate.

I'm having trubble accessing http://windowsbeta.microsoft.com/ . Tried to give feedback with teh MBC, but I only get an error report when I try to submit anything.

***bump***

Now I seriously need help burning a usable disk.

Now come on guys, pleeeease! I'm going through Vista RC1 withdrawal symptoms after a 28.4 hour download time and I'm beginning to climb the walls not being able to burn & install it properly. PLEASE, it's like being the mischievous teenager finding dad's car keys, wanting to sneakily take it for a drive while he's having a nap, but finding the garage is locked and dad wears the key on a chain around his neck.

Worse still, it's like being given a pack of your most favourite candy of all time the day after you've had all your teeth removed....like a eunuch winning a lifetime supply of Viagara.

Besides, I have a rather large frisbee collection due to the many failed attempts so far, and I'd rather not be continually adding to it.....they're just not fun when the cat refuses to fetch and our 11 yo pug is too lazy to get out of his own way. To give you an idea of just how lazy he (Brodie) is, when he's sniffing at his leash we know it's not a hint to go for walkies....he wants one of us to carry him around the neighbourhood for a change of scenery.

Anyhow, I'm sure it's something quite simple that I'm missing/doing wrong and I need someone to enlighten me since exhausting my own thought processes as to what it could be.

You may have a corrupted download. There was nothing special I needed to do...it was a regular .iso that I burned with PowerISO and it installed with no problem at all. Or maybe a problem with your burner. Good luck.

Thanks for your input, boss, though I wouldn't have thought it'd be a corrupt download as the checksum tallied up okay....but then, that only says all the files are present and complete, I guess. However, just to be sure, I'll d/l it again.

Also, I am using a different burner to the one I used to do Vista beta 2, and a newer version of Nero Burning Rom as well. Currently I have two Lite-On DVD-RW SHM-165P65's installed and I'm using Nero 6.6, whereas before (when Beta 2 succesfully burned) I was using Nero 6.0 and a Lite-On DVDRW SOHW-8325. I wouldn't think that'd make a difference either, but then I'm not aware of any issues with these newer versions....so if anyone knows of any pertinant issues here, please advise as my wife has the earlier versions in her machine and (maybe ) she'll let me burn it on hers instead.

Also try burning at a lower speed. I have read of similar problems when people were burning at high speeds.

Although MS advises burning at 1x or 2x for a better quality disc, Nero will only allow me to burn at 4x.....even though it offers lower speeds during setup, the burn always begins at 4x, no matter how many times I select 1x or 2x. Thing is I burned Vista beta 2 at 4x using Nero and it came out just fine, and I can't see that I'm doing
anything differently now, which is why I'm at a loss as to why I'm unable to achieve a successful burn this time around.

Maybe it has something to do with my new DVD burners (tried burning on both), but one would imagine the newer technology would handle the task equally if not better than the old, especially combined with updated burning software. Maybe that's where my problem begins/lies (the software), and maybe somebody could point me in the direction of an easy to use proggie that's known to successfully complete this particular task without drama.

....and preferaby a downloadable trial or freeware proggie, seeing as I'd be unlikely to need it again anytime soon - that I'm unable to access the cash and/or stores for a few days yet.

Also, the second d/l only tool 2 hours 43 minutes (as opposed to the first at over 28 hours), so here's hoping that's a positive thing towards a successful burn this time around. This situation reminds me of when I was just 19 and working out bush. I was earning $300 per day but there was nowhere to spend a cent (not even a pub)...and this currently unusable ISO file is burning a hole in my HD.

Anyway, I'll do a bit of investigating of my own and give it another go...will report back when done, either as being successful or too damned frustrated and have given up trying, again. In the meantime, however, please continue posting tips & possible solutions just in case there are others, besides myself, experiencing similar issues.

I burned the .iso using Nero 6.6 at 2.4x without issue. I suspect it is your new optical drive(s) that are not allowing the slower speed.

Thanks, Corky, I'll give that a try (that's if she'll let me anywhere near now she's well & truly got the "I've got my own PC" bug ) Nah, she'll be right! My wife also registered for the Vista beta 2 public release but hasn't been able to use until now, and with RC1 now being available, she's also champing at the bit to play with it.

Also, I looked into and downloaded Ashampoo's Burning Studio 6, which has ISO support, various speeed selections and much more, so does anyone here know anything about this program, whether or not it would have better support than Nero for these newer optical drives I now have. I've been trying to make head or tail of the tech speak in the users manual, but many of its terms/phrases are double Dutch to me and I'm lost in specs, figures and equations that are well beyond me. Funny thing that....I can build me missus a PC but can't RTFM.

It appears to be a feature rich suite of burning/ripping programs, so if it suits my needs, at U.S. $29.95 it may very well be worth the investment.....anyone with any input/info/experience at all, please share it with us for future reference.

In the meantime, however, it's 9.00 am and I've not been to bed yet, so I'm gonna get some snooze prior to attempting another burn (or 6) of RC1. I'll try it on my wife's machine, then on my own using the Ashampoo burning suite before reporting back with the results...which hopefully are positive this time. I'm so sick and tired of creating frisbees the cat won't fetch....tho I think I may have come up with an ingenious idea as to how I can train him to bring 'em back. Attach the disc/now frisbee to the cat, throw him instead, then hold up a sardine so he comes running back for the delicious (to him) morsel.

Well I tried Burning RC1 on my wife's machine using Nero 6.6. but still no go. Although I can select the 1x or 2x speeds, when the burn starts it's always at 4x and the result is a non-usable disc....if I have winimage08 installed I get a complete ISO file that does not autorun and individual files within cannot be accessed...if I uninstall winimage08, the resulting file is a invalid Win32 application and totally useless.

I tried with Ashampoo Burning Suite 6 on my own machine, but still cannot get the burn speed below 4x and the resulting disc was as above...effin' useless. I then tried burning with Ashampoo on my wife's machine, given her burner isn't one of these new fangled optical drives, but still the burning speed will not come below 4x, so I gave up trying, having wasted around 15 - 20 discs on it so far.

I'm now totally at a loss as to how I'll ever get this burn done...nothing has been successful so far and I'm fresh out of ideas, so if anyone can offer any ideas, possible solutions, etc, please respond cos I'm just about at my wits end.

I still think there's a problem with the .iso. SuperISO burned it just fine,

Yeah, I'm thinking there's an issue with the ISO burning/conversion process somewhere, and that's why I cannot get an autorun disk or one I can where access the files with Explorer. Thing is, I looked into SuperISO but it doesn't handle files over 400mb if it isn't registered, and I don't have the ready cash to do that right now.

I've tried a couple of other burning proggies since my last post and still get the same result....an unusable disk. It's so frustrating cos I got Vista beta 2 to burn and install just fine, and I really wanna update it to see what all the fuss is about, but can't due to issues I'm unable to get past.

A thought did occur to me, if it's okay, that if somebody who's successfully burned RC 1 would be so kind as to burn a copy and pop it in the post for me. I did enquire with MS about getting the DVD kit, but was informed it would take several weeks before I actually received it, so I'd be eternally grateful if someone would be so kind as to do that favour for me...being that I'm champing at the bit to play with it.

If someone is able to do this, my email addy is starkers53 AT hotmail.com, and I'll provide the necessary details for postage and etc. If someone in Oz could do it, even better (time-wise and about $1.00 postage), but it wouldn't matter to me where it came from and I would be only too happy to pay for the postage,

I could mail you one Starkers, but I probably couldn't get it out until Friday.

Microsoft is now taking key requests for RC1.

WWW Link