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Vista SP1 released - the Wow starts again?

by Parm Mann on 19 March 2008, 10:04

Tags: Windows Vista, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)

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It has been a long time coming but it's now here - officially. Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is available for all to download via Windows Update or as a standalone package from Microsoft's download centre.

Last month, Vista SP1 unexpectedly became available to 64-bit users and technical users were also able to get their hands on the eagerly-awaited update from MSDN and TechNet.

Today, users of both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows Vista can obtain SP1 and take advantage of key reliability and performance issues.

Microsoft states: "Windows Vista SP1 is an update to Windows Vista that, along with improvements delivered via these other channels, addresses feedback from our customers and partners. By providing these fixes integrated into a single service pack which will be thoroughly tested by Microsoft and by industry partners and customers during the beta cycle, Microsoft provides a single high quality update that minimises deployment and testing complexity for customers."

The standalone download weighs in at approximately 450MB for the 32-bit version and 750MB for the 64-bit version. Opt to upgrade via Windows Update however and your download could be as little as 65MB - depending on which updates have already been deployed to your system.

Unfortunately for users from other regions, SP1 is only available to users of English, French, German, Japanese and Spanish versions of Vista. Other languages are expected to see a SP1 release shortly, but no firm date has yet been confirmed.

Microsoft has high hopes for SP1 and its release could prove to be a critical milestone, particularly among businesses who tend to wait until a service pack is available before opting for widespread deployment of a new OS.

SP1 might not boast a host of new features for the home consumer, but bug fixes, reliability and security are paramount to business users and SP1 could be the key ingredient to lure businesses which haven't yet made the switch.

Have you installed SP1 or are you part of a company now thinking of making the upgrade to Vista? Share your thoughts in the HEXUS forums.

Useful Links

Download 32-bit Service Pack 1
Download 64-bit Service Pack 1
Microsoft.com: Notable changes in Windows Vista Service Pack 1



HEXUS Forums :: 48 Comments

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Thoroughly recommend this money-saving update.

Cough!

Who'd have believed that a free updater would have the effect of quadrupling the RAM on your PC?

Cough!

My Clawhammer PC now has 8GB of RAM compared with 2GB before SP1.

Cough, cough!

Annoyingly, though, when I boot into a different partition running XP, Vista removes the extra 6GB of RAM that it installed - I suppose because the 32-bit version of XP can't handle all that memory.

RAM foibles apart, though, SP1 does seem to increase the general system speed considerably, including file copying across my local network.

Trouble is, I was so hacked off with Vista that I really didn't use it that much before SP1, so I'm not sure that I can properly appreciate any improvements (or spot any downsides, apart from false reporting of RAM).

Anyone else taken the plunge? If so, what are your thoughts?

Bob
I use 32 bit Vista. Downloaded the SP and my X-Fi sound card played up! Reinstalled the drivers and all ok. But on the plus side I have not yet noticed any improvment.
Does it fix the problem with the network stack that creates the random file copy speed over the network thing?
'[GSV
Trig;1373437']Does it fix the problem with the network stack that creates the random file copy speed over the network thing?

that's meant to be one of the improvements. have yet to test.
'[GSV
Trig;1373437']Does it fix the problem with the network stack that creates the random file copy speed over the network thing?
Apparently in most cases, apparently.

The problem is they've gone and done a software developement no no, re-invent and over engineer the wheel, and people will be finding plenty more bugs with this little area (but often in more and more obscure cases).

So yes apparently for most situations, but i wouldn't trust it as the defacto standard on my company network just yet.