rc5
Prime_Tro...@noclue.gov
Welcome... to Windows 98
Welcome to Windows 98, the next major release of Windows. Your time
and efforts testing this product are greatly appreciated by the
Microsoft Windows 98 Team.
We Need Your Opinion!
Is Release Candidate 5 ready to ship? Voice your opinion at the Ready
To Ship page!
Windows 98 Release Candidate 5
Dear Windows 98 Beta Testers,
The fifth Release Candidate for Windows 98 is now availble for
download from the winbeta.microsoft.com server. Due to feedback from
beta sites we have decided to post a "Full" install version. This
version corresponds with the product key letters you received via
regular mail. If you still have not received your product key letter
via regular mail then please send mail to mem...@microsoft.com with
your name, Beta ID, phone number, and a beta representative will
contact you.
At this point, you should consider this build "as good as final". We
ask that you download and install this build as soon as possible. We
also ask that you register your vote as to whether this build is ready
to ship via the go/no go survey on Winbeta.
Again, we ask that you limit your bug reports to "critical"
show-stopper issues.
We also ask that you look for any critical bug that may have been
recently introduced. The criteria at this point are:
Major functionality impairment for which there is no workaround, that
would prevent you from using Windows 98 or some significant feature.
Setup problem that prevents a successful upgrade, and leaves a system
unusable.
Significant hardware or software incompatibility, that renders the
device, system or program unusable, with no workaround.
Disk Data loss.
Etc.
Where did the install survey go? We have removed the install survey at
this point in the product cycle. Rather than answering a full install
survey we are asking you for your vote as to whether or not this build
is ready to ship. Please answer the go/no go survey located on
Winbeta:
http://winbeta.microsoft.com/memphis/isapi/us/ie3/betardy/betardy.asp
Should I wait for the RC5 CD or Download Now? RC5 will not be sent out
on CD due to time limitations.
Will I get a final CD when Windows 98 is released to manufacturing, or
is RC0 the last CD that all beta sites get? All Active testers (bug
reports and/or installation surveys) will receive a copy of the final
RTM CD.
Windows 98: Built on Customer Feedback: Over the past few years, we
have worked to improve the core Windows 95, while adding improvements
throughout the product. We believe that the resulting Windows 98
product provides seamless Internet integration, significant quality
improvements, and improved supportability. The product reflects
significant customer impact, a great deal of which has come directly
from Beta sites, in previous Windows 95 beta programs as well as
during the Memphis/Windows 98 beta program. Your feedback and testing
has directly resulted in significant improvements and fixes.
We need to minimize the changes at this point so that we don’t
introduce any additional regressions, so the requirements for making a
fix are fairly high. But at the same time, now is not the time to give
up. Please help us to find and fix those last few issues that will
make the most impact in improving the overall product quality.
Special Testing Notes
Bug Reporting - Your participation and timely feedback are critical to
the success of this product. Install Windows 98 on as many different
hardware configurations as possible and report any problems that you
encounter as soon as possible. We prefer that you report bugs by using
the Web-based bug reporting tools available from your Help menu. MS
Report is no longer shipped on the CD as the \betaonly directory has
been removed in preparation for final product. If you are unable to
use the Web based tools please refer to one of you previous Beta CD’s
in order to retrieve the MS Report utility, or you can download it
from the winbeta web site.
The build we have posted is an FULL VERSION.
Product Key: This download build WILL require a Product Key. We have
mailed each beta site an individual private, personal Product Key via
regular mail. This will be required for all future builds as well as
the final product. Please read the letter carefully, as these new
Product Keys are yours and yours alone, and should never be shared at
all.
For those of you who would like to download, it is available on the
WinBeta HTTP and FTP sites as listed below.
Sincerely,
The Windows 98 Product Team
Download Locations
You can get the build by going to HTTP://winbeta.microsoft.com/memphis
and following the links for Download.
You can also get the build by going to FTP://winbeta.microsoft.com and
getting the build from /FTP-Memphis directory.
To find the best way to download the zips for this build, go to Boyd
Gilbert's set of instructions listed behind the Support link on the
main page of the http://winbeta.microsoft.com/memphis website. This is
a very complete set of directions, and should solve any problems you
may have had in the past. (Thanks Boyd!)
Bug Reporting Changing as of Build 1702
The Windows 98 bug reporting process is changing with build 1702 in
preparation for the release of Windows 98 to manufacturing. The
Windows Report Tool (Winrep.exe) will no longer gather the level of
information we require to understand the bugs you submit with its
default settings. We ask that you use one of the following methods to
report bugs to ensure we have the information required to understand
your issue:
- Windows 98 Beta Web site
Winrep can be programmed from a Web page to gather the information we
require. Please launch the tool by following these steps:
Connect with your browser to http://winbeta.microsoft.com/winrep and
login using your Windows 98 beta id and password.
Click the Next button to launch the Windows Report Tool on your local
machine.
Enter your bug report and click the Next button. Please verify that
the report's title and your contact information are correct and select
the appropriate area of the product for the issue.
Click the Send button to submit your bug report to Microsoft.
**Note** For best results, establish a connection to the Internet
before launching Winrep. If you need to establish a new Internet
connection, run the Internet Connection Wizard.
Local Machine
Winrep can be manually configured to gather the information we
require. Please launch the tool after completing these steps:
Download and run WinrepUp.exe to update the Windows Report Tool. The
file can be downloaded from
http://winbeta.microsoft.com/bits/us/winrepup.exe.
Click on the Start button, choose Run, and type Winrep.exe to launch
the tool.
From the Options menu, choose Collected Information and Select All of
the files offered. If you are concerned about the time spent uploading
the information, deselect the System.dat and User.dat files.
Enter your bug report and click the Next button. Please verify that
the report's title and your contact information are correct and select
the appropriate area of the product for the issue.
Click the Send button to submit your bug report to Microsoft.
MS Report Tool
The MS Report Tool remains a viable alternative for bug reporting.
However, the quality of the information collected by this tool does
not match what the Windows Report Tool offers. Please use the Windows
Report Tool for your Windows 98 bug reports if this is at all
possible.
If you cannot use Winrep, download the MS Report Tool from
http://winbeta.microsoft.com/bits/us/msreport.zip or run setup from
the \BetaOnly\MSReport directory on your Windows 98 RC0 CD.
Please include the following files with your report:
Autoexec.bat
Config.sys
Bootlog.txt
Bootlog.prv
System.ini
Win.ini
Scandisk.log
System.1st
Setuplog.txt
Setuplog.old
Detlog.txt
Detcrash.log
ASD.log
IOS.log
Modemlog.txt
Final "Courtesy" CDs will be "Full"
I want the Full Retail CD version of Windows 98 when it RTMs. How do I
get it?
We have listened to your requests for the "Full" version of Windows
98, and we have decided to ship the "Full" version to all active beta
sites. This will do both an upgrade and a clean install. For those of
you who have beta-over-beta-over-beta, this will make it somewhat
easier to do a clean install after we RTM (release to manufacturing).
How do I know if I am active?
If, at any time during the beta test program for Windows 98 you have
submitted a bug report, or filled out an install survey, or even
checked the "yes" box on the web site activity request last fall, then
you are considered active.
What is the difference between "Full" and "Upgrade"?
These are primarily license differences. The "Full" product is
intended to install on clean hard disks. It is intended for people
that build their own systems and need to buy a license for Windows for
that PC. The "Upgrade" is intended for people that already have a
licensed copy of Windows 3.1 or Windows 95 (whether it was purchased
directly, or comes preinstalled on a PC), and does not cost as much.
Both versions will completely upgrade a prior version of Windows 3.1
or Windows 95 on a running PC. The Upgrade version will require proof
of ownership if you are installing on a clean hard disk, by prompting
for diskettes or CDs from a previous version.
Release Candidate 4
RC4? Already? What is new in RC4? What happened to my RC3 CD?
As many of you have discovered, we have shipped RC4 CDs this week
instead of RC3. RC4 includes the BIOSINFO fix as well as some
additional fixes. You should not need to reapply the biosinfo fix to
RC4. If you are running RC3 with the biosinfo fix, you should install
RC4. When we discovered the BIOSINFO problem over the weekend, we
decided not to mail the RC3 CDs, but to reburn the RC3 CD with the
BIOSINFO fix. However, we also had a couple of additional fixes ready
to go, so we decided to include those and bumped it to RC4. This way,
we can all be very clear when distinguishing between RC3 and RC4.
Although the email for RC3 went out earlier in the week, we knew that
we would be able to deliver RC4 CDs on Thursday.
But you said that we would get RC3 CDs on Thursday with the BIOSINFO
fix?
We have been very careful to say " you will receive CDs on Thursday
with the BIOSINFO fix." We didn't say whether they were RC3 or RC4.
The RC4 CDs include the BIOSINFO fix. This is why we did not ship any
RC3 CDs.
Then why haven't you posted RC4 already?
Usually a build is posted several days before the CD arrives. After
all, electrons travel faster than mail.
RC4, along with all future builds, requires new, private Product Keys.
We are sending those out using standard mail, and knew that they would
not arrive before Thursday (today). So there was no point in posting
RC4 until we had distributed the new product keys. Today we will post
RC4 "Full" product. You will need your private Product Key to install
this build. If you have not yet received your Product Key letter, you
will not be able to set up this build until you receive it.
I received both an RC4 CD and a Product Key Letter. Why doesn't the
Product Key work?
For simplicity, we included the Product Key letter and the RC4 CD in
the same package if you receive an RC4 CD. For everyone else, the
Product Key letter is just a separate letter. Due to the decision to
distribute "Full" product as the final product, the official Product
Key letter contains a Product Key designed to work with the "Full"
product only. However, the RC4 CD is an Upgrade CD. We are already
sending a separate email to each person who received a CD with your
temporary "Upgrade" key. This email key will only be needed for your
RC4 CD. I apologize for the slight confusion this out-of-sync mailing
caused. Please do not share either the "upgrade" or the "full" key
with anyone else, via email or any other way.
It is important to follow the instructions set forth in the product
key letter as these keys will be your personal product keys for all
future downloads as well as on the final cd we will send to you.
Again, we would like to reiterate that these keys are your
responsibility.
What is the difference between the Winbeta version of RC4 and the CD
version?
The Winbeta version is a "Full" version, and requires the Product Key
that you received in a letter. The CD version is "Upgrade" and
requires the key you receive via email.
Please feel free to test either, but make sure you use the correct
product key with each one.
Thank you for your time and effort, and for your understanding as we
move to the final Product Key process.
Windows NT 5.0 Beta Release
Dear Windows 98 Beta Testers,
Many of you have been inquiring about the Windows NT 5.0 Beta. Some of
you are concerned because you haven't heard back regarding whether or
not you were chosen, others are interested in signing up.
Unfortunately we cannot help you with these inquiries. We can only
help you with your Windows 98 related inquiries. I have included the
standard response from the Windows NT beta team in regards to
questions about their beta program below.
If you received the Windows NT version 5.0 Beta 1 release, please
refer to the Support Notes or other appropriate support instructions
included in your package.
Future mail to our beta web address regarding the Windows NT 5.0 beta
will be ignored.
Thanks for your participation in the Windows 98 beta program and we
look forward to hearing from you regarding any Windows 98 issues you
may have.
Sincerely,
The Windows 98 Product Team
Thank you for your interest in the Microsoft Windows NT version 5.0
Beta release. This program is closed for nominations at this time and
we are not presently accepting external sites through this alias.
If you received an invitation to participate in the upcoming release
of Windows NT version 5.0 Beta program and responded prior to August
4th via our registration Web site, you will have received a
confirmation of your registration for this program. This Beta has not
yet been released, although we are working diligently on this product
and you can expect to receive this release as soon as possible.
If you are registered to attend the Microsoft Professional Developer's
Conference in San Diego the week of September 22nd, you can expect to
receive a copy of Windows NT version 5.0 Beta and development tools at
the event. For more information concerning the conference, please see
us on the Web at http://www.microsoft.com/pdc
Current Microsoft Developer Network subscribers will automatically
receive the Windows NT version 5.0 Beta release including the Software
Developer's Kit (SDK). To subscribe to this program, call (800)
759-5474. For more information concerning MSDN, please see us on the
Web at http://www.microsoft.com/msdn
Thank you for your interest in Windows NT 5.0.
Windows 98 in other languages
Pan European as been integrated into the English version of Windows 98
German Release Candidate 3
Traditional Chinese Release Candidate 3
Simplified Chinese Release Candidate 3
Korean Release Candidate 3
Japanese Release Candidate 3
French Release Candidate 1
Spanish Release Candidate 1
Swedish Release Candidate 0
Dutch Release Candidate 0
Brazilian Release Candidate 0
Italian Release Candidate 0
Filled out the Windows 98 Installation Survey?
Your continued participation in the Windows 98 Beta Project requires
the completion of an Installation Survey subsequent to each
installation of a new Windows 98 build. We ask that you complete the
survey once for each system on which Windows 98 is installed. Data
collected through this survey will improve our ability to measure the
Beta's coverage of third party products. Please take the time to
complete this survey today.
Please send comments and suggestions for this Web site to
bet...@microsoft.com
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