Neowin's method for Win 7 beta 1 keys working again - for now

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Saturday, 10 January 2009 19:41

Opinion and Analysis

The Neowin site has details on how to get Windows 7 beta 1 activation keys.

I’ve been trying their method all afternoon, but I’ve been getting a message that says something along the lines of “Error: the site is experiencing technical difficulties – try again the next business day”.

So, every now and then I’ve been trying again and again. Finally, it worked.

Although you’ll find Neowin’s exact words at their site linked above, the short version of what they say to do is as follows:

1. Visit TechNet Downloads, sign in at the top right and let the page load.

Neowin doesn’t mention it, as I'm sure they'd expect their readers would know, but if you don’t have a Windows Live ID, just sign up for one, it’s free.

2. Once you’ve signed in with your Windows Live ID, then you need to copy and paste
"https://www.microsoft.com/betaexperience/scripts/gcs.aspx?Product=tn-win7-64-ww&LCID=1033" into the address bar of the same browser tab.

As Neowin states, this is a 64-bit key, but it will work on 32 bit systems as well.

That link actually ends up taking you to:

https://www.microsoft.com/betaexperience/productkeys/win7-64/enus/default.aspx

I was able to get four different Windows 7 keys this way. Pressing refresh the fifth, sixth, seventh and eight time simply showed me the first four keys again.

So, I then tried changing 64 to 32 and press reload – and voila – I was now at the 32 bit page and I could get four more keys.

In case it’s not obvious, the address for 32-bit keys (which will work on 64-bit Windows 7 systems) is:

https://www.microsoft.com/betaexperience/productkeys/win7-32/enus/default.aspx

Microsoft’s TechNet site is probably still undergoing massive demand, so there’s no guarantee this method will work when you try it.

As I said, it took me hours of clicking every now and then before it actually started working, so if at first you don’t succeed, just try again – or try Microsoft’s official Windows 7 site later as well.

Either way, if you want a key you should be able to get one soon enough.

In the meantime, I hope you’re enjoying Windows 7 beta 1 as much as I am!