Windows Vista Service Pack 1

[louisyhw]

its out! do update ur pc!

[Refugee]

if only mines non OEM...

 

and anyway... does the service pack reduce ram usage?

[louisyhw]

i doubt bro...

[redbeacon]

Windows Vista SP1, how to install?

by Steve Sinchak, and edited by me, snipping out the irrelevent stuff...

 

(P.S.: sigh, how many service packs and updates already....)

 

http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/5672/vistalogoas4.png

 

Today, you can now download Windows Vista SP1 via Windows Update. For those of you eager to receive the benefits of Windows Vista SP1 - you can now do so!

 

For those of you happy to wait - sit tight because SP1 will start downloading to PCs automatically beginning in mid-April

 

Remember, this happens only if you have your Windows Update configured to automatically download updates and SP1 will automatically download (FYI: but not automatically install; you will be prompted on whether you want to proceed.).

 

To check, or set Windows Update, Hit the Start Menu, All Programs, and select Windows Update.

 

When you open Windows Update but couldnt find any "Windows Vista SP1" listed, there are a number of good reasons for this -- In fact, there are Eight of them; see the whole list).

 

Below are a few of the most common reasons why you might not see SP1 on Windows Update:

 

1. You have not yet installed all the prerequisite packages you need for Windows Vista SP1. To install them, visit the Windows Update control panel and click on "check for updates."
   
2. You have a pre-release version of SP1 and need to uninstall it before installing SP1
   
3. You may already have it. To determine if you already have SP1 installed, Open the Start Menu, right click on Computer and left click on Properties.
   
4. Windows Vista SP1 is only availabe in these 5 languages: English, French, Spanish, German, and Japanese. If you have any other language installed, SP1 will not yet be offered to you. For already-multilingual Vista users, check the Language control panel to see that you have switched back to the English language!!
   
5. The Windows Update feature found a problematic (hardware) driver. Sounds baffling? Well, Windows Update is designed to quietly update problematic stuff with your Vista with "fixes", and that including problem drivers too. So if you have not (by explicitly disabling Automatically Download Updates), chances are, you missed one or more "fixes". Go list the "fixes" and download+install them using the same Windows Update...
   

 

For system admins or for those who want to bypass Windows Update, and for who don't mind getting their hands dirty by manually installing Service Pack 1: download the 434 MB standalone SP1 installer here

 

Read more on the Windows Vista Blog

 

Read the Microsoft Knowledgebase #936330 for known issues that SP1 can bring before/when/after you install it

[redbeacon]

Got Vista's SP1? Some people have but regretted installing it.

 

Displeasure in Vista-land as the multi-bug-fixing update to the latest Windows sours for some. But is that surprising? This writeup serves as a deciding factor for one on whether to take the step to Service Pack numero Uno. Will you do it?

~by Charles Author, blogger for TheGuardian.com

 

 

Woe unto Microsoft, for it has laboured hard on Vista's Service Pack 1 (that's SP1 for the three-letter acronym, except they're not all letters and it's not an acronym..), putting in 551 bug fixes, and some people aren't happy.

 

In fact they're so unhappy they want to get rid of it.

 

I quote this from a writeup by Neil McAllister, techie that contributed this to The Washington Post:

 

According to PC World's test lab gurus, the Service Pack is safeand it does improve performance, albeit not enough to be happy about. My own, totally anecdotal survey reveals that some customers have upgraded with no problems (myself, for example), while others claim unexpected crashes and instability - almost assuredly the result of driver problems/issues - but that any system speedup could just as easily be attributable to the placebo effect.

 

 

Public outrage:

 

At InfoWorld, where Angry Vista users vent over SP1 driver issues, folk are just getting the pitchforks and torches ready for a little trip to 1 Microsoft Way, Redmond.

 

However threatening the angry Vista users might be, Microsoft had already warned the public that SP1 wasn't for everyone:

 

But as it added Vista SP1 to Windows Update, Microsoft also spelled out numerous caveats, telling users that there are as many as eight different reasons why they might not find the update in the Windows Update listing on their PC. Among those reasons: any of 31 language packs, earlier installed versions of SP1, various prerequisite updates, and a number of device drivers.

 

Windows Update smartly hides the option to install Vista SP1 from machines containing one or more of the listed (problematic) drivers because, as Microsoft put it in a support document, "these device drivers are problematic on Windows Vista-based computers when you update to Windows Vista SP1."

Moreover, If you want the full thinking on who does and who doesn't and should and shouldn't get SP1, it's on this Microsoft Vista blog post.

 

Ouch, I've already got SP1 in, but it's causing problems!!

 

Computerworld has meanwhile put together How to dump SP1 ("The simplest way, according to Microsoft's own documentation and its support staff, is to uninstall it using the normal procedure for tossing out unwanted applications." That's OK then.)

 

What it seems to boil down to is drivers. Third-party drivers (that causes "problems" with SP1). Against which, of course, Microsoft can't test everything, and given the variability of programming quality out there it's inevitable that some people with access to blogs will be having hassles.

 

Does this make SP1 bad? No. It makes it complex. Possibly we're seeing the stage at which complexity overwhelms Windows. It can't combine security - which heaven knows we really, really need - with grotty (or just inexact) low-level software for device interaction. Too many machines, too many little tweaks, too many lines of code; the edifice can't keep being built higher and higher.

 

That said, has anyone here updated to SP1? How's it going?

[louisyhw]

hmm working fine for me though..

[tt6389]

i also heard Vista service pack 1 corrupted many PC. So i disable my system automatic updates & using update by manual selections.

 

[louisyhw]

after i installed SP 1, i kena the 'BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH' once while surfing the web...

[Refugee]

that was common for my acer laptop...

 

the webcam basically died on vista repeatedly.. muhahha..

 

win xp now...

[tt6389]

win xp service pack 1 also had this problem initially. Only win XP service pack 2 is reliable.

So must wait for Vista service pack 2.

 

[william_liu]

So the bottomline is... don't install!??!

[louisyhw]

that was common for my acer laptop...

 

the webcam basically died on vista repeatedly.. muhahha..

 

win xp now...

 

yeah my happened on my acer lappy. i don't think its vista, probably just ACER.

 

wanted to get the HP lappy but 1st day sold old during my school's pc fair...

[redbeacon]

So the bottomline is... don't install!??!

 

To put it simply, if you're a pessimist, then the predicted outcome would probably be true.

 

No offence here ah!

 

I think Vista has taken a huge step...people (and their computers) nowadays cannot keep up. Me included

 

that was common for my acer laptop...

 

the webcam basically died on vista repeatedly.. muhahha..

 

win xp now...

 

 

My dad reported periods where he couldn't use his onboard camera on his Sony Vaio. Running on the latest technologies also, Vista Ultimate.

 

It's creepy -- the default "stuff" that people put in before the notebook goes on sale. It's like, we don't need it.

[tt6389]

yeah my happened on my acer lappy. i don't think its vista, probably just ACER.

 

wanted to get the HP lappy but 1st day sold old during my school's pc fair...

 

if yr devices was ok but dies after Vista upgrade, its probably the webcam drivers has been overwritten by something crappy during the upgrade.

In many IT forum , it is mentioned that there is a driver issue with Vista service pack 1.

[tt6389]

So the bottomline is... don't install!??!

 

personally , i wouldn't . Coz why fix it when it is still working?

[WildCard]

Or downgrade back to WinXP.

First thing I did when I got my Acer laptop.

Works great even with the stock 1GB RAM.

 

BTW, there are issues with the webcam driver for the newer Acer laptops.

Especially when you downgrade down to XP.

Try reverting using OEM / generic drivers provided by Windows.

 

My Acer laptop had problems shutting down (essentially never shutdown).

Found out the so-called XP drivers for the webcam has issues. The advice was to revert using auto-detect generic drivers and all was ok.

Shut down was ok, webcam still works like a charm.

[tt6389]

xp with service pack 2 is very reliable. I got a laptop running on xp, another newer running on vista home, another PC running on win2000. I think win2000 beats them all in performance.

[Frenz87]

Or downgrade back to WinXP.

First thing I did when I got my Acer laptop.

Works great even with the stock 1GB RAM.

 

BTW, there are issues with the webcam driver for the newer Acer laptops.

Especially when you downgrade down to XP.

Try reverting using OEM / generic drivers provided by Windows.

 

My Acer laptop had problems shutting down (essentially never shutdown).

Found out the so-called XP drivers for the webcam has issues. The advice was to revert using auto-detect generic drivers and all was ok.

Shut down was ok, webcam still works like a charm.

 

hey!

how did ya get ur lappy to XP?

i'm still not very satisfied with vista....

[Kay-s]

hey!

how did ya get ur lappy to XP?

i'm still not very satisfied with vista....

 

Just uninstall vista and install xp? lol

 

 

 

Anyways.. i upgraded to SP1 and alls normal.. but i dont feel any improvements in performance at all.. and RAM usage is still as high as ever...

[lionfuR-]

Any 1 interested to buy Vista please pm me. Original box version.

[Cyanide14]

Now Vista got SP2 already...?

 

Btw any good anti virus software to be used in Vista to be recommended?

[redbeacon]

Now Vista got SP2 already...?

 

Btw any good anti virus software to be used in Vista to be recommended?

Free or commercial ones? I only know the free ones

 

Anyways, check this out: Antivirus software ratings website. Hope this helps.