James Delahunty
15 Jul 2009 21:10
On its first day of a Windows 7 promotional drive, Microsoft's European online store quickly went offline. Customers were instead greeted with a message claiming the site was, "experiencing a higher level of demand than usual" but that it would be back up and running as soon as possible. The promo gives customers the opportunity to pre-order Windows 7 Home Premium E for £49.99 or Windows 7 Professional E for £99.99.
The software is on sale at the Microsoft Store, as well as several traditional partners including Amazon, Play.com and PC World. The offer will continue until August 9. The company is stressing that users should use the Upgrade Adviser Tool on offer for Windows 7 to avoid similar problems to those experienced with Windows Vista by customers after launch.
The worst issue for most affected consumers was hardware that carried Vista Capable stickers wasn't always compatible with Vista at all. In order to get in on more pre-orders, PC World is offering a free PC healthcheck worth £29.99 to anybody who purchases the software.