Bullets 'n' Babes

On the 18th of March 2008 following it's release to OEMs, Technet and MSDN Vista SP1 is here!

Download/Install Information:

End-user download link:

x86 (32-Bit): http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/deta ... 3d06d12674
x64 (64-Bit): http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/deta ... 1EDA5EC07C

It is recommend you read the "Deployment Guide for Vista SP1" further down before installing and at least run Check Disk and Backup before installing SP1. I can confirm there is no WGA Check when you download SP1 or when you actually install SP1 itself.

This is the full 435Mb download and is preferable than installing over Windows Update (which it is also available on). The download is smaller on Windows Update (67Mb) but this single EXE will mean you can install it again later without having to download it again, it also won't require Internet access to install too.

Which means you can safely disable your Anti-Virus/AntiSpyware/Firewall before commencing SP1 installation.

This initial SP1 build is for the following languages:

English (USA)
French
German
Japanese
Spanish (Traditional)

SP1 Hotfix Prerequisites:

There are 3 SP1 Hotfix Prerequisites that need to be installed prior to SP1:

All Vista users:

KB937287 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/deta ... 1634d0cc8e
KB938371 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/deta ... 029bec7d76

Ultimate Edition and Enterprise Edition users only:

KB935509 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/deta ... 403b0db5ef

Recommended Vista Clean Install Route:

If you are unable to create a Slipstream DVD, after installing Vista, if you run Windows Update before SP1 you'll install stacks of Updates/Hotfixes that are included in SP1. It's better to install those Hotfixes manually, run SP1 then check Windows Update. You can then install Hardware drivers with the Base OS ready.

Pre-Install Information:

Guides for IT Professionals:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/deta ... 6e7120a5e9

This includes the following documents:

* Deployment Guide for Vista SP1 (22 pages)
* Hotfixes & Security Updates included in Vista SP1 (77 pages) - This list every single Hotfix/Security Update in Vista and web links to each of them
* Notable Changes in Vista SP1 (17 pages) - This is well worth a read!

The last two documents have also been combined into one PDF:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/deta ... e615ba5912

Vista SP1: User Interface Changes:

http://www.winvistaclub.com/f25.html

Vista SP1: Performance & Reliability Improvements to expect:

http://www.winvistaclub.com/f26.html

Vista SP1: Microsoft Announcement Blog:

http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windo ... a-sp1.aspx

Troubleshooting Vista SP1 Installation Errors:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/947366
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=947821

The second link will create a log at: C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CheckSUR.log

If you've had to run the Tool I suggest opening this log with Notepad/Wordpad (with Admin Rights) and see what is says. The Tool will claim to install correctly even if there are errors noted in the log. This is the tool that is mentioned in passing in step 1 in the first link.

I've only skimmed through the "Notable Changes" document but these stand out:

Copying:

• Improves the speed of adding and extracting files to and from a compressed (zipped) folder.
• Significantly improves the speed of moving a directory with many files underneath.
• Improves the copy progress estimation when copying files within Windows Explorer to about two seconds.
• Improves the time to read large images by approximately 50%.
• Improves responsiveness when doing many kinds of file or media manipulations. For example, with Windows Vista today, copying files after deleting a different set of files can make the copy operation take longer than needed. In SP1, the file copy time is the same as if no files were initially deleted.
• Improves performance over Windows Vista’s current performance across the following scenarios:
25% faster when copying files locally on the same disk on the same machine
45% faster when copying files from a remote non-Windows Vista system to a SP1 system
50% faster when copying files from a remote SP1 system to a local SP1 system

UAC:

• SP1 reduces the number of UAC (User Account Control) prompts from 4 to 1 when creating or renaming a folder at a protected location.

And for those who run Bootleg Vista , stability yeah right:

SP1 also includes updates that deal with two exploits we have seen, which can affect system stability for our customers.

• The OEM Bios exploit, which involves modifying system files and the BIOS of the motherboard to mimic a type of product activation performed on copies of Windows that are pre-installed by OEMs in the factory.
• The Grace Timer exploit, which attempts to reset the “grace time” limit between installation and activation to something like the year 2099 in some cases.

I for one am really looking forward to faster copying and less UAC prompts!

Post Install Information:

Programs known to have compatibility problems with Vista SP1:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/935796

It looks like with the exception of:

Fujitsu Shock Sensor 2.1.0.0
Novell ZCM Agent 10.01

All the programs in that link either have a upgrade making them SP1 compatible or instructions how to make them compatible.

Reclaim Disk Space after Vista SP1 Install:

http://www.winvistaclub.com/t49.html

Search missing after Vista SP1 install. How to get back:

http://www.winvistaclub.com/t66.html

For those of you running Vista you may have noticed SP1 is out now and it's seriously recommended you all upgrade. This is a major overhaul to how the O/S works and includes major improvements.

I've re-jigged the posts above into 3 categories:

1. Download/Install Information
2. Pre-Install Information
3. Post Install Information

The Vista SP1: User Interface Changes link is worth a look for a quick overview of user interface changes.

I've discovered to my cost (and others) Vista really doesn't like users tinkering with it's configuration files. So far I've not been able to install SP1. All the details can be read here:

http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=627242

If like me you're having problems read the section Troubleshooting Vista SP1 Installation Errors detailed in the Pre-Install Information post.

Another interesting tidbit:-

As you know, SP1 adds DirectX 10.1 support. In other words, finally delivering all the features that MS had wanted in the first place, but couldn't due to time constraints.

"Assassin's Creed: Director's Cut" is possibly the first game with DX10.1 support. Rage3D reports that they've experienced a performance boost of up to 20% over DX10.0.

But as of yet, only ATI Radeon 3xx0 series (and some shitty S3 cards aimed at the HTPC market). The market leader Nvidi,a has refused to support DX10.1 thus far, that may change with the Geforce 9900 series though coming around July.

As you know, DX9 vs. DX10.0 fight has been one-sided. A minor visual increase hasn't been worth the drastic performance hit. This might finally be the good news that Vista users have been waiting for.

EDIT:
Oh dear:-
In addition to addressing reported glitches, the patch will remove support for DX10.1, since we need to rework its implementation. The performance gains seen by players who are currently playing Assassin’s Creed with a DX10.1 graphics card are in large part due to the fact that our implementation removes a render pass during post-effect which is costly.

Is there a reason why joe blogs in the street is not getting this as a windows update? as at the moment most people have to look into getting it, should be automatic as its bloody important.

I aint going near it yet.

They are rolling it out to end users in stages apparently. Can you imagine the amount of people needing this pack? Its safer on Microsoft's servers to roll it out in stages...

Ahhh thanks that makes sense I knew a shedload of people would be getting it, never thought of a few million people all downloading it the same time, would not be good for them

All I did was download the redist package and installed it on both my Vista PCs with no problems at all. In fact, Microsoft recommend it as safer doing it that way because it includes all necessary updates which some end users may not have.

I was wondering when someone would finally reply to this thread

There is also some hardware out there that isn't SP1 compatible. Those users aren't being offered SP1 over WU until they upgrade their drivers.

I have to reformat reinstall Vista to get SP1 to install, some system files are corrupt but I cannot find which. I've fixed all the ones I tinkered with so am not sure why it's now not working. I pointed Microsoft Support to the forum link I post above, where I've tried everything and then some.

All they can recommend is:

1. In-upgrade - I'd never contemplate installing Windows over the top of Windows
2. Reformatting and reinstalling.

I don't mind reformatting my PC though, as:

1. System Restore has been broken pretty much ever since I installed Vista. I've not managed to work out what is causing it but after a maximum of 5 days the entire history gets wiped and it starts again. I rarely need it being a Techie guy but it can be useful at times.
2. If I try to run Vista's Memory Checker it complains the EXE file is missing, it's not.
3. I currently have Vista installed from a Recovery disc. I plan to this time use a standard disc with my licence code.
4. I am also going to upgrade my hard disk at the same time, so reinstalling Windows is better anyway.

Historically I would've used something like Vlite but given how picky SP1 is at users changing the way Vista works I'll just use a regular disc.

Microsoft are sending me a Media Kit (for Free), so I'll use that when it arrives, then install the 2-3 Hotfix prerequisites, then install SP1, then check Windows Update.

romerojpg wrote:Is there a reason why joe blogs in the street is not getting this as a windows update?

If your OS is configured to:

English
French
German
Japanese
Spanish

Then you've been offered it over WU since it was released at the end of March.

romerojpg wrote:I aint going near it yet.

Why? You said exactly the same about Vista RTM when that was released, in fact saying you wouldn't touch Vista until SP1 was out.

You then installed it anyway and now SP1 is out you're not touching it. SP1 is the fixes users have been asking for.

Yet, as in when many things are sorted, like I said with Vista. Why jump in when there is a small chance one part of your pc may not fully work.

My PC works perfect now, dont want it messed up until they sort it all out a bit better all it takes is one single thing I use not to work the way I want it and I may be stuffed if I use that all the time.

Will get SP1 when its a little more in use, it will be fully fixed and perfect soon from the look of it.

And I cannot be arsed yet as well as sick of bloody updates and shit as it is, had one mess up my PC the other day! piece of shit Windows Updates!

romerojpg wrote:Yet, as in when many things are sorted, like I said with Vista. Why jump in when there is a small chance one part of your pc may not fully work.

You can always uninstall SP1. That said Microsoft have been very thorough about what hardware/software isn't compatible. There are lists on their Knowledge base. I've posted the software list above. Your PC is new I'm sure it will be fine.

Vista RTM has bugs fixed in SP1.

romerojpg wrote:Will get SP1 when its a little more in use, it will be fully fixed and perfect soon from the look of it.

It already is. There is no such thing as bug free software. As soon as they fix one bug another may appear, "you" could be waiting forever.