Microsoft on Win7 Beta: 'The download experience was not ideal'

After adding some server horsepower to the Windows 7 beta download over the weekend, some testers did manage to receive working copies. That's not to say everything's working perfectly just yet.

In Betanews tests Monday morning on four different browsers on different operating systems -- Windows XP Professional SP3 and Windows Vista SP1 -- the Download Center applet launched by Microsoft -- which typically works just fine for retrieving smaller files than the Windows 7 beta -- would not launch. That's not to say this is the same experience everyone in the world is having, but it's an indication that getting the Win7 beta remains difficult.

In a blog post Saturday, Microsoft team evangelist Brandon LeBlanc had a phrase for describing that things had been pretty bad since Friday: "Due to an enormous surge in demand, the download experience was not ideal so we listened and took the necessary steps to ensure a good experience. We have clearly heard that many of you want to check out the Windows 7 Beta and, as a result, we have decided remove the initial 2.5 million limit on the public beta for the next two weeks (thru January 24th)."

In our Monday morning trials, using Firefox 3, we were able to retrieve activation keys for Windows 7 installations -- which is further along than we got on Friday or Saturday morning. But clicking on "Download Now" ends up reloading the same page. On Internet Explorer 7, we're given the option to install Akamai's Download Center applet -- which is curious, because on these test systems, it's actually already installed. Once we clear the download of that applet through UAC, the "Beta Download Center" page reloads again, giving us the same option to download the applet. It's the only option there is for now, as straight HTTP downloads are not being offered at the moment.

Betanews will keep trying throughout the day, and if we discover a secret or trick for folks who have the same problem, we'll share it with you.