Windows 7 SP1 Beta Now Ready for Public Testing

News
By Marcus Yam
published

Feeling like testing the Service Pack?

Windows 7 was the most widely beta tested operating system to date. Rather than breaking that trend, Microsoft is following the same route now with the beta versions of the first service pack.

Available today for those feeling adventurous in trying out unfinished software, Windows 7 SP1 is a collection of updates already available through Windows Update and additional hotfixes.

Also available today is the SP1 for Windows Server 2008 R2, but with the SP1 comes additional features and richness to the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI).

Grab the download here – but remember, this is unfinished software that should not be run on primary computers or machines with valuable data on them. The final release is scheduled for the first half of 2011.

Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
36 Comments Comment from the forums
  • arl4nj0i
    the final release is scheduled for the first half of 2011, sad.
    Reply
  • maxiim
    Whats even more sad is the fact that they are just now releasing SP1 BETA and have already announced development of Windows8 or whatever it is to be named. Does anyone else believe this is a waste of time, if there is already a new OS in development?
    Reply
  • ltm
    maxiimWhats even more sad is the fact that they are just now releasing SP1 BETA and have already announced development of Windows8 or whatever it is to be named. Does anyone else believe this is a waste of time, if there is already a new OS in development?
    Nope. Not everyone is going to jump ship when ever the new OS comes out and I bet some of those people would like for MS to continue supporting win7.
    Reply
  • JOSHSKORN
    At this point, I'm not even interested in "The Next Windows". Microsoft did good here and I'd hate to give them a chance to screw it up.
    Reply
  • trandoanhung1991
    Well, look at how XP the ancient is still gonna be supported. So no worries about Windows 7 dying early. Besides, from the early slide leaks and how Windows 7 is performing so far, I'm very eager to try out Windows 8, when it comes out.
    Reply
  • triplebug
    Who cares, Windows XP til 2014.
    Reply
  • kikireeki
    One of the major fixes in this sp is the memory leak that was reportedly reported.
    Reply
  • silentq
    i'm actually excited for the memory leak fix
    Reply
  • wotan31
    The ignorant public = Microsoft's unpaid beta testers. Sorry Microsoft, keep your crapware to yourself.
    Reply
  • requiemsallure
    maxiimWhats even more sad is the fact that they are just now releasing SP1 BETA and have already announced development of Windows8 or whatever it is to be named. Does anyone else believe this is a waste of time, if there is already a new OS in development?
    No, my reasoning for this centers around the fact they are releasing windows 8 kind of quickly (from what i've seen on roadmaps and what people have said) i for one would be scared to switch from 7 in fear 8 might be another vista.

    triplebugWho cares, Windows XP til 2014.
    no harm in that just as long as you know that windows 7 blows it out of the water.
    Reply