Using Subscriber Downloads

Finding product files

You can find software from Subscriber Downloads in a number of different ways.

Search: fastest way to find a download when you know what you’re looking for
Browse Product A-Z: all products listed alphabetically
Browse Product Categories: the familiar category view
Top Products: quick access to the most common products
New Downloads: newsfeed (RSS) of the latest releases
New Products: products that have new downloads available

Filtering your results

After your search results are returned, you can filter them to narrow your choices. The options within each type of filter are generated based on your initial query.

Availability: Choose “Products available with my subscription” to hide files that are excluded from your subscription and unavailable to download.
Architecture: Limit results to your target architecture.
File Extension: Only looking for an ISO? Filter on the file extension.
Language: The results view displays English files initially. Select from the available languages to change your query; you can also select multiple languages.
Product Family: Narrow a broad search query by choosing from a list of products.

Files you can’t download

Everyone can view Subscriber Downloads. If you haven't already, you'll be prompted to sign in when you attempt to download a product or view product keys. If you don't have a subscription, you can view what's available, but you can't download any products.

Based on your subscription status, level, or country, some files may not be available to download. In that scenario, you’ll see one of the following explanations with next steps:

There is no subscription associated with your Live ID. Add a subscription to this account.
Your subscription has expired. For more information visit My Account.
This product is not available at your subscription level. Learn More
This product is not available in your country. Please try a different product edition or language.

You can hide files to which you don’t have access by selecting “Products available with my subscription” from the list of filters on the results page.

For more information on files you can’t find on Subscriber Downloads, see Product availability.

File Transfer Manager

File Transfer Manager is the primary download manager used on Subscriber Downloads today. However, to ensure fast transfer rates during peak traffic times, we also use Akamai Download Manager for select files. For troubleshooting help downloading these files, use Akamai Download Manager Help.

The FTM is implemented as an ActiveX control and is a 32-bit application. If you are running a 64-bit Operating System, you will need to run the 32-bit version of Internet Explorer to download products.

Depending on your Corporate Group Policy, you may need to be an Administrative User to install this ActiveX control. If you experience problems with the installation, you can go to the Microsoft File Transfer Manager site and install the latest version using the MSI installer or review the troubleshooting tips for known issues.

Direct download option

Files are also available from Subscriber Downloads using your browser only, rather than any download manager. You may use this option if you prefer downloading with your browser, or if you are unable to run ActiveX-based download managers due to the security or proxy settings at your organization.

To find the Direct Download link for a particular file, select Details under the filename. From the Permalinks displayed under Details, select Direct Download to start a file download using your browser’s download manager.

Using ISO image files

Many products are posted as ISO-9660 image files. An ISO-9660 image file is an exact representation of a CD or DVD, including the content and the logical format. The most common use of an image file is to write it to a blank CD-R or DVD-R, resulting in an identical copy of the original disc including file name and volume label information. ISO image files may also be opened and their contents copied to a local folder, much like ZIP files. ISO files may also be virtually mounted and accessed as a device. These three methods of using ISO images are described below. Note: you may have to rename the file extension from .IMG or .UDF to .ISO, depending on your software.

Writing ISO files to CD-R or DVD-R

Most CD-R/DVD-R writing software includes a feature to create a disc from an image file. Note: you must use the special "copy image to CD" or "burn image" functionality. See your software’s Help for detailed information.

Writing ISO images to CD-Rs and DVD-Rs
The Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit includes the DVDBURN.EXE command line tool. Though it has not been tested by Microsoft, many customers also report success using ISO Recorder.

Testing CD-Rs and DVD-Rs
After your CD/DVD-R has been written, you can compare your download copy to the original to verify that the process was successful. For this purpose, Subscriber Downloads provides the SHA-1 hash value for the download’s ISO image; to view the SHA-1 hash value, click “Details” in the download’s listing on Subscriber Downloads.

To verify your copy, you can use the Sigcheck tool, available from Sysinternals, to generate its SHA-1 hash value by running Sigcheck with the –h option; then compare the value you generated against the original to verify your copy. In addition, many freeware programs can calculate an SHA-1 hash value; use your favorite Internet search engine to look for sha1 hash to find them.

Accessing ISO images via Virtual Drives
Windows 8 natively supports ISO files: when you open an ISO file in Windows 8, it automatically assigns the file a drive letter and opens it as a virtual drive in Windows Explorer. For Windows 7 and earlier versions, however, certain tools exist which create a virtual disc drive on your PC and mount an ISO image on that drive.

Though they have not been tested nor are supported by the Subscriptions team, customers report that Daemon Tools offers such capability as well as Microsoft Virtual CD-ROM Control Panel.

Other products like IsoBuster and WinRar can access the contents of ISO images directly and verify ISO files, but also have not been tested nor are supported by the Subscriptions team.