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TechNet Subscriber Download site issues/feedback

I know many of you have been experiencing issues over the last few weeks accessing TechNet Subscriber Downloads.  Rest assured we are trying to get the issues resolved ASAP.  

 

We are also working on some very broad Subscriber improvements that will reduce some of the system complexity that has been the apparent cause of this unscheduled downtime and likely some of the earlier ones as well. That won’t be ready until probably the very end of the year, though.

 

We are working on some significant updates and improvements to the Subscriber Downloads User Experience.   As we move ahead, a question has been posed about the use of the SHA1 Hash and ISO/CRC values for the Subscriber Downloads content.

Subscribers Feedback Wanted

1.      Do you use the displayed SHA1 Hash values in the Subscriber Download details? I know we get pinged when the SHA1 Hash value is missing, so our perception is that it is used, but we would like to validate this.

2.      The ISO/CRC value is also available but is not currently shown in the Subscriber Downloads details. Would the ISO/CRC be valuable to have displayed? More or less so than SHA1 Hash?

Thanks in advance for your input.

 

Kathy Dixon

TechNet Plus subscriptions

Posted: Tuesday, September 11, 2007 11:10 PM by TechNetPlusSubscriptions

Comments

Ko Van Zeeland (jvanzeeland) said:

I don't use them in general, only if i suspect a problem because of connection timeouts and the like, then i do a check.

# September 12, 2007 7:18 AM

Russ said:

For normal downloads no, but if an ISO won't mount ... or something a little odd during install I will double-check with the Checksums. Usually only occurs on slow downloading DVD iso's.

# September 12, 2007 7:34 AM

Mike said:

Only if I have an install issue. But so far every thing has burned clean.

# September 12, 2007 7:51 AM

k_tobe said:

1. I downloaded ISO file, then I make SHA1 hash value file.

Because, verify hash value, if I need.

2. At present time SHA1 is more delightful.

# September 12, 2007 7:58 AM

Jim said:

I don't mean to be rude, but how hard would it be to put a note on the TechNet home page saying there's a problem and giving an ETA for resolution? As with chatting with a concierge, a blanket statement like "we're trying to fix it" is about as informative as those voice mail messages that say how important my call is, please continue to hold for another 30 minutes. It would also be nice for any announcement to mention how subscriptions are going to be automatically extended for at least as long as access was denied ....

Think about it: only people reading this blog know there's an acknowledged, system-wide problem. Go into the site and everything appears nominal, unless the (ambiguous, meaningless) error message is generated. "Please try again later." Wow.

# September 12, 2007 12:13 PM

TechNetPlusSubscriptions said:

Jim - I appreciate the feedback.  We do try to post proactive notices when we know the system is going down etc.  However the recent issues are intermittent and so hard to proactively message.

- Kathy

# September 12, 2007 4:33 PM

ginette isenberg said:

Kathy:

My husband spent weeks convincing me to get the TechNet plus subscription for my business.  I agreed and had problems with your e-commerce site ordering the product.  After receiving the Welcome kit today, I tried to access my onlilne benefits.  I used the information printed on my card and it didn't recognize me.  My husband tried several times and it wouldn't authenticate me.  We also noted that the subscription expires in March 2008.  Not a good sign for a 1 year subscription.  Just tried to follow the contact link and it is to a voice line that is manned for 12 hours a day.  This is pitiful for a global entity.  I cannot even download the tools that my husband promised I could learn with TechNet.  I guess we'll just wait until 5:30am until they can answer the phone.  Not a good first impression.  At least you could outsource the customer support to a 3rd world country like other multinationals so I could get some satisfaction.  

# September 12, 2007 9:08 PM

Yman said:

I wouls settle for stable first and improvements later! SHA1 is unfortunatley the least of my problems.

# September 12, 2007 10:42 PM

Marcus O. Notz said:

Pretty much in line with previous responses, I would probably only use them if there is a problem with the ISO, which up until now never was an issue.

# September 13, 2007 2:26 PM

Chris said:

At last - after 3 weeks of ignored mails sent to the subscription department, I found something that points to an issue accessing the download section. Echoing Jim's comment: why not just tell users openly that there are problems ? After all - I am paying for a service that I can not access.

# September 14, 2007 5:25 AM

Curt said:

Well, where to begin! This is the first time I have looked at the blog and low and behold, this is exactly the problem I have been dealing with for the last few weeks. I am currently in Baghdad in support of the military and have an extremely slow connection in the first place. It is maddening to try to get help from here with an issue like this. I have been unable to get to the downloads but on very rare occasions and then have about a 5-15Kbps throughput. If you can imagine what that does to trying to get a dvd iso downloaded. I have spent the last three weeks trying to download some of the iso images so I can set up a virtual pc system to show someone I work with how to setup some of the systems we are trying to configure for a trainer..... As you can imagine, that isn't going to well when I can't get to the downloads to start the weeklong process of downloading an image. You might put something in a little more conspicuous a place to let people know that there are problems with the site and not my connection. I have had the people running the connection triple checking the system to make sure everything is working. Now I can have them relax and show them that they are not the entire problem....

# September 26, 2007 12:00 AM

Chris said:

Well, my Technet PLus subscription has lapsed, and I will NOT renew it.

For the last 2 months I have been unable to access subscriber downloads at all - and Technet support couldn't care less. Half my mails about the problem were never responded too, and the other half made idiotic suggestions to clear cookies etc.

Cheers Microsoft - I'm off to open source. At least they care.

# November 9, 2007 1:06 AM

TechNetPlusSubscriptions said:

Chris -

We do take this very seriously, and continue to work towards resolution.  This weekend, November 10-11, there will be several system updates and patch applications, including the application of a patch that should address one of the known causes of the 11008 Error.  We have a benchmark of the 11008 errors logged and will be monitoring them following the patch deployment to see if additional patches are needed.

 Can you please email me using the email feature on the blog so I can get some more specifics on your issues to insure they get addressed?

Thanks,

Kathy Dixon

TechNet Plus subscriptions

# November 9, 2007 9:14 PM

Roman said:

Brand new to TechNet.  Just wanted to throw in that I regularly verify iso downloads via SHA1 or MD5, and have been using the SHA1 hashes provided for each TechNet download, so.. Yes I use them. Yes, they're something I would like to see continue.  So many places don't provide them; it's good to see TechNet get it right.

# November 24, 2007 4:49 AM

Charles Tretola said:

I've just joined TechNet (12/3/07) and was able to download for the first two days. Suddenly, each time I log-on to the download section, I get the message "Service Unavailable". Is this a part of the problems you've alluded to in the blogs above? I would truly appreciate a response to my question since I'm at a total loss as to what is going on.

Thanks.

# December 6, 2007 12:51 PM
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