News
Pre-Release Vista Versions To Expire in May
If you're still using a pre-release version of Windows Vista, you have a little more than a month to upgrade to a commercial version before you start risking data loss.
If you're still using a pre-release version of Windows Vista, you have a little
more than a month to upgrade to a commercial version before you start risking
data loss.
According to an entry on the Windows Vista Team blog by product manager Nick
White, all versions of Windows Vista beta 2 and release candidates 1 and 2 expire
on May 31. After that time, users will have a two-hour window to retrieve data,
after which the computer will automatically reboot without the chance to save,
resulting in the loss of any stored data.
To emphasize the importance of the deadline, White wrote in boldface, "It
is strongly recommended that PC users running any of these pre-release versions
of Windows Vista migrate their PCs to the final version of Windows Vista or
another operating system prior to May 31."
Warning notifications will start going out to Vista pre-release users on May
18. The ability to pull the data out of those OSes will be available until Aug.
28, 2007. After that, the Vista pre-release version will simply stop working
altogether, with no chance to log on and retrieve data.
Vista beta testers won't get a discount on the commercial version of the OS,
but they will be able to save money by buying an upgrade version.
For those who didn't like Vista, any previous Windows OS can be reinstalled
on the computer, but there is no roll-back ability; for instance, if Windows
XP was installed prior to Vista beta, XP can be reinstalled through a clean
install, but a user cannot return to an earlier, XP-installed state.
About the Author
Keith Ward is the editor in chief of Virtualization & Cloud Review. Follow him on Twitter @VirtReviewKeith.