SP1 is officially released:
You can either download it using the Windows Update or you can download the stand alone installer (434.50MB) from here:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/3/a/9/3a9b72c2-527d-4694-8a49-84c056d4c34d/Windows6.0-KB936330-X86-wave0.exe
Remember the warning as mentioned below.
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Here is the link from where you can Download Vista SP1 RTM (Yes it's the official version).
I have not yet tried this on my box, for while I am updating this post the SP1 is getting downloaded in parallel. I don't know what 'side-affects' this SP1 has on some tweaked Vista, but if you have a Legal copy, I think you won't wait till March end now to get SP1.
As I am not allowed to directly link to Microsoft SP1 link, hence providing the other link. This link describes the process of downloading the SP1 (.img file)
Vista SP1 Download Guide
Hope that will help you.
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Service Pack, Service Pack, Service Pack. Here is one more...Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Release Candidate 1.
Whenever a new software is out in the market, in a day or two, people start talking 'bout probable service packs. Nothing new, nothing surprising. A service pack is a patch for a software to fix/upgrade its features.
Since I installed Vista Ultimate on my notebook, I have been trying to play around with it. It has been more than 4-5 months doing so. Loved the interface, new improved way of navigation and lots of other things. I faced few issues too, but I always knew there would be Updates/SPs to fix those :).
We all have been hearing a lot of Vista Service Pack 1 getting released sooner or later, but it's not just out yet. People all around the world must be expecting it with wide eyes. Last night, I just Googled (my favorite activity) 'bout the latest news on Vista SP1 and Voila!...it's out. Not directly though, you need to do some registry tweaks (we call it Hacks in technical world). In the next 1 hour the Service Pack was up & running on my box. Though it's not the final version of the Service Pack, hence named Release Candidate (RC).
This Service Pack is available via Windows Update, but not normally. For this to be available in the list of available updates, one needs to add few registry keys. If you are good at flirting with registry keys just go Start->Regedit and play around. But be careful, registry hacks can create chaos in your operating system. So a safer & readymade option is to download the following file, which contains the needed registry keys in one command file. Just extract this zip and run the .cmd file within and done. File is already uploaded on a site here: http://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/sp1rc_wuhack.zip
Once you are done with this, you need to run Windows Update (you can get this under Control Panel, or search it via the Start Menu Smart search box). Click on "Check for updates" on the left hand side.
Just go run it. The system will need to be restarted again and here is when the updates will be applied. This will take somewhere around 40minutes, rest depends on your hardware & software configurations.
Once installed, you can see the System Properties to verify that the service pack is installed. :) It always feels nice to be running the latest softwares with latest updates.
Enhancements (few I would like to key in here):
One of the major, Copy & Paste process. Vista has improved user interface and promises to provide users with various useful information. It does it gracefully well. But here is one place where it really gets stuck. In the normal Vista o/s, when you copy files to another location, vista goes one step ahead and 'calculates' the time needed to copy for showing you the copy progress statistics. Here is the hitch. The copy progress hangs many a times. And most of the times that is annoying, really. This service pack is supposed to fix it so that the copy will start immediately and calculations will be done parallely, with a much enhanced approach. I tried the same myself and really felt the difference in the 1st attempt only.
Other than that increased hardware support, security, network issue, BitLocker enhancements, etc. as documented in various resources.
Some other noticeable item changes too. Sure to mention that the Search item on the Start Menu goes out (thanks to Google's lawsuits). Though you can still access the same using Win+F or F3.
There are many other enhancements which can be found documented on the Microsoft site or other resources on the net.
Here is the Release notes for the Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Release Candidate: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/936330. Make sure to read it before installing.
Important Note, this is just an RC, the final SP is supposed to be released in the first quarter of 2008. And in order to install that you will need to Uninstall this RC manually. You can do it from the Control Panel->Programs & Features normally. Should you face any problem after installing the SP1 RC1, just uninstall it normally.
Hope this will help people have a preview of the most awaited Microsoft Windows Vista Service Pack 1.
WARNING: Those who are NOT running the Legal copy of Vista, DO NOT try this SP1 RC1, else have a hard time tweaking it again.
Keep looking for more patches/SPs. Happy hunting in this new year ahead.
Happy New Year 2008!
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