# Free Windows Vista CD



## P11

Take the quiz to get a free windows vista beta cd.

Here are the answers 
1.Vista
2.Clarity
3.November 2006
4.True
5.Aero
6.All
7.All
8.512 

http://www.microsoft.com/india/offers/vista/quiz.aspx


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## Arm_Pit

Thanks! I have the 32bit one from when it was availoble for download, then i got a 64bit CPU, and Wasn't able to download it  Maybe this will get a 64bit one


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## SirKenin

Cool


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## Geoff

Thanks for that!


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## Verve

Good thing, thanks for pointing it out. Does the beta expire? If so, how long?


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## bball4life

Well thanks for that, doesn't mean you will get it though.  A few months back they offered free flash drives with info on licensing and copyright or something like that.  I know a bunch of people who sent it in, and absolutely no one I can find got one.  But its worth a shot.


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## m0nk3ys1ms

Thanks man!


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## Verve

bball4life said:


> Well thanks for that, doesn't mean you will get it though.  A few months back they offered free flash drives with info on licensing and copyright or something like that.  I know a bunch of people who sent it in, and absolutely no one I can find got one.  But its worth a shot.



Ah, yes. That really ticked me off


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## P11

No prob guys! Keep in mind Windows is releasing another beta within the next two weeks (expected) and it will be avaliable for public download.


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## Arm_Pit

bball4life said:


> Well thanks for that, doesn't mean you will get it though.  A few months back they offered free flash drives with info on licensing and copyright or something like that.  I know a bunch of people who sent it in, and absolutely no one I can find got one.  But its worth a shot.


I got mine.


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## bball4life

Arm_Pit said:


> I got mine.


Really, wow, I probably talked to 25 people about it and even googled it and no one I saw got it.  It was only like 16MB anyway.


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## dave597

bball4life said:


> Really, wow, I probably talked to 25 people about it and even googled it and no one I saw got it.  It was only like 16MB anyway.



it was 64 meg

see: http://www.insiderclub.co.uk/index2.html


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## dave597

P11 said:


> Take the quiz to get a free windows vista beta cd.



thanks a lot for this


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## Apokarteron

When will I be receiving it? In a couple of months I imagine


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## SirKenin

bball4life said:


> Well thanks for that, doesn't mean you will get it though.  A few months back they offered free flash drives with info on licensing and copyright or something like that.  I know a bunch of people who sent it in, and absolutely no one I can find got one.  But its worth a shot.



Yeah, I never got mine either.


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## bball4life

Apokarteron said:


> When will I be receiving it? In a couple of months I imagine


Right when vista comes out


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## Verve

Does it expire?


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## P11

Starwarsman said:


> Does it expire?



I believe its a one year license.


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## bball4life

P11 said:


> I believe its a one year license.


Probably, if that, like the office 2007 expires when its officially released, could be something like that.


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## tommycompton

once you get beta do you ever have to pay for it to get updates once the final version is out?


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## bball4life

tommycompton said:


> once you get beta do you ever have to pay for it to get updates once the final version is out?


The beta will never be "updated" to the final version.  You will still have to go out and buy an official Microsoft Vista cd to use it.  The Beta is a Temporary trial version, if you wish to call it that.


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## Apokarteron

bball4life said:


> Well thanks for that, doesn't mean you will get it though.  A few months back they offered free flash drives with info on licensing and copyright or something like that.  I know a bunch of people who sent it in, and absolutely no one I can find got one.  But its worth a shot.



I got the xbox replacement cable they were giving fo free because they said the ones before 2003 caused fire hazard, I also got the free Service Pack 2 CD.


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## bball4life

Apokarteron said:


> I got the xbox replacement cable they were giving fo free because they said the ones before 2003 caused fire hazard, I also got the free Service Pack 2 CD.


Ya but like the xbox replacement cable, thats a recall, big lawsuits can happen from stuff like that.  I mean when they are just giving away free stuff to give it away for free.  But nevermind.


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## Apokarteron

bball4life said:


> Ya but like the xbox replacement cable, thats a recall, big lawsuits can happen from stuff like that.  I mean when they are just giving away free stuff to give it away for free.  But nevermind.



I get your point


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## bball4life

Apokarteron said:


> I get your point


Lol, who cares, lets just hope we get those Vista CD's, and that Vista isn't freakishly expensive and buggy when it comes out.


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## Apokarteron

bball4life said:


> Lol, who cares, lets just hope we get those Vista CD's, and that Vista isn't freakishly expensive and buggy when it comes out.



"fingers crossed" although I don't care much about Vista, I'm waiting for Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard...


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## mrjack

What I found strange was that the Microsoft page was Microsoft - India.


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## dave597

yeh must have taken quite a while to find that site


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## vetto89

thank you!!!


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## palmmann

bball4life said:


> Ya but like the xbox replacement cable, thats a recall, big lawsuits can happen from stuff like that.  I mean when they are just giving away free stuff to give it away for free.  But nevermind.



the problem wasn't the power cables, it was the shitty psus they put in the xboxes. ms didn't want to take back ALL of the xboxes, so they said the cable was the problem.

btw, THANKS!


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## bamhm182

Man, I hope this works, how do you find out about stuff like this? does Microsoft email them to you??


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## bamhm182

Just a thought, but if you took it a few times would you get a few CDs? and do they come with Product Keys or will they just not work after the experation date? because if you took it ten times and they came with product keys that lasted for 1 year, you could have Vista for ten years, in theory.


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## bball4life

I'm sure microsoft has thought of that, and I am pretty sure they just expire on the expiration date.  But you could get multiple cd's you would just have to register multiple times with different information.  And I doubt there will product keys, its a free beta there is no point.


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## Redbull{wings}

there are product keys but all of them will probably end around the time vista comes out


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## pbdr

One question, being somewhat of a noob, will anyone actually install and use this version of Vista?  Is it just gonna be one big bug?

Also, when it is installed will it reformat the HDD and wipe everything?  Like I said, I'm a bit of a noob and just trying to figure this all out.

Oh, and thanks for posting this regardless.


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## bball4life

pbdr said:


> One question, being somewhat of a noob, will anyone actually install and use this version of Vista?  Is it just gonna be one big bug?
> 
> Also, when it is installed will it reformat the HDD and wipe everything?  Like I said, I'm a bit of a noob and just trying to figure this all out.
> 
> Oh, and thanks for posting this regardless.


Well most likely this isn't the full OS, and I believe with the downloadable beta it kind of ran along with XP, so no you should not have to format your hdd, and if you want to be on the safe side just back it up.  Not really sure I never downloaded the beta but I though that is how it was.


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## Bobo

bball4life said:


> Lol, who cares, lets just hope we get those Vista CD's, and that Vista isn't freakishly expensive and buggy when it comes out.


I saw prices for it, and it was like $200-$800. Expensive. 



> Well most likely this isn't the full OS, and I believe with the downloadable beta it kind of ran along with XP, so no you should not have to format your hdd, and if you want to be on the safe side just back it up. Not really sure I never downloaded the beta but I though that is how it was.


No, it is the full version, almost exactly the same as it will be when released.  I am running it right now as a dual-boot system.


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## bamhm182

How do you find out about these things? does Microsoft send you an e-mail or do you google it or what?


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## Arm_Pit

bball4life said:


> Really, wow, I probably talked to 25 people about it and even googled it and no one I saw got it.  It was only like 16MB anyway.


It was 64. ACtually I got three, I make 3 .net passports and did the thing three times  I did do it all the second day the thing came out, so I was one of the earily ones.


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## bamhm182

They might have just ran out of them by the time everyone else tried. I'm going to see if you can use the same passport over and over, I just used mine and did the quiz a few times, so I might get none, one, or a few. I'll post here with what happens.


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## Bobo

bamhm182 said:


> How do you find out about these things? does Microsoft send you an e-mail or do you google it or what?


I just read stuff on their site.  Google for vista pricing, see what you find.  I don't think anything is definite yet, but there are estimates


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## bamhm182

I wasn't talking about the price for Vista, I was talking about the free offers and stuff, but thanks.


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## bball4life

Bobo said:


> I saw prices for it, and it was like $200-$800. Expensive.


OEM  



> No, it is the full version, almost exactly the same as it will be when released.  I am running it right now as a dual-boot system.


Oh ok, thanks


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## DKdeadly

what is excaly that vista beta 2?

ITs a new system?Or wat?


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## Geoff

DKdeadly said:


> what is excaly that vista beta 2?
> 
> ITs a new system?Or wat?



It's in Beta 2 now.

It's Microsoft's new OS coming out later 06/early 07.


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## bamhm182

I think that it's coming out in November this year, I could have just gotten that confused with the PS3, but I'm pretty sure that Vista is scheduled to come out in November though.


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## DKdeadly

its like windows or a theme?

Do you need a good rig for it?

Is it better then windows xp pro at this moment?


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## bball4life

DKdeadly said:


> its like windows or a theme?
> 
> Do you need a good rig for it?
> 
> Is it better then windows xp pro at this moment?


Its a whole new operating system.  Just get the beta cd and try it out, then you can make the decision if its better then xp pro for yourself.  As for system requirements check on Microsofts website.  And they can be found here.


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## Apokarteron

Has anyone received the CD yet?


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## footballstevo75

bball4life said:


> Well thanks for that, doesn't mean you will get it though.  A few months back they offered free flash drives with info on licensing and copyright or something like that.  I know a bunch of people who sent it in, and absolutely no one I can find got one.  But its worth a shot.



I know a guy who gotta flash drive....


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## Holiday

> No, it is the full version, almost exactly the same as it will be when released. I am running it right now as a dual-boot system.



Exactly what he said, and you know you can just download it from a bit torrent and have it in a few days


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## Arm_Pit

DKdeadly said:


> its like windows or a theme?
> 
> Do you need a good rig for it?
> 
> Is it better then windows xp pro at this moment?



It IS windows. You know how ther was windows 95, 98, then 2000, then XP? Well Vista is the newest one that is coming out.


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## Motoxrdude

Hahah, thats awesome. I wonder how long it takes for them to ship it.


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## Burgerbob

idk, i havent gotten mine yet, i hope i do.


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## SirKenin

DKdeadly said:


> its like windows or a theme?
> 
> Do you need a good rig for it?
> 
> Is it better then windows xp pro at this moment?



It is a resource hog, that is for sure.  I almost think they made it to force people to upgrade their computers or something.   Otherwise I see no excuse for it.

It's not really better than XP Pro.  It has some more advanced features in it, but it doesn't have the hardware support that XP has or even close to it because it is still in beta.  Not to mention that I have run across several applications that won't install on it.

It's fun to play with it, and I run it as my main OS, but I have next to nothing installed.  If your computer is your life I suggest sticking to XP at the moment.


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## speedyink

I hope this thing comes with a product key, it's the only thing I need.  I have build 5472, so I'm not installing this back to build 5456 or whatever the beta 2 was.


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## bball4life

speedyink said:


> I hope this thing comes with a product key, it's the only thing I need.  I have build 5472, so I'm not installing this back to build 5456 or whatever the beta 2 was.


And what is that cd key gonna do for you?  Its not gonna be valid when they officialy release vista.


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## DKdeadly

o well when i will get it i will install it but if i wont i will wait for the whole version of vista to come out.

We will see.


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## Geoff

bball4life said:


> And what is that cd key gonna do for you?  Its not gonna be valid when they officialy release vista.



If you dont have a valid CD-Key that can be activated, you can only use Vista for 14 days.  If you have the CD-Key from Microsoft, you can use Vista for a year or so.


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## Holiday

if you try to run Google talk u will run in to the BSOD!


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## speedyink

[-0MEGA-];410384 said:
			
		

> If you dont have a valid CD-Key that can be activated, you can only use Vista for 14 days.  If you have the CD-Key from Microsoft, you can use Vista for a year or so.



Exactly


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## johnny

Thanks alot boss. I took the quiz and my Windows Vista Beta CD is in the mail. Thanks alot.


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## bball4life

[-0MEGA-];410384 said:
			
		

> If you dont have a valid CD-Key that can be activated, you can only use Vista for 14 days.  If you have the CD-Key from Microsoft, you can use Vista for a year or so.


Ok, don't know if it will work for that long, because most likely Microsoft has it set up that when Vista goes retail, your beta will stop working.  I believe that is teh same for the MS Office 07 as well.


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## bamhm182

When should we be getting these things? I know I only took the quiz 5 days ago, but I was wondering when we should get them? That'd suck if it was like the thumb drives where nobody got them.


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## Geoff

bball4life said:


> Ok, don't know if it will work for that long, because most likely Microsoft has it set up that when Vista goes retail, your beta will stop working.  I believe that is teh same for the MS Office 07 as well.



I think the trial ends January 1st, 2007 or something.  At least thats what it is for Office 2007.


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## bigsaucybob

Thanks, I took advantage of that.


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## speedyink

bball4life said:


> Ok, don't know if it will work for that long, because most likely Microsoft has it set up that when Vista goes retail, your beta will stop working.  I believe that is teh same for the MS Office 07 as well.



It doesn't matter to me, cause I'll be getting Vista when it becomes retail anyways   Along with a brand spanking new DX10 video card


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## Saurian

I will also likely make my first legal purchase of a MS OS when Vista is released. It'll suck to cough up the money for what will likely be bugs, but I'll have my XP Corp Ed for backup .


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## codeman0013

They have issued licenses for a year on teh vista beta's and they swear they will last a full year. From what they are saying vista is going to have a lot of bugs  and from my beta i can see a lot of them if they do make it like that then i will simply reformat and go back to xp until they fix them lol i have 2 pc's for that reason so i can play with one and have one for real work.


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## bamhm182

I won't, I'm more than likely going to be sticking with XP for a long time. It works for me, and I don't got enough $, I guess |I could "aquire" a copy. But not genuine XP is bad enough.


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## m0nk3ys1ms

[-0MEGA-];411023 said:
			
		

> I think the trial ends January 1st, 2007 or something.  At least thats what it is for Office 2007.



For Vista, I believe it is June 1st, 2007.


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## Bobo

monkeysims said:


> For Vista, I believe it is June 1st, 2007.


No, it can't be.  They would never let the trial run that long after the real version comes out.


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## pbdr

Anyone get a CD from this yet?


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## Motoxrdude

Nope. I am still waiting.


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## magicman

I'm still waiting too, although I would expect me to be the last person to receive it, being abroad and all. The real thing will be released before mine arrives...


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## Verve

After the flash drive thingy, I don't expect anything from MS.


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## bball4life

Lol, ya just wait for an e-mail saying they run out of cds
And then like 2 people will get one


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## elmarcorulz

Bobo said:


> No, it can't be.  They would never let the trial run that long after the real version comes out.


It is...and why? The real version will be alot more stable then the beta ever will be.


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## speedyink

I'm still waiting.  Do you think it comes with a serial?


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## bamhm182

I'm still waiting, I'm probobly not going to get it since it's been so long, I'm going to get it after the trial is over I bet, lmao. It's because I'm white ain't it?


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## Holiday

speedyink said:


> I'm still waiting.  Do you think it comes with a serial?


of course it will.  

note: the flash drives cost more money the a DVD


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## bamhm182

That shouldn't matter much, Bill Gates is rich just incase you forgot, and the flash drives only had 60 MB or so on them I think.


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## m0nk3ys1ms

bamhm182 said:


> That shouldn't matter much, Bill Gates is rich just incase you forgot, and the flash drives only had 60 MB or so on them I think.



Actually, I think that they were 4MB.


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## bamhm182

wow, I wouldn't either bother filling out a survey for that.... I would for over 15, but not for like 4.


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## sm100378

I clicked the link and it said the page does not exist.  suggestions?


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## lee101

offer has probably expired?

I signed up to it, still not got my DVD, in fact i forgot about it


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## dave597

monkeysims said:


> Actually, I think that they were 4MB.



why would anybody produce 4mb usb sticks??? they are 64mb or 128mb. anyway i still havent received either the vista cd or usb stick.


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## Geoff

dave597 said:


> why would anybody produce 4mb usb sticks??? they are 64mb or 128mb. anyway i still havent received either the vista cd or usb stick.



I haven't received the DVD yet either.  And Microsoft already said a few months ago that they ran out of USB drives.


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## dave597

http://www.insiderclub.co.uk/ okay they are 128mb on level 3 it says there are 3000 a week to give away in uk so how can they have run out??


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## bball4life

I want me cd.


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## palmmann

bball4life said:


> I want me cd.



so do i man, so do i. don't think anyone has got theirs yet, so this is prolly gonna turn out like the flash drives. no email yet.


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## bamhm182

dave597 said:


> http://www.insiderclub.co.uk/ okay they are 128mb on level 3 it says there are 3000 a week to give away in uk so how can they have run out??



Would you happen to know if there's a website like that for the USA?


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## dave597

bamhm182 said:


> Would you happen to know if there's a website like that for the USA?


im sure america has a lot more sites with freebies than uk.


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## bamhm182

okay, thanks. I'll google it and see if I can find one. I was just thinking that that was through MS for some reason.


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## SirKenin

I never got my CD..


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## Bobo

SirKenin said:


> I never got my CD..


Never say never!  Maybe Microsoft is just having a bad day....


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## bball4life

SirKenin said:


> I never got my CD..


They say its gonna take awhile, I know for the flash drives it was like 6-8 weeks.


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## SirKenin

bball4life said:


> They say its gonna take awhile, I know for the flash drives it was like 6-8 weeks.



I never got that either...


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## bamhm182

So about 2-4 more weeks for me/most of us, I think I might Ebay mine, there were a few that went for about $80.


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## bball4life

SirKenin said:


> I never got that either...


Me neither, but it hasn't been long enough for the CD.


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## codeman0013

I never got mine but it didnt matter i just went and downloaded the os from the site its free and they will give you a key...


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## bamhm182

I downloaded it to, but I can't install it yet because at the moment I only have 256 MB of ram, but I think I might get a gig in a few days depending on how much my stuff on Ebay sells for.

EDIT: Nevermind, it's going to be a while because they're only up to $65 all together with shipping and $40 is my moms, so when I pay for shipping I'll have about $15... Oh well.


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## dave597

woohoo bump this thread cos my 128mb windows live flash drive arrived today!


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## lee101

mine too! i'd totally forgot actually, itlookspretty well bauilt, and, erm good for a  free flash drive,


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## bball4life

Arg I want my CD.


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## Archangel

I just ot a dvd ( Public Beta2) from Vista..   lol.. i didnt ask for it, nor do i think i'll even use it.   ah well...   thanks for that MS


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## jamesb21222

hmm link doesnt work...... well, if anyone wants to get rid of one ill take it. if someone finds something else like this plz tell me!! im poor!


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## SirKenin

I checked my mailbox today and it was absolutely packed full of shit.  Mail for people I've never even heard of.  Junk mail out the wazoo.  Bills and IT magazines..  I could barely pull it all out of the box.  But NO DAMN CD OR PEN DRIVE!!!!  GRRRR!!    I want my stuff and I want it now!!


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## Geoff

I haven't received it yet either, but I already have a more recent version that I downloaded.


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## m0nk3ys1ms

I don't have a DVD burner, or I would just download it Microsoft.


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## Motoxrdude

Yuep, still dont have it.


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## jamesb21222

guys the link dont work


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## Bobo

jamesb21222 said:


> guys the link dont work


I think it's too late now....


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## Impr3ssiv3

aww man i wanted a free screeny


tho i would have to reformat my comp again but still


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## Impr3ssiv3

if i download the file what should i use to burn it to a disc(i have nero)


or should i get my mom to pay $3 and just order the disc


also should i get the 64 bit or 32 bit one

(i have a AM2 X2 4200+)


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## bamhm182

So, had anyone got thiers yet? I havn't.


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## Geoff

I havent yet, by the time we'll get it, they will have several new versions that are newer anyways, lol.


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## speedyink

[-0MEGA-];447531 said:
			
		

> I havent yet, by the time we'll get it, they will have several new versions that are newer anyways, lol.



lol, they already do.  The difference between RC1 and Beta 2 is like night and day.  I dont care if I get my disc anymore, I got my precious CD key.  Thank you Microsoft for issuing more CD keys!!!


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## bamhm182

Yeah, I don't care either, I'm probobly going to stick with XP for a while.


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## Rambo

Nope, mine hasn't arrived either. Just like the Memory Stick scam thing...


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## Burgerbob

I dont have a CD, but i have the beta... I just dont have an effing DVD burner within like fifty miles! so i have Vista taking up 2.something gigs on my HDD.


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## Rambo

Burgerbob said:


> I dont have a CD, but i have the beta... I just dont have an effing DVD burner within like fifty miles! so i have Vista taking up 2.something gigs on my HDD.



VMWare.


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## Impr3ssiv3

do u need a 64 bit sound card if you use dl the 64 bit version


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## Bobo

Impr3ssiv3 said:


> do u need a 64 bit sound card if you use dl the 64 bit version


Huh?  I didn't know that they made 64-bit sound cards...


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## Impr3ssiv3

no i was just wondering about compatibily issues if i dl the 64bit version of Vista


so does the CPU only have to be 64bit or wat


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## m0nk3ys1ms

Impr3ssiv3 said:


> no i was just wondering about compatibily issues if i dl the 64bit version of Vista
> 
> 
> so does the CPU only have to be 64bit or wat



Yea, you just need a 64-bit CPU.


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