So, what can you do now until the official version is released on October 22nd?

Well, the good news is that you can upgrade to the Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC), build 7100, which will still work with your existing Windows 7 beta product key.

There are two methods for doing the upgrade:

Clean Install Upgrade (MS Recommended)

Microsoft recommend that you perform a clean install of your computer, which means performing a backup of all of your data, installing the release candidate, re-installing your applications, and then restoring your data. Fortunately, this can be made easier using the migration wizard, which is now known as “Windows Easy Transfer” and can be found by clicking on the start menu and typing “transfer”.

This wizard then takes you through a step-by-step process to backup your settings to either a USB device, an external hard disk, another computer via a network, or using an “easy transfer cable”. For most people the USB device or external hard disk option is probably the simplest.

Once you’ve created the backup of your settings, make sure you have a copy of all of the applications that you want to re-install after the upgrade.

Then, it’s a simple case of inserting the Windows 7 RC media, running the setup, and re-installing Windows. Once this is done, you can re-install any applications you need and re-run the Windows Easy Transfer wizard once again to restore the files and settings from the backup you made earlier.

In-Place Upgrade

It is also possible to perform an in-place upgrade from the beta build 7000 to the RC build 7100. It is very important to note that Microsoft do not recommend not support this process, but they have provided the instructions for those people that understand the risks and still want to do an in-place upgrade.

The in-place upgrade will keep all of your existing installed applications, files and settings. The bad news is that this is not a guaranteed process and some incompatibilities may be experienced if you use this approach. Also, your upgraded computer may not run quite as quick as a clean install. Having said that, I have done this on at least 4 different computers without a glitch!

The process for performing the upgrade is quite straightforward, but does require making a change to the Windows 7 install CD first, as Microsoft have prevented in-place upgrades to RC build 7100 from earlier builds.

The steps involved to perform this are:-

• Download/obtain the Windows 7 RC Build 7100 .ISO image. This can be downloaded directly from Microsoft here.
  NOTE: Downloads of the RC are only available until August 20th. After that, you can still install it, but it won’t be available for download anymore from Microsoft.
• Copy the image to your hard disk, using a program such as Slysoft’s Virtual CloneDrive to mount the .ISO as if it were a DVD drive.
• Browse the sources directory
• Edit the file cversion.ini using Notepad
• Change the value against the MinClient build to read 7000 (or lower), and then save the file once again.
• You can then run setup.exe from the image directory and perform an in-place upgrade as normal.

To get a browser you had to have either a 2nd PC to download one on, or download one before installing Windows 7 E so it can be installed after the clean install that, also thanks to the EU, you are forced to do when installing 7E.

Some clever chaps on the WithinWindows web site have pointed out another way how you can install 7E on your compute and then, without having another computer or a pre-downloaded browser, access the internet and download the browser of your choice.

This could also be used for any other web-site.

Interestingly enough, this technique can also be used to create a web application in much the same way you can with Google Chrome and the Prism extension for Firefox.

Not to worry – there is a work-around that will enable you to use your existing Windows 7 key on build 7264. This is not for the feint-hearted and do not try this at home unless (a) you know what you’re doing, (b) you’re willing to risk it not working and messing up your PC and (c) you’re one of those types that really doesn’t care about the dangers of downloading a dodgy copy of an as yet unreleased operating system from an unknown source.

If you’re still reading and want to try this, see this article at h33t.com.

Well, this really useful article from redmondpie.com shows how to use ClearType on Windows 7 for the best possible display on LCD screens.

A must-do for all Windows 7 users!

Well, this simply little utility will remove it for you. It’s known to work in most builds, including 7100, 7137, 7138, 7139, 7140,
7141, 7225, 7226, 7227, 7228, 7229, 7230, 7232, 7230, 7262, 7263, and the latest build, 7264.

You can download it using BitTorrent from Torrentz.com

Because of the EU ruling around anti-competitive behaviour, MS have been forced to remove Internet Explorer from Windows 7 for EU users. This in turn means that they have to ship a special version (Windows 7 E), and also means that MS won’t be offering an “upgrade” version of Windows 7 to EU users. Instead, we have to buy a full version of the product.

The net effect of all of this means that in the US you can currently pre-order a Windows 7 upgrade for as little as $50, whereas in the UK it’s going to cost at least £50!

OK, so we get a full version and not an upgrade, which means you don’t need an older version of windows, but since most people already have an older version it is, in effect, penalising us for being a part of the EU. Thanks!

At least the good news is that this is still considerably cheaper than buying in October when Windows 7 is officially released, so roll-on July 15th when we 2nd class citizens of the UK can at last pre-order!