10/19/09 Update: Beta 2 is now available! Check out my new post on Downloading and Installing Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2.  

The instructions in this blog post are meant to accompany 10-4 Episode 20: Downloading and Installing Visual Studio 2010 Beta 1. Please view that video for additional context, including a step-by-step walkthrough for installing Visual Studio 2010 beta 1.

I suggest using a download manager for these files since they are very large. My download manager of choice is Free Download Manager. You can use your own favorite download manager, but you may need to adapt the instructions below as appropriate.

10/14/09 Update: The SQL 2008 Trial is now downloadable via Free Download Manager as well. I have updated step 2 to reflect that, and removed step 7.

1. Download and install Free Download Manager. This utility provides:
   • Auto-resume support for interrupted downloads.
   • Multiple simultaneous download streams for (usually) a much faster download experience.
   • As the name implies, it's completely free.
2. Select the following list of URL’s and copy (CTRL+C) them to your clipboard. You can select all four files at the same time.
   http://download.microsoft.com/download/8/5/c/85c7cca1-7d25-4c9b-85fc-5e837a393a0b/WS08_RTM_x86_EnterpriseVHD.exe
   http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/1/8/518B204C-1DF9-4666-B8D4-FAC0375FADB2/VS2010Beta1ENU_VSTS.iso
   http://download.microsoft.com/download/6/1/7/61788179-96DF-4E60-B65A-A060F28D1F22/VS2010Beta1ENU_TFS.iso
   http://download.microsoft.com/download/9/C/0/9C036510-3218-4258-8B03-67DC1D6A497C/SQLFULL_ENU.iso
3. Launch the user interface for Free Download Manager (either from the Start Menu or via the system tray icon if FDM is already running).
4. Click File -> Import -> Import List of URLs from Clipboard.
5. When prompted for a download group, accept the default ("Other") and click OK.
6. You are now free to minimize Free Download Manager while the files download. By default, they will be saved to c:\downloads.