Our good friends at Redmond are pleased to announce that you can download for free the full installation files for Windows Vista, hosted by Microsoft. The links to the 3 files are as below:
- 1. boot.wim (116 MB)
- 2. install.wim (2.24 GB)
- 3. X13-49120.exe (73.7 MB)
Make sure all 3 files are in the same folder. Just double click the X13-49120.exe file to install Windows Vista. Of course you still need a valid product key (*cough* Paradox). The files can be used to install all versions of Windows Vista (Home Basic to Ultimate), it just changes depending on the product key.
To burn to a DVD, first double click the X13-49120.exe file. Wait for all necessary setup files to be unpacked. Download CDimage 2.52. Extract it to the same folder and type in the following commands into dos:
cdimage.exe -lVISTA_EN_DVD -m -u2 -bC:\Vista\boot\etfsboot.com C:\Vista\ C:\Vistax86.iso
Burn with any DVD burning software. Enjoy Windows Vista!
Is It Genuine?
Well, is it really genuine? Couldn't it be a pirated version filled with backdoors. At first I thought so too, until you dig a little deeper. Here is what I found.
The link points to a 'msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net'. A whois search showed that the domain is registered under Digital River. Digital River is a content service provider that provides digital downloads for software, music and movies to large corporations. If you search their site's news archive, you can read a press release titled Digital River Provides E-Commerce Services for the 2007 Microsoft Office System and Windows Vista.
Digging even deeper, when you download the file it is hosted on the domain 'http://diriver-msftdnl.vo.llnwd.net'. Again, a whois on the owner of the domain shows that it is registered by Limelight Networks. It is a leading digital content delivery provider for sites such as youtube, metacafe, and microsoft among others.
In conclusion, yes this download is genuine and not a pirated version. Have fun!
Check here for references to Limelight Networks:
5 comments:
The links to the files don't look like they're hosted on a MS domain.
Seems a little dubious doesn't it?! Nice try though!
Well I did a whois on 'msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net' and it shows the owner as Digital River. Digital River seems to offer a digital download service to software companies, so I think this is a leaked address.
However I cannot confirm if it is 100% genuine. Sorry for the confusion.
I did a bit more searching and found this news item: Digital River Provides E-Commerce Services for the 2007 Microsoft Office System and Windows Vista.
It seems that Digital River provides digital downloads for Windows Vista upgrade. However, it is confirmed that using the above method allows you to make it into a bootable clean-install DVD
I did more searching and if you look at the download link, it will direct you to this site: http://diriver-msftdnl.vo.llnwd.net
Searching a whois on this domain shows that it is owned by Limelight Networks, a leading content delivery provider for Metacafe, Youtube and Microsoft. So I can confirm that the download is legitimate.
Check out this sites for more coverage on Limelight Networks: TechCrunch, Wikipedia, Forrester Research.
If you need more prove look at this site. It shows the exact same domain that the Vista files are hosted on also hosts podcasts, movie trailers, games, game patches etc. This site is genuine.
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