I just downloaded Scrivener for windows, and I am truly enjoying its capabilities. Problem is, I’m afraid to use it since it’s a trial version and I don’t want to devote time to something that might be erased in thirty days. I realize the windows version is in beta testing, but is there a purchasable version so I won’t have to worry about my information disappearing? If so, where do I find it?
Firstly, information will never disappear. The program uses project files which stores your data in open formats (XML and RTF, mostly). So worst case you can always get at written material by going into the project folder. That is worst case though; as it is a little messy in there—optimised for machine performance, not humans. 
Best case, if you get close to running out of days and are worried, you can use the File/Export/Files... command to dump out the contents of your project Binder to normal files and folders. If the program stops working and you later pick it up again when it lets you, then nothing will have changed on your drive in regards to the project files.
Okay, that all aside: we always release updates prior to expiration (there was only one couple-day exception in the past year; and that was due to extenuating circumstances; this last cycle we were ahead of schedule). The timer is there to keep everyone on the same latest version—and the actual test trial timer can be physically reset right there in the trial window. So if you do run out of days (independent of the beta version’s expiration) you can just click that button to get another 30 days.
Welcome to the board; and Scrivener!
Thanks so much! I’ve been fiddling around with the corkboard feature and was thinking how much I really really really want to use it lol. I’m so glad I won’t loose my info. I don’t know how long I’ve been looking for writing software that would actually help me write my novel rather than hinder its progress. I’ve downloaded so many trial versions but have never been satisfied. This, however, looks like exactly what I need to actually finish a manuscript.
Thanks! Glad to hear the interface is making sense to you. That’s exactly how it should feel: to just become an extension of how your mind already prefers to work in terms of thinking of your book, rather than asking you to conform your brain and book to some idea or model. The philosophy here is to give you a bunch of little tools that you can use as-needed to create your own way of working. Consequently you see a lot of “recipes” for doing things, rather than strict guidelines, around here. Give the Interactive Tutorial a shot; it introduces some core concepts that are unique to the program and will boost your efficiency no matter how you work—and since it is built into a live project, you’ll get familiar with the interface just by browsing through the steps. Note it’s a bit of a work-in-progress, so you might find some rough edges or things that point you to the wrong area of the interface; but overall it should be helpful.