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If you've been waiting for Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista, well, you can now mark your calender. Word on the street is that Microsoft has scheduled SP1 for release to manufacturer (RTM) on Monday, February 4, 2008. That's just a couple of days away now with OEMs receiving the Service Pack 1 during that week.
Microsoft plans to deploy Service Pack 1 in two "waves". Wave 0, which is the one to be released next week will only include five languages - English, French, Spanish, German and Japanese. The second wave, Wave 1, is scheduled for release 1-2 weeks later, and will cover all 36 basic languages, including Chinese.
Microsoft claims Windows Vista SP1 will provide key improvements on the security, performance and reliability of Windows Vista by providing :
All previously released updates since RTM
Performance and reliability improvements in core scenarios such as file copy, network browsing, and improved response time to resume from sleep.
Support for new types of hardware, and several emerging standards.
Improvements to the administration experience with one of the most important changes being that BitLocker will now support encrypting for multiple volumes.
Of course, Service Pack 1 will also disable two common methods of hacking Windows Vista, namely the OEM BIOS exploit and the Grace Timer exploit.
For more information on what's new in SP1 - see the detailed Microsoft Technet article here
Mike, I read on a website that it is not necessary to purchase the complete version of Vista if you have Windows XP on your machine. You can just purchase the upgrade version and save money....is this correct? Should I wait until the SP1 version is available in stores or risk the upgrade drama on the Windows Site. I am already unable to obtain upgrades for XP from them despite numerous attempts on Auto Upgrade
MY view here could be considered somewhat extreme, but for what it's worth - " never upgrade a Windows OS - ever! "
Having already tried Vista SP1 on a 9 month old Vista Ultimate (workstation) install, when it came time to upgrade to SP1 "Refresh", no matter what I tried,I couldn't uninstall SP1 and as a result my system went into meltdown, so in a fit of pique I re-installed XP Pro!
So before I even think about re-installing Vista, I'll wait for the RTM version of SP1 then figure out a way to slipstream it.
Assuming your XP install has been running for a while, I'd strongly recommend that you wait for SP1 to be an integral part of a new Vista DVD, then install onto bare metal - it may cost you more, but I believe it'd be worth it in terms of pain reduction.
I am actually evaluating Vista legally on a number of machines. Technet is the little gem. https://buynow.msapoc.com/technet/TechNetIntro.aspx .
Allows to to evaluate Vista (all versions) and XP (pro Only), Office 2003&2007 all versions and all server OS and application servers on multiple machines for A$512, extension is $370 or a year. If you stop subscribing you can always continue to use the already installed software. Check out T&C's.
Mike, I read on a website that it is not necessary to purchase the complete version of Vista if you have Windows XP on your machine. You can just purchase the upgrade version and save money....is this correct? Should I wait until the SP1 version is available in stores or risk the upgrade drama on the Windows Site. I am already unable to obtain upgrades for XP from them despite numerous attempts on Auto Upgrade
Totty,
While I tend to agree mostly with what Mike says, I would make some provisos. Firstly I definitely agree that it is not wise to perform an upgrade installation of Vista over an existing Windows XP installation. Having said that though, I do not believe you are precluded from purchasing and using the upgrade version which is much cheaper than the full version. In fairness I haven't tried this with Vista, but Microsoft generally allows you to use the upgrade provided you have the original installation in place. The trick is to tell the intall process to perform a new install and not upgrade the existing one. Before going down this path it would be worth doing a bit of research on what is the best method but I'm fairly confident you don't need to purchase the full product.
As far as service pack 1 goes, I pesronally wouldn't worry too much about it. Provided you have a good internet (preferably broadband) connection I can't think of any good reason to wait for it if you are ready to proceed now. The fact is that the new version may not hit the stores for a little while yet and I don't see any particular problem with installing SP1 on an existing Vista installation. This gives you the added comfort of waiting until others have tried SP1 before you decide to install.
Good luck
i would have to agree with mikes sentiments. Upgrade causes nothing but pain, heartache and in the end more mone as you go buy a full version and reformat drives.
Shop around there are places who will sell OEM with a dvd drive or even on its own.
In fairness I haven't tried this with Vista, but Microsoft generally allows you to use the upgrade provided you have the original installation in place. The trick is to tell the intall process to perform a new install and not upgrade the existing one.
That's a good thought Phil - I know with some software as long as you can point the upgrade process to the original CD/DVD that came with the "old" prog. - you're able to "upgrade" without really having to upgrade - not sure if it's possible with Vista but well worth looking into.
At the very least, and only if the cost saving is worth the effort, it could be worth doing a fresh install of XP and then going straight over the top with Vista - not ideal, but it's another option.
i would have to agree with mikes sentiments. Upgrade causes nothing but pain, heartache and in the end more mone as you go buy a full version and reformat drives.
Shop around there are places who will sell OEM with a dvd drive or even on its own.
Yep I got ultimate and a $750GB seagate for less than the price of upgrade. And I'm glad cause Vista really ain't worth the $$$$
"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."
That's a good thought Phil - I know with some software as long as you can point the upgrade process to the original CD/DVD that came with the "old" prog. - you're able to "upgrade" without really having to upgrade - not sure if it's possible with Vista but well worth looking into.
At the very least, and only if the cost saving is worth the effort, it could be worth doing a fresh install of XP and then going straight over the top with Vista - not ideal, but it's another option.
Mike
Of course the other option as has been stated is to buy an OEM copy for around the same price or less than the upgrade version. It usually just requires some small hardware purchase. (Check MSY Vista Home Premium for around $140)
"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..."
Hmmmm
Also in the above-mentioned article, the delivery timeframe for SP1. Another 6 weeks or so...
Quote:
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.
Can't you use an upgrade DVD to install Vista on a clean drive? I remember reading that all vista DVDs are the same and it's only the product key that determines what version will be installed.
So, you install the version you've paid for on a clean drive without entering an cd key. This should load vista and give you 30 days to register. Once installed, then do an "upgrade" - this time entering your upgrade key.
Can't you use an upgrade DVD to install Vista on a clean drive? I remember reading that all vista DVDs are the same and it's only the product key that determines what version will be installed.
So, you install the version you've paid for on a clean drive without entering an cd key. This should load vista and give you 30 days to register. Once installed, then do an "upgrade" - this time entering your upgrade key.
Well I wouldn't be any more surprised if it worked than if it didn't. Over the years there have been all sorts of work arounds for installing upgrade versions on a clean hard disk but given that you already have a legal version of XP I would have thought that if you decide to upgrade you would be entitled to repartition the hard drive and install clean as a part of an upgrade install. I may be wrong though so I's recommend a bit of research before going down that track. In the end though isn't it just easier to buy the OEM version and not have to trouble yoursef with all of that nonsense?
While I haven't tried with Vista _ OEM was a cheaper course of action so I went that way - in every other Windows OS I have used you can upgrade to a clean disk. At some point the install asks where the version is you are uopgrading from. Just place the old OS Cd in the drive, the install program scans it and , if eligable will then proceed with teh "upgrade" installation. All it does is verify that you do have a copy of a complying version to upgrade from.
If you've been waiting for Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista, well, you can now mark your calender. Word on the street is that Microsoft has scheduled SP1 for release to manufacturer (RTM) on Monday, February 4, 2008. That's just a couple of days away now with OEMs receiving the Service Pack 1 during that week.
