This article was published on February 16, 2010

Upgrade from Windows 7 RC or your “PC will shut down every 2 hours” says Microsoft.


Upgrade from Windows 7 RC or your “PC will shut down every 2 hours” says Microsoft.

broken computerIn an email to its faithful Windows 7 RC testers. Microsoft issues a firm, almost startling, warning.

It instructs its users who have not moved to the final version of Windows 7 to upgrade or – wait for it – “your PC will begin shutting down every two hours. Your work will not be saved during the shutdown.”

The email notifying testers continues:

The Windows 7 RC will fully expire on June 1, 2010. Your PC running the Windows 7 RC will continue shutting down every two hours and your files won’t be saved during shutdown. In addition, your wallpaper will change to a solid black background with a persistent message on your desktop. You’ll also get periodic notifications that Windows isn’t genuine. That means your PC may no longer be able to obtain optional updates or downloads requiring genuine Windows validation.

To avoid interruption, please reinstall a prior version of Windows or move to Windows 7. In either case, you’ll need to do a custom (clean) install to replace the RC. As with any clean installation, you’ll need to back up your data then reinstall your applications and restore the data. For more details about replacing the RC, see the Knowledge Base article KB 971767. For more information, visit the Window 7 Forum.

A kind but firm warning to its testers that their computers will go haywire unless they install a previous version of Windows or buy Windows 7.

The tipper who kindly sent this in, panicking ever so slightly, asks “in my case, I use Vista but Windows 7 is installed on the same disk. Will my pc reboot every two hours?”

You’ve been warned.

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