The Inquirer reports that the MS online store was overwhelmed by the number of people purchasing the W7 pre-order offer! This may explain why a few members were unable to order direct from Microsoft:
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1433675/windows-pre-overwhelm-europe
Rest of the story here:MICROSOFT'S EUROPEAN online store has been taken down following too much demand for a Windows 7 pre-order programme. This follows a similar promotion in the US that ended July 11 and offered discounts on Windows 7 pre-orders.
According to CNET, it seems Windows 7 pre-orders have sold out at some Amazon sites and at spots in Germany.The Vole's own online store apparently was overwhelmed by demand, meaning that those who turned up to buy the software were instead greeted with a multilingual error message.
The message said, "Due to the eagerly anticipated" Windows 7 pre-order offer we're experiencing a higher level of demand on our website than usual." It continued, "This means you can't access the site right now and we're sorry about that. We'll be back up and running as soon as we can so please try again soon to get your hands on a copy of Windows 7!"
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1433675/windows-pre-overwhelm-europe