I got this 1/7/2003
Thank you for your interest and participation in the Windows Server 2003 Customer Preview Program! Microsoft welcomes your participation, and we strive to make this a positive and beneficial experience for you.
Due to Microsoft's security requirements, the hyperlink(s) contained in this email may not automatically open your browser. If you experience any difficulty with a hyperlink in this document, please copy the hyperlink and paste into your browser.
Please do not reply directly to this message as this message is being sent to you from an un-monitored account. For questions specific to the download process, please send e-mail to
cppdlsup@microsoft.com.
EMAIL NOTIFICATION FOR RC2 DOWNLOAD CUSTOMERS
Microsoft® Windows® Server 2003 Release Candidate 2 is now ready for download! Please read this email carefully and keep a copy so that you will not lose valuable information you need for participating in the Windows Server 2003 Customer Preview Program.
As a participant in the Windows Server 2003 Customer Preview Program, you are entitled to a copy of the Windows Server 2003 Release Candidate 2 (RC2).
DOWNLOADING RC2
If you have previously registered or downloaded Windows Server 2003 RC1: To download RC2 now, go to
http://windowsbeta.microsoft.com, and login with the Microsoft Passport ID that you used to download RC1. There is no need to register again.
If you have not previously signed into
http://windowsbeta.microsoft.com, please register for the site using your Customer Preview Program username and password below.
Note: You do not need to enter this information again if you?ve previously done so.
After completing the registration wizard you will be able to acquire a product key and download Windows Server 2003 RC2 from the site. Please make sure you fully complete the registration wizard before attempting to acquire a product key or download. Instructions on how to acquire a product key and download Windows Server 2003 RC2 will be found on
http://windowsbeta.microsoft.com/default.asp after you have successfully completed the registration wizard.
To download Windows Server 2003 RC2 please ensure that you are using a computer that is running Windows95 or later and Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or greater.
If you experience any problems downloading Windows Server 2003 RC2, please send e-mail to
cppdlsup@microsoft.com.
INSTALLING RC2 AFTER THE DOWNLOAD
1. Windows Server 2003 RC2 requires a product key for installation of the product. This key can only be used with Windows Server 2003 pre-release builds. This key is the same key you used to install RC1. You can obtain your personal product key from
https://windowsbeta.microsoft.com/keys/default.asp. You are allowed to install this beta software on as many machines as permitted by your license agreement.
2. Windows Server 2003 RC2 includes product activation. You will be required to activate the product within 14 days of installation.
3. Windows Server 2003 RC2 is a time limited release and will expire 360 days after initial installation is complete.
4. Windows Server 2003 RC2 is not recommended for production systems unless you are explicitly working with Microsoft on deployment programs.
5. Due to the nature of pre-release software, some of your applications and hardware may not function correctly. For technical questions, please review the information on newsgroup support below.
If you proceed with the Internet download option, please note that you will need to either burn a CD or use third party software to extract the Windows Server 2003 setup files. The Internet download is an .ISO file, an "image" of the product CD. It is not a self-installing executable like many Internet-downloadable programs. You will need a CD Burner and CD Burn software or a third party utility to extract files from an .ISO image. More details and instructions will be available on the web site prior to your download.
If you will be connected to the Internet when installing Windows Server 2003, please use the Dynamic Update option during setup. This will ensure that the very latest fixes can be delivered to your machine prior to running setup. If you are upgrading Windows 2000 or Windows NT 4.0, and do not use Dynamic Update, you may get an error about kernel mode audio drivers on some systems. You will need to uninstall and reinstall using Dynamic Update on these systems. This will enable Microsoft to test the Dynamic Update feature of Windows Server 2003.
Please review the pre-release license agreements carefully during the installation of Windows Server 2003 RC2. By installing this release, you agree to the terms and conditions of these license agreements. As a reminder, all licenses associated with the product will expire when the product becomes commercially available.
Before installing this release you must print and fully read Read1st.txt. This document contains critical pre-installation and upgrade information important to your installation and is located at the root of the installation media.
PRODUCT KEY
During the installation process, you may be prompted to enter a product key. The key required is the same key you used to install RC1. If you have misplaced your key, you can return to
https://windowsbeta.microsoft.com/keys/default.asp after logging into WindowsBeta to retrieve your key.
CPP CD KIT OPTION
You can also obtain Windows Server 2003 RC2 via CD kit. If you would like to receive a CD kit, please visit
www.microsoft.com/windows.netserver/preview. For CD kit questions, please send e-mail to:
cppadmin@microsoft.com
GETTING UPDATES
To complete the survey and to receive additional information, please register at:
www.cppregister.com/dlrc2.
For order processing questions, please send e-mail to
cppadmin@microsoft.com.
For technical questions, please utilize the newsgroups; information on accessing the newsgroups is above.
Thank you very much for your interest in the Windows Server 2003 Customer Preview Program; we hope that your experience is positive, and welcome your feedback!
Best Regards,
The Windows Server 2003 Customer Preview Program Download Team