No problems.

Unlike the service packs for Windows XP, Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) is an AUTOMATIC install. That means if you have Windows Update set to perform updates automatically, SP1 will be installed whether you choose it or not. That almost happened to me today, but I was able to delay it until I could do a disk-image backup. See a previous post “RAID Backup” about that process.


Then I allowed the update to proceed. This computer is a medium-high-end system with dual 2.7 GHz processors, RAID 1 SATA disks, 4 Gb of memory, and Vista Ultimate 64-bit. The update took 27 minutes, from start until I was logged on again. It rebooted once during the install.

I have so far discovered no problems at all. I’ve tried lots of applications, including IE, Word, WordPerfect, Windows Media Center, anti-virus, graphics editors, and many more. SP1 has been running for only a few hours, but so far so good.

Here are some possible improvements:

• Microsoft says it’s a little faster, and it does seem a little more lively, though this computer was pretty quick before, and
• Before the update, memory usage tended to build up throughout the day until it reached 55 or 60%. Now it seems to sit at about 35%, going up or down slightly as applications are opened and closed.

That’s all I have noticed, and those are just perceptions, not measurements. Here are some annoying Vista “features” that have NOT improved:

• The select zone that extends all the way across the main window of Windows Explorer instead of being limited to the file name,
• Windows Calendar reminders still don’t work if Windows Calendar is closed, even though I have selected the option that should make reminders work,
• Windows Task Manager still asks for permission to continue, when I ask it to display all running processes, even though I’m logged on as Administrator, and
• All of the other Vista annoyances.

After the update was completed, a popup asked whether or not I would like to contribute to the “Windows Customer Experience.” This was a click YES or NO, with a “read more” link. I clicked on “read more” and was taken to a very obtuse page about personal information and Microsoft’s use thereof; that page had nothing to say about Windows Customer Experience. I opted out, of course. Why contribute when they won’t even tell us what it’s about?

Nevertheless, bottom line, SP1 works fine here, or at least as well as Vista worked before. I’ll install it on another computer without a qualm. On the other hand, if I were managing an enterprise network I’d do a lot more investigation before installing.

Today we have a non-security update scheduled for distribution via Windows Update that you may find of some interest. The non-security update KB947172, a Cumulative Update for Media Center for Windows Vista, addresses an issue introduced by KB941229 where, when watching live digital TV on an Xbox 360, changing channels may freeze the UI. This update is included in Windows Vista SP1.

Speaking of Windows Vista SP1, the final two of three prerequisite updates needed to install Windows Vista SP1 will also be hitting Windows Update.  KB937287 which is the servicing stack update and KB938371 which is a multi-component update are both required before installing Windows Vista SP1. KB938371 will not be offered to Windows Vista Enterprise and Windows Vista Ultimate systems until KB935509, the first prerequisite in the series of three, has been installed. Both of the Windows Vista SP1 prerequisites are marked “Important” and will install automatically if you have Window Updates set to the recommended configuration.

I’ve said it before: these updates are just one more example of how we’re continuing to actively invest in improving the Windows Vista experience through Windows Update.

On Monday (February 4th), we announced the release to manufacturing (RTM) of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1).  Overall, people are excited to hear that we have reached this milestone, but some are disappointed they are not able to immediately download it.

In my blog post on the subject, I noted that we were going to make SP1 available to customers in stages to make sure we delivered a great experience.  As I explained, one reason for this is that we are working through an issue with a small set of hardware devices that may not function properly after the Windows Vista-based PC they are installed on is updated to SP1.  This is an issue with the way the device drivers were re-installed during the SP1 update process, not with the drivers themselves — these drivers worked on Windows Vista RTM and they work on Windows Vista SP1.  For new PCs with Windows Vista SP1 pre-installed, this is not an issue. 

We are working with the manufacturers of these devices to get the drivers and their install programs updated, and also working on other solutions we can use to ensure a smooth customer experience when updating to SP1 over Windows Update.

My blog post also noted that when beta testers encountered this issue, the problem was typically corrected by simply uninstalling and reinstalling the driver.  This type of issue can be addressed by our more technical customers since they are comfortable reinstalling drivers.  While most people think that it’s smart that we are releasing SP1 in stages, some people asked why we haven’t made SP1 available to technical customers sooner.

We’ve heard the feedback and I want to update you on our plans and progress for making SP1 available to our beta participants, our Volume Licensing customers, and our MSDN/TechNet Plus subscribers:

• Late Friday we made SP1 RTM available to individuals and companies who participated in the SP1 beta program
• At the end of this week we will be making the English version of Windows Vista SP1 available to Volume Licensing customers.  Other languages will follow soon after
• Later this month, SP1 will be available to MSDN and TechNet Plus subscribers

For broad availability, we are still planning to release in mid-March, since we want to be sure that everyone has the smoothest experience possible.

I want to be super-clear on one point:  Windows Vista SP1 is final.  It has been fully released to manufacturing and we do not plan to make any changes to the SP1 code prior to public availability.  We are confident in the quality of Windows Vista SP1 and know that it will help improve our customers’ experiences with Windows Vista.

Our goal here is to address the needs of our customers while delivering the best experience.  Please keep the comments coming.  We are listening!

- Mike

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows Server 2008 are not the only Microsoft products being released to manufacturing this week. Cecilia Cole, WSUS Program Manager, announced that WSUS 3.0 Service Pack 1 had also reached RTM, and was subsequently made available for download. But at the same time, the RTM stage of Windows Server Update Services 3.0 SP1 following in the heels of Windows Server 2008 is not coincidental. WSUS 3.0 SP1 is in fact designed to provide support for the Redmond company’s latest server operating system. (more…)

Installing 64-bit Windows Vista Service Pack 1 from a 32-bit image of Vista SP1 is a move that has become possible with the latest stage in evolution of the latest Windows client. Along with a range of enhancements, Vista SP1 comes to the table with setup and deployment improvements. While end users will be only superficially impacted by the changes, IT professional and original equipment manufacturers will be able to enjoy the added benefits of the service pack.

SP1 is great for IT Professionals because it will make your life easier around deployment and management of the technology. You will be able to maintain a single WinPE image because you can install 64-bit versions of Vista from a 32-bit OS,” explained Deeps De Silva, Audience Marketing Manager, Microsoft Australia. (more…)

Hi, Mike Nash here from the Windows Product Management group at Microsoft.  Today we are excited to announce that we have released Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista to manufacturing (RTM) for our first set of languages (English, French, Spanish, German and Japanese).

Service Pack 1 is a very important milestone because it addresses many of the key issues that our customers have identified with Windows Vista over the last year both, directly and through programs like the Customer Experience Improvement Program.  With Service Pack 1, we have made great progress in performance, reliability and compatibility.  One of the great things about my job is that I get to play with the latest builds of our products — I’ve personally been running Windows Vista SP1 pretty exclusively for a few months and I’ve noticed that my systems run faster and more reliably than they did with the “Gold” release of Windows Vista.

When we first released Windows Vista last year, there were lots of customers who had great experiences, but some had issues finding applications that worked well on Windows Vista; others had problems finding the right device drivers for some of the hardware devices that they used.  The reason for these issues is that in order to improve the reliability and security of Windows Vista, we made some important architectural changes to the system.  While this caused some issues in the short term, in the long term we know that these investments will improve both the reliability and security of the customer experience on Windows.  Check out this blog post about the first year of Windows Vista security to see how some of these changes are paying off.

The good news is that this last year has been a great year of progress for Windows Vista in terms of improving application and device compatibility.  For example, 98 out of the top-selling 100 applications have versions available for Windows Vista.  And through the great work of our hardware partners, we now have 78,000 devices and components supported by Windows Update, up from about 34,000 in November 2006.  As a result, we have licensed over 100 million copies of Windows Vista to date.

Service Pack 1 brings new improvements that are based on feedback we heard from our customers.  It further improves the reliability and performance of Windows Vista.  The information we collect thanks to tools like the Customer Experience Improvement Program, Online Crash Analysis, and Windows Error Reporting help us learn about where and when customers are having issues with Windows Vista and the applications that run on it.  Since these issues have a direct impact on our customers’ experiences, we’ve invested time and energy to make this better.  While Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is an important milestone, we will continue to invest in the continuous improvement process.

SP1 also includes changes focused on improving the performance of Windows Vista in areas that impact the customer experience the most.  For instance, with SP1, copying or moving files around your PC, your home network or your corporate network should now be much faster — up to 50% faster in some scenarios (according to our internal tests).  In addition, on many kinds of hardware, resuming a Windows Vista-based PC from sleep is faster on Service Pack 1.

The key learning over the last year is that when we change the operating system, it takes time to let the ecosystem make sure that the hardware and software that they build works well with Windows Vista.  So as we release Windows Vista SP1 to manufacturing, we are going to be thoughtful about when and how it gets distributed.

With today’s RTM of SP1, a number of processes kick off as we deliver the update to customers.  Our OEM partners will get SP1 and start producing new PCs running Windows Vista with SP1 pre-installed.  We will also start the manufacturing process for retail product of Windows Vista with SP1.  Both will be available in stores for new Windows Vista customers in the coming months.  Today we also start the process to manufacture DVDs for our enterprise customers who get our software via our Volume Licensing program.

As we update our customers to SP1, we want everyone to have a great install experience.  We are going to stage our rollout of SP1 for current Windows Vista users to be approximately concurrent with the availability of Windows Vista SP1 on new PCs and in stores.  There are a couple of reasons for this.  Our beta testing identified an issue with a small set of device drivers.  These drivers do not follow our guidelines for driver installation and as a result, some beta participants who were using Windows Vista and updated to Service Pack 1 reported issues with these devices.  Because the issue was with the way the drivers were installed and not the drivers themselves, the solution was simply to reinstall the drivers.  While this worked fine for our more technical beta testers, we want to deliver a better experience for customers as we make the update broadly available.

While we know that most customers who update from Windows Vista to SP1 will NOT be affected, our approach is to improve the experience for all our customers.  To do this, we will begin making SP1 available through Windows Update in mid-March, giving us time to work with some of our hardware partners to make adjustments to the installation process for the affected drivers.  As SP1 gets delivered through Windows Update, we will only offer it to PCs that we detect don’t have any of the affected device drivers installed.  We’re taking the next month or so to continue our work of identifying as many of these devices as possible.

Here’s the timing for SP1 availability for current Windows Vista users:

• In mid-March, we will release Windows Vista SP1 to Windows Update (in English, French, Spanish, German and Japanese) and to the download center on microsoft.com.  Customers who visit Windows Update can choose to install Service Pack 1.  If Windows Update determines that the system has one of the drivers we know to be problematic, then Windows Update will not offer SP1.  Since we know that some customers may want to update to SP1 anyhow, the download center will allow anyone who wants to install SP1 to do so.
• In mid-April, we will begin delivering Windows Vista SP1 to Windows Vista customers who have chosen to have updates downloaded automatically.  That said, any system that Windows Update determines has a driver known to not update successfully will not get SP1 automatically.  As updates for these drivers become available, they will be installed automatically by Windows Update, which will unblock these systems from getting Service Pack 1.  The result is that more and more systems will automatically get SP1, but only when we are confident they will have a good experience.
• The remaining languages will RTM in April.

New customers should feel great about buying Windows Vista today, knowing that when everything is ready, SP1 will be available to them via Windows Update.  In the meantime, remember that you can take advantage of the benefits of Windows Vista (including many improvements delivered via Windows Update) even without Service Pack 1.

This is an important milestone for our current and future Windows Vista customers around the world.  I want to take a minute to thank our customers for their feedback on Windows Vista and the beta of Service Pack 1.  I also want to thank our hardware and software partners for their continued efforts to deliver the best experiences on Windows Vista.

-Mike