When Microsoft first released Windows Vista, it shipped with a number of fairly vanilla drivers to offer widespread compatibility across various PCs. Problem is, since the original release, there have been a number of updates to CPU, graphic chipsets and other hardware. It might be either really difficult or problematic to attempt to install the original operating system on a brand new PC, for example. If you need to re-install Vista on an upgraded PC, you'll want the latest drivers. Plus if you have Vista installed, you'll want an easy way to get support for the latest standards.

Windows Vista SP 2 is now available to download and we've got the 32-bit edition installer, the 64-bit edition installer and the complete ISO image, along with both versions for 32-bit and 64-bit computers. It ships with Windows Search 4, support for a number of new chipsets and much more.

Windows Vista SP2 32-bit, Windows Vista SP2 64-bit and ISO image links.

When Vista was in public testing, Microsoft released the Vista Upgrade Advisor, designed to check whether your PC was suitable for running Vista. They've done the same thing with Windows 7, although this is still a beta version and designed for English (US) users. It seems a little strange though. If you're not using Vista, would you seriously consider moving your old PC from a resource-light Windows XP to a more resource-heavy Windows 7? Surely you'd be better off considering a new machine, along with Windows 7 pre-installed?

Microsoft Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor is now freely available. If you already have Vista installed, there's a very strong chance you'll have no problems with Windows 7. As we said, with older computers there's more of a chance you'll need to upgrade some hardware (if that's possible!), so this Advisor will be designed for you.

Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor link.

It only seems a short time ago when we were upgrading to Vista (then, as a result, having to pay to upgrade all of our software so it was 'compatible' with Vista). However, Microsoft is touting Windows 7 as a bigger release, primarily as it's aimed at all those XP users who decided that it simply wasn't worth upgrading to Vista. Corporate users, who use multiple licenses, are still going to be difficult to convince.

Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) 32-bit and 64-bit editions are now available to download from the Microsoft website. The won't time out until June the 1st 2010, so you can use Windows 7 for over a year, before you decide whether it's worth upgrading or not. Although this is still only a Release Candidate, it should be feature complete, which means that only small bug fixes and improvements will be made between now and the final release, slated for later this year.

Windows 7 RC 32-bit and 64-bit edition links.

With the Windows 7 Release Candidate due for official release later this month or through May, and the rumour that you'll be able to use and install this version for a year from launch, there's no reason why you couldn't test and use this operating system on your existing PC, without having to dual-boot or install over your existing operating system. VMware Workstation is a commercial tool that enables you to create and then test your own virtual operating system. If you own this or know someone who does, there's no reason why you couldn't turn the Windows 7 RC build in to a virtual operating system you can test on top of XP or Vista.

VMware Player 2.5.2 is the free player that will run the virtual machines created by Workstation. Many are freely available, but for Windows you'll need to either create your own or get someone to create a virtual OS for you. The latest version has support for Windows Vista SP2 which is due for release soon.

VMware Player link.

Although Windows 7 is due soon, I doubt we'll be migrating so quickly as we did from XP to Vista. By 'we', I don't mean the entire company. No, they're primarily using XP. I mean the small office responsible for this downloads blog. We migrated to Vista and then quickly realised we'd also need to (pay for) upgrade our existing software, too. Indeed, some of the software developers had the cheek to highlight 'Windows Vista compatibility' as their primary new feature in the paid-for update. Still, Vista has its merits and Windows 7 looks like a step up again. If you own Windows Vista, you may be interested in the new Service Pack that's around the corner.

Microsoft Windows Vista Service Pack 2 RC1 is now available and this brings a host of new features including support for burning Blu-ray discs from within the operating system. Bear in mind that this is still only a Release Candidate and, although feature-complete, still isn't completely bug free. We've provided a link to the ISO image which contains both the 32-bit and 64-bit updates as well as a standalone 32-bit only installer.

Microsoft Windows Vista Service Pack 2 RC1 ISO image (32-bit and 64-bit editions)
Microsoft Windows Vista Service Pack 2 RC1 installer (32-bit only)

Who made the decision that we should upgrade our operating system every few years? Computing technology doesn't change too much and, in theory, Windows XP is a strong, solid and reliable operating system which, with the right drivers, will support even the latest hardware. When Vista was released, it caused businesses to upgrade their software to 'support' the latest operating system. There shouldn't be a situation where an operating system dictates the software you can use and install. However, Vista does have some benefits and one of these is the improved user-interface.

ViOrb is a tool that you can use to replace the existing Windows XP Start button with a Vista-style button. Better still, it supports themes, so you are not stuck with the default start Vista-style start button. There is also a new version of ViOrb in development that will give you a Windows 7-style glowing Start button.

ViOrb link.

Although the Microsoft severs were bombarded over the weekend, we finally managed to get hold of the new Windows 7 beta 1. Good news is that Microsoft have announced that the download will be extended beyond the initial 2.5 million downloads limit, so you'll still have time to grab the beta if you want to preview the new operating system.

We installed it on VMware Fusion on our old MacBook Pro. The first impression was that it was a seamless trouble-free install that seemed to require little interaction. The other impression was the speed. Yes, Vista is usable under virtualisation, but it's not idea. Windows XP is better. However, we were quite suprised how quick and usable Windows 7 was under virtualisation. Remember that this is an unoptimised beta, too.

Although Windows 7 is a migration from the current Vista, like OS X there isn't a need to re-work the kernal. This enables Apple and Microsoft to concentrate on making their curent operating system work more quickly. Windows 7 certainly boots far quickly than Vista, for example.

New features are important and the latest Windows 7 enables you to quickly preview the local WiFi networks, their signal strength and switch between them if necessary. There's also a backup tool that will enable you to backup your drive, restore and even create a bootable recovery disc where required. These are just two of the many new features you'll find in Windows 7. We don't suggest you install this on a production machine just yet - there are some incompatibilities with existing Vista-compatible third-party software, for example.

Don't forget to download:

Windows 7 Beta (x86) : 7000.0.081212-1400_client_en-us_Ultimate-GB1CULXFRE_EN_DVD.ISO

Yesterday afternoon the latest public beta of Windows 7 was made available but, as you can imagine, Microsoft's servers have been hit hard over the last 24 hours whilst users from all over the world attempt to download and try and get their beta serial codes. Snag is, as Microsoft have stated that downloads will be limited to the first 2.5 million users, the downloads will be withdrawn sooner rather than later. We're busy downloading the 32-beta version right now.

So, how do you get the Windows 7 public beta preview? Try these direct downloads links, which are provided as ISO images:

Windows 7 Beta (x86) : 7000.0.081212-1400_client_en-us_Ultimate-GB1CULXFRE_EN_DVD.ISO

Windows 7 Beta (x64) : 7000.0.081212-1400_client_en-us_Ultimate-GB1CULXFRE_EN_DVD.ISO

We were keen to try the first public beta of Windows Vista which was released back in June 2006. After the final release in January 2007, we decided to implement the new operating system which caused no-end of issues. Nearly every application had to be upgraded and most of these paid-for upgrades through 2007 made 'Vista compatibility' as their primary new feature. How frustrating to think that a new feature was support for the new operating system. Worse, some of these updated apps didn't even support the new OS correctly and were somewhat rushed out to offer 'compatibility'.

We're now back at the same stage again where Microsoft are close to offering the first public preview of Windows 7. Although we've yet to test Windows 7, again we here of compatibility issues with key software such as Skype. However, bear in mind that Windows 7 is an evolution over the current Windows Vista, so compatibility issues should be far easier to solve for software developers.

There are a number of new features within Windows 7, which you can see for yourself at the Windows 7 public preview page that will also host the download later this afternoon.

Windows 7 public preview link.

In a surprise move, Microsoft have released the first beta preview of the forthcoming Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2), which is available for both the 32-bit and 64-bit edition, in either one self-extracting download or as a standalone ISO image that you can use to install on either Vista or Server 2008.

Microsoft Windows Vista SP2 beta contains a number of application compatibility updates, support for the latest Bluetooth 2.1 specification, improved WiFi support, better streaming of HD video, the ability to burn Blu-ray discs, Windows Search 4.0 built-in to the OS and much more. Note that there are a few compatibility issues with older security software. The release notes detail issues with AVG AntiVirus 7.x (v8 is fine) and PC Tools Spyware Doctor 5.x (v6 is fine).

Microsoft Windows Vista SP2 beta installer or Vista SP2 ISO links.