Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) Official Information
Microsoft has officially announced the plan to release Windows Vista Service Pack 1 or SP1, and confirmed that a Beta release of Windows Vista SP1 will be available for general public download in the next few weeks, with final release to manufacturing (RTM) editionversion slated for official release in first quarter of 2008.
Announced on the Windows Vista blog, Microsoft also confirmed that a small group of testers has been putting and installing a preview of the SP1 Beta through, with a later pre-release of SP1 will be available to a larger group of testers via MSDN and TechNet subscribers.
What can be certain is that there will be no major features addition in Windows Vista Service Pack 1. Considering the major bugs, flaws and issues that Vista is facing, it may be wise for developers in Microsoft to do likewise too. Thus the SP1 will consist mainly of previous ongoing updates released, changes that focused on addressing specific reliability and performance issues identified via customer feedback, supporting new types of hardware, adding support for several emerging standards, makes additional improvements to the IT administration experience. Generally, the updates fall into three categories:
- Quality improvements, including all previously released updates, which address reliability, security, and performance.
- Improvements to the administration experience, including BitLockerTM Drive Encryption (BDE).
- Support for emerging hardware and standards, such as an Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) and an Extended File Allocation Table (exFAT).
Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Beta White Paper has more details about the SP1. It makes known that there will be three packages or three types of SP1 delivery and deployment methods:
- Express. Requires an Internet connection but minimizes the size of the download by sending only the changes needed for a specific computer (approximately 50 MB for x86-based operating systems).
- Stand-alone. Recommended for computers with limited Internet connectivity and for applying the service pack to multiple computers. The download size is larger than the express package, but customers can apply a single package to any Windows Vista version and language combination (within a platform). Distribution tools like System Center Configuration Manager 2007 use stand-alone packages to deploy Windows Vista SP1.
- Slipstream. The slipstream version of Windows Vista SP1 is media that already contains the service pack, which companies can use to deploy the operating system to new computers or to upgrade existing computers. Availability will be limited. Microsoft will update Windows Vista retail media with Windows Vista SP1 slipstream media in the future. Slipstream media will also be available to Volume Licensing customers.
Finally, the download size for Vista SP1 will be large. 32-bit (x86) edition of Vista users will need to download at least 1 GB of SP1 standalone installer setup package, and requires further 7 GB free space. For x64 (64-bit) environment, this requirement rises to 12 GB.
Related Articles
- Download Windows Vista with Service Pack 1 (SP1) Integrated (Slipstream) x86 English DVD Image (Official MSDN Version) with Torrent
- Official Download Link for Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) RC2 (v.3311) Standalone Install Package and Windows Update Registry Keys
- Windows 7 SP (Service Pack) and RC2 (Release Candidate 2) Plus Build 7200 and 7225 Information
- Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2) Pre-Beta 6002.16489 Released to Selected Testers
- Download Windows Vista SP1 (Service Pack 1) Beta Preview KB936330 Build 6001.16633 (Torrent and Link)
- Notable Changes in Service Pack Two (SP2) Beta for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 (Setup Prerequisites and Size Details)
- Hack to Download Vista SP1 (Service Pack 1) Beta via Windows Update
- Recover and Reclaim ‘Lost’ Disk Space After Installing Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1)
- Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Release Notes
- Microsoft Office 2007 SP2 (Service Pack 2) Official Download Links (for Suites with Language Packs)
Entries (RSS)
November 2nd, 2007 17:32
[...] has released Windows Vista SP1 (Service Pack 1) beta v.275 with build version 6001.16659.070916-1443 to selected beta testers [...]
August 31st, 2007 19:29
1 GB for you a 1/2 hour, but for me it would take 2-3 days at 1.5 MB, let alone if my isp canclelled the download thinking it was something else
. Hope there will be a torrent released for this. Vista sucks though, just stay with XP til 2010.
August 31st, 2007 04:07
Well guys, here in Brazil the standart conection is around 200kbps… 1gb will take a lot of time to be done… but this standalone installer deserves this time, anyway, the one who gets it firt can share with his friends, at least i’ll do that
August 30th, 2007 17:18
Well the average down speed in usa (speedtest.net) is about 4mbit/s
At half a meg a second, a gig would take about 2000 seconds so maybe about half an hour give or take. So stop moaning guys, it’s only a 1/2 hour…
August 30th, 2007 11:37
1 gig download is nothing these days, where do you guys live Ethiopia… welcome to 1998
August 30th, 2007 11:09
50 is initial setup program, which determines which components you have, and download the rest from Microsoft again. If you’re using Ultimate, it’s best bet that you likely to download the size similar to standalone edition, may be a little less.
August 30th, 2007 08:38
lol ya, but the 1gb size is only for standalone installation. Most people will be using the express one (50 MB approx.)
hope sp1 fixes the plethora of bugs in vista
August 30th, 2007 03:14
Can anyone say crash the internet? 1GB download size all downloading at the same time all around the world on thousands of machines?