Beware vendors selling Windows 7 early

 

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By Matthew Sparkes

Posted on 29 Jun 2009 at 11:18

Customers shopping for a PC over the next few months should beware of manufacturers offering Windows 7 before its official launch date, as it could spell trouble down the line.

At least one UK PC manufacturer has tried selling a machine with a pre-release version of the operating system installed.

However, Microsoft has warned that PC manufacturers who ship the Windows 7 Release Candidate with their PCs are breaking its terms and conditions.

"Windows 7 Release Candidate is not the final version of Windows 7 that will be offered for sale to customers and no retailers should be offering it for sale," a Microsoft spokesperson told PC Pro.

"Windows 7 will be available from 22 October and customers will be able to pre-order their copy from 15 July in the UK," he added.

Those buying Release Candidate machines will be in for significant upheaval come the actual launch of Windows 7, even if the PC manufacturer does offer to provide full Windows 7 discs in October.

Because of Microsoft's spat with EU competition authorities, there will be no upgrade version of Windows 7 available in the UK, forcing owners to perform a clean installation on their machine, just a few months after buying it. The same applies to people who buy XP or even Vista machines over the coming months.

The Windows 7 Release Candidate officially expires on 1 June 2010, although the operating system will begin bi-hourly shut-downs from 1 March 2010.