Windows Vista Team Blog : Featured News, SP1

Automatic distribution of Windows Vista SP1 begins today

Chris Flores — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 19:55:00 GMT

We're excited about the progress we've made with Windows Vista Service Pack 1. On March 18th, Windows Vista SP1 was made available for customers who chose to manually download and install it from the Microsoft Download Center or Windows Update in English, French, German, Spanish, and Japanese. Last week, we made the remaining languages available - giving WU users the ability to download and install Windows Vista Service Pack in any of 36 supported languages. Today, we're happy to announce that we are beginning automatic distribution of SP1 in English, French, German, Spanish, and Japanese.

So what does this mean? Over the next few months Microsoft will automatically distribute Windows Vista SP1 to PCs that have automatic updates turned on (Learn how to turn on automatic updating) and running English, French, German, Spanish, or Japanese via Windows Update. Automatic distribution will only occur, according to user settings, on PCs ready for SP1. After Windows Vista SP1 downloads, WU will let you know that "new updates are available." You'll then be asked to make a few clicks before the installation of SP1 will begin.

While we're beginning automatic distribution today, you might not see it right away since the distribution process is very gradual. As I called out on April 7th, we'll be distributing the service pack slowly so that we can help Windows users have a good experience.

As I posted above, we made the remaining languages of SP1 available for manual install on the Microsoft Download Center and Windows Update last week. We'd like to let those of you running one of those languages that we'll plan to start automatic distribution of those languages sometime in mid-May.

We hope you enjoy the many improvements that have been made in Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and are excited to start automatic distribution so more of you can begin experiencing the benefits.

Updated Language Packs Released

Chris Flores — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 07:12:00 GMT

We have made available updated Language Packs for users using Windows Vista SP1 as well as those running Windows Vista RTM. For those running SP1, the Language Packs should be showing up for you under Windows Update. The specific language packs which are being released are as follows:

German
English
Spanish
French
Japanese
Korean
Bulgarian
Czech
Danish
Greek
Estonian
Finnish
Hungarian
Italian
Lithuanian
Latvian
Norwegian
Dutch
Polish
Portuguese (Portugal)
Romanian
Slovak
Slovenian
Swedish
Arabic
Hebrew
Croatian
Portuguese (Brazil)
Serbian (Latin)
Thai
Turkish
Ukrainian
Chinese (Simplified)
Chinese (Traditional)
Russian

For more information on the Language Packs, click here.

Windows Vista SP1 Released to Windows Update

Nick White — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 17:52:00 GMT

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. We've seen quite a bit of questions in our comments so we want to communicate as much as possible surrounding Windows Vista SP1 and today's release to Windows Update as we can.

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 but not automatically install). But if you want to get the benefit of a year's worth of improvements right now, go check Windows Update today (hit the Start Menu, All Programs, and select Windows Update).

If in running Windows Update you do not see Windows Vista SP1 listed, there are a number of good reasons for this (eight, in fact -- see the whole list). Below are a few of the most common reasons why you might not see SP1 on Windows Update:

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."
You have a pre-release version of SP1 and need to uninstall it before installing SP1
You already have it. To determine if you already have SP1 installed, Open the Start Menu, right click on Computer and left click on Properties.
We released SP1 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. (You might not even know if you have an additional language installed -- check the Regional and Language Options control panel to see which languages you have installed.)
Back in February we announced that we'd be using Windows Update to help make the update as seamless as possible for our users. Windows Update will detect drivers that we know may be problematic when updating to SP1 and will not offer the service pack until an update has been installed.

I've received a lot of requests for more detail about the driver situation this last month, so I want to share some more information here. We spent the last couple of months looking closely at reports of driver problems on pre-release builds and, to be safe, we held the public availability until March.

We've completed our analysis and are happy to report that many of these issues were fixed between the release candidate (RC) and the final version. We identified a small number of device drivers that may be problematic after an update from Windows Vista to Windows Vista SP1. Check out the list here; we'll keep it updated with any additional drivers that we identify. As a result, we spent the past month or so working with our partners on driver updates for these issues. Of these drivers, most already have updated versions on Windows Update and are available for download now as optional updates. In a few weeks we'll start to deliver these updated drivers to PCs automatically via Windows Update.

We're working with the providers of the remaining devices to get updated versions of the drivers to our customers as well. In the meantime, Windows Update will recognize PCs with drivers that may be problematic and postpone offering SP1 to those PCs until it has installed corrected drivers or other applicable updates. Either way, Windows Update works to detect whether or not your system is ready for SP1 and not offer it to you until the time is right.

Those of you who find that SP1 isn't offered over Windows Update even after updating all your drivers, but would still like to download it can access our "standalone installer" from the Microsoft Download Center here. Windows Update will help ensure a better experience, so if you do choose to visit the Microsoft Download Center make sure that you read these KBs before installing.

Looking forward, we're also getting ready to begin releasing the second wave of SP1 languages in April. These are the other 31 languages that we haven't released yet.

Some users encountered an issue last month when installing the Servicing Stack Update (KB937287). We've investigated this carefully and learned that it occurs only in certain rare situations. Specifically, this happens because the update needs to be completely installed before a restart occurs, but something caused a reboot during the install. While the update was carefully designed to avoid many of the common reasons for an inadvertent restart during installation, this issue was caused by some that were not caught. By temporarily suspending automatic distribution, and in making a small change on our Windows Update server, we believe we've largely eliminated this problem (our support call volume reflects this). We did find one aspect of the problem that was exacerbated when the update was installed using automatic updates. For this issue, we're planning to release an additional update before we resume automatic distribution of the Servicing Stack Update.

So what does this mean exactly? For those who've already installed the Servicing Stack Update or are waiting to install SP1 until Windows Update offers it to you automatically, you do not need to do anything at all. But if you want to install SP1 manually and haven't yet installed the Servicing Stack Update, you'll find it on Windows Update when you visit.

I know this post sounds like a lot of guidance, but we would rather over-communicate to reduce any surprises.

In sum, we are extremely pleased with Windows Vista SP1 and the benefits it offers our customers, and we look forward to hearing about your experience.

Language Packs and Windows Vista SP1

Nick White — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 22:24:00 GMT

[Updated 6 Mar 3:01pm PST] Apparently this post has created some confusion, which was the opposite of my intent. Windows Vista SP1 is not delayed. I repeat, aside from our having accelerated SP1 availability to MSDN/TechNet subscribers and volume licensing customers, there has been no change in the release plan Mike outlined in his post announcing SP1.

For clarity's sake, I'll reiterate our release schedule:

For the initial five first wave languages (English, Spanish, German, French, and Japanese):

We will release SP1 to Windows Update and the download center on microsoft.com in mid-March. Customers running Windows Vista with any of these first languages installed can choose to install SP1 by visiting Windows Update. If your PC has a language installed other than one of the 5 listed above, SP1 will not be offered. Additionally, any system that Windows Update determines has a driver Microsoft knows to not update successfully will not be offered SP1.
In mid-April, we will begin delivering Windows Vista SP1 to Windows Vista customers using Automatic Update. In other words, we will begin automatic downloads of SP1 for customers who have chosen to have updates downloaded automatically. Note that, as Mike stated, Windows Update will *not* automatically download SP1 to any system it determines has a driver known to not update successfully. (As updates for the problematic drivers become available, they will be installed automatically by Windows Update so that the result is that more and more systems will automatically get SP1, but only when we are confident they will have a good experience.)
MSDN/TechNet Plus subscribers and volume licensing customers have already been provided access to SP1 in first wave languages, as Mike stated in his follow-on post.

The remaining languages will be released to manufacturing (RTM) in April and availability to customers will follow.

We have some information we'd like to share in regards to Windows Vista SP1 and folks running Language Packs. Some of you may have noticed that after installing Windows Vista SP1 on Windows Vista Ultimate - the Language Packs fail to appear on Windows Update (KB947875).

We will be releasing Windows Vista SP1 in two "waves". The first wave will only provide Windows Vista SP1 to Windows Vista Ultimate PCs running the following 5 Languages: English, French, German, Japanese and Spanish. The second wave will follow shortly after - supporting all 36 languages.

For Windows Update, PCs running the 5 initial languages from the first wave only will be provided with Windows Vista SP1. PCs running Windows Vista Ultimate with any of the other Language Packs installed will not be offered Windows Vista SP1 through Windows Update until they are released. Once the Language Packs are released, Windows Vista SP1 will then be offered for installation.

When installing Windows Vista SP1 from the standalone installer, the standalone installer will only install on Windows Vista Ultimate running any of the 5 languages from the first wave. When installing Windows Vista SP1 on Windows Vista Ultimate with a Language Pack that is not one of the 5 initial Language Packs supported - you will get the following error (KB947876) when attempting to install Windows Vista with the standalone installer:

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 cannot be installed on your computer because the language of Windows Vista you have installed is not supported or you have installed a language pack that is not supported.

Windows Vista Service pack 1 can only be installed on computers running the English, French, German, Japanese and Spanish versions of Windows Vista or computers running only those language packs.

This means if you are running a Language Pack that is not one of the 5 initial Language Packs you will not be able to install Windows Vista SP1 until the other Language Packs are released.

But not to worry - the Language Packs are on their way. We will have more information on exactly when very shortly so stay tuned!

Microsoft Readying Customers with New Assessment and Deployment Tool for the Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista SP1 Launch!

Baldwin Ng — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 11:43:00 GMT

Hello IT Pros!

February 27 is a big day. Windows Server 2008 will be officially launching in Los Angeles with Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO, kicking off in just a few hours.

In support of this very important technology milestone as well as the Windows Vista SP1 release, the Microsoft Solution Accelerators Team has just released the third-generation of the agent-less infrastructure assessment platform called Microsoft Assessment and Planning Solution Accelerator 3.0 (or simply MAP). Through the use of remote WMI calls and secure inventory engines, the MAP tool enables you to quickly inventory a wide variety of networks (AD-managed, IP ranges, and workgroups), securely assess IT environments of servers, desktops, applications and devices, and auto-generate specific and actionable reports and proposal documents in a matter of hours.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE BLOG POST...

GO HERE TO DOWNLOAD MICROSOFT ASSESSMENT AND PLANNING (RTM BITS)

Thank you,

Baldwin Ng (Sr. Product Manager, Microsoft Assessment and Planning)

Windows Vista SP1 Prerequisites & Non-Security Update coming via Windows Update

Nick White — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 18:53:00 GMT

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.

Windows Vista SP1 availability for technical customers

Mike Nash — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 17:00:00 GMT

Updated 2/14: SP1 is now available on both MSDN and TechNet for subscribers to download.

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

Announcing the RTM of Windows Vista SP1

Mike Nash — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 15:00:00 GMT

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

Announcing Microsoft Assessment and Planning Beta Refresh for Windows Vista & Windows Server 2008

Baldwin Ng — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 22:12:00 GMT

Introducing Microsoft Assessment and Planning 3.0

For those of you who are considering the migration of your desktop and server infrastructure to Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008, we have good news for you!

As we've announced at TechEd IT Forum 2007 in Barcelona last November, the Microsoft Solution Accelerators team is going to release the expanded version of Windows Vista Hardware Assessment 2.1 called Microsoft Assessment and Planning 3.0 (aka MAP).

In short, MAP is an automated agent-less network-wide inventory and assessment tool that can quickly determine if your organization's desktops and servers are ready for migration to Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.

What do I mean by AGENT-LESS inventory? Simply put, it means that you do not need to launch any software agents on any of those machines you want this tool to inventory and query - so no more security concerns and user interruption!

It offers quick network-wide inventory of machines and generate hardware and device compatibility reports with actionable recommendations in the form of auto-generated proposal documents - perfect documentation for your IT project planning in the new fiscal year!

The best part is that you can use this tool to inventory your environments ONCE and get multiple assessments and reports for not just server and desktop migration, but also various virtualization options from Microsoft (see our Virtualization Day Summit blog post here)!

How it Works?

Through the use of a sophisticated, agent-less and network-wide inventory engine, Microsoft Assessment and Planning will be able to discover machines on your network whether they are in workgroups or managed AD environments. By way of WMI, Win32, SNMP and other protocols, we can then securely collect hardware and device attributes of each machine and auto-generate migration readiness reports in Microsoft Word and Excel for the user.

What a great way to help you jump-start your planning process when you know your manager is waiting for your IT project plans for the New Year!

What's New with MAP 3.0?

Full incorporation of the features of Windows Vista Hardware Assessment including the generation of reports and proposals in 7 languages including N. American English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Spanish and Portuguese
Windows Server 2008 migration hardware assessment
Windows server virtualization assessment (supports Virtual Server 2005 R2; will also add Hyper-V assessment in later this year)
Application virtualization infrastructure assessment for Microsoft Application Virtualization (formerly SoftGrid)
New Graphical User Interface

Check it Out!

Download the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Beta Refresh today, give us your feedback, and see how you may get a free copy of Windows Vista software and more!
Visit the MAP Team Blog to learn more or check out other great Solution Accelerators!
Subscribe to the Windows Vista Team Blog & MAP Team Blog RSS feeds to make sure you're the FIRST to know when MAP 3.0 will RTM (target date: February 27, 2008)
Sign up to join our weekly Live Meetings and chat directly with our development team
Download the Windows Vista Hardware Assessment - if you can't wait for MAP RTM version (RTM on Feb 27)

See you next time!

Baldwin Ng - Sr. Product Manager, Microsoft Assessment and Planning + Virtualization Solution Accelerators

Non-security update rolls out Tuesday

Nick White — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 22:27:00 GMT

Tomorrow, Tuesday 8 January, we are releasing several non-security update packages via Windows Update. The updates include the regular monthly Malicious Software Removal Tool and Windows Mail Junk Mail Filter, two updates in our regular series of Windows Vista updates (KB943302 for application compatibility and KB943899 for reliability and performance), and one update of particular notice: KB935509. Similar to previous updates that enhanced Windows Vista’s performance and reliability, these updates will be distributed automatically through Windows Update.

Tomorrow’s KB935509 release is a little different than past updates. It is a prerequisite for installing SP1 and is applicable only for Windows Vista Ultimate and Enterprise users, because it only affects versions of Windows Vista supporting BitLocker Drive Encryption.

This update modifies the boot loader to enable successful install or uninstall of the service pack if the PC uses BitLocker encryption. We’re releasing it now to lay the groundwork for future updates and to eliminate any extra reboots by installing it along with updates that already require a reboot. For more information on the update, see KB article KB935509 (which will be posted on Tuesday morning).

In addition to KB985509, there are two other updates that will be prerequisites for Windows Vista SP1, for all versions of Windows Vista. They will be released at a later date and will improve the installation experience and reliability for the service pack as well as for individual update packages.

SP1 development and testing efforts are continuing as expected and we remain on track for its release later this quarter.

Windows Vista SP1 RC now available for public download

Nick White — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 17:31:00 GMT

We're making available today the RC release of Windows Vista SP1, found here on MSDN and here on TechNet, with an FAQ here. I invite you to download, install and use the SP1 RC and let us know about your experience by providing your feedback here.

Before you install SP1 RC, please bear in mind the following points of advice, detailed in this short article:

If you have a prior version of SP1 Beta installed, you must uninstall it prior to installing RC.
This is pre-release code and will change before the final release.
This pre-release software is provided for testing purposes only. Microsoft does not recommend installing this software on primary or mission-critical systems.
Microsoft recommends that you backup your data prior to installing any pre-release software.
Windows Vista SP1 Release Candidate is time-limited software. It will no longer operate after June 30, 2008 and should be uninstalled prior to that date.
Support is through self-help and peer support via the Windows Vista SP1 forum. Assisted support (phone, email and online chat) is not available from Microsoft Support for this RC release of SP1. Support is not available via this blog.
If you install the Service Pack 1 Release Candidate, it is strongly recommended that you also plan to install the final version of Windows Vista SP1 when it is released in the first quarter of 2008. To do this, you will be required to uninstall this pre-release code.
You must have a genuine copy of Windows Vista installed on the computer prior to installing the Windows Vista SP1 update.

Thanks to all of you who've expressed interest in testing the RC!

Announcing Windows Vista SP1 Release Candidate (RC)

Nick White — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 20:06:00 GMT

Today we're making available the release candidate (RC) of Windows Vista SP1 via Microsoft Connect, and tomorrow subscribers to TechNet and MDSN will have access to those RC bits too. In addition, the RC will be available to the public next week via Microsoft's Download Center. The release candidate phase of beta software is typically the final phase before the RTM (release-to-manufacturing) of a product and indicates that the code has attained a significant level of performance and stability.

Let me call out several changes made since the Beta release of Service Pack 1 -- many of which came about as a result of direct feedback from our Beta-testing community (thank you!):

The size of the standalone installers have decreased significantly. For example, the standalone installer packages consisting of all 36 languages (x86 and x64 chip architectures) are smaller by over 50%. The standalone installer packages consisting of just the 5 languages (again, x86 and x64) slated for initial release are more than 30% smaller in size.
The required amount of disc space for SP1 installation has also decreased significantly. Furthermore, with the RC, if more space is required to install SP1, an error message will now display exactly how much space is needed to complete the installation.
Previous SP1 versions left behind a directory of files that wasn't needed after installation and occupied about 1GB of space; the RC includes automatic disk clean-up to remove this directory.
Installation reliability has been improved based on bug reports and error codes reported from Windows Update (thanks, Beta testers!). Testing shows that these improvements have significantly increased the proportion of successful installations of the RC.
We've improved the user experience of installing SP1 via Windows Update. During the Beta release, users installed without much guidance from Windows Update. The RC now contains a series of screens with detailed information on SP1.

We also have information to share with IT professionals and system administrators regarding final plans for SP1: we're on track to complete and release SP1 in the first quarter of 2008. When SP1 is complete and we reach our release to manufacturing (RTM) milestone, then shortly after the standalone installer will be released to the Web in two waves. The first wave will consist of the standalone installer (x86 and x64) for the 5 initial languages -- English, French, Spanish, German and Japanese. These languages will be deployed shortly after the RTM milestone. The second wave will launch 8-12 weeks after the first and will consist of all remaining languages, for both chip architectures (x86 and x64).

For administrators managing Windows Vista PCs configured to use Windows Update but not wishing to deploy SP1 upon its release, we have a "blocker patch" that will prevent installation of SP1. Information on the blocker patch can be found here starting tomorrow: http://technet.microsoft.com/windowsvista/bb927794.

If you're not familiar with SP1, you can find more information in this whitepaper. We built Windows Vista SP1 to address specific reliability and performance issues and also to support new types of hardware and several emerging standards. Further, SP1 is designed to make it easier for IT administrators to deploy and manage Windows Vista. Of course, those of you familiar with SP1 already know that some of SP1's improvements are already available via Windows Update.

A reminder to anyone installing the SP1 RC bits: you will need to uninstall the release candidate of SP1 before you can install a later version.

Also, Windows Server 2008 RC1 was made available today for testing; find the download here: http://www.microsoft.com/ws08eval. And, we announced two updates to the WGA program yesterday: the first addresses two exploits to the activation process while the second adjusts how Windows differentiates between the genuine and non-genuine Windows Vista experience. More information can be found here: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2007/dec07/12-03wga.mspx.

And last, thanks once more to our Beta testing team for their diligence and devotion, as you've made a big impact on this RC release!

The right time to assess Windows Vista's performance

Nick White — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 01:29:00 GMT

Measuring the performance of an operating system is a tricky thing. At the same time, it's the right and necessary thing to do, because performance is one of many criteria important to customers. Part of the trick of measuring performance is to time testing execution with the product cycle such that the results are as meaningful as possible for customers; this helps them make a better decision by making use of the full array of available information. As one example, about a year ago we commissioned a firm called Principled Technologies to conduct a study comparing Windows XP SP2 to Windows Vista RTM. That study found the performance measures of the two operating systems were within the same range for many tasks that home and business users frequently perform under real-world conditions.

My point is that we waited to conduct these benchmarking tests until Windows Vista had reached the RTM milestone in the product cycle, as this allowed us to provide our customers the most meaningful data available at the time -- the data most likely to directly affect their decision to upgrade to Windows Vista. We do a whole range of performance tests at every stage of the OS development process, but, as a general rule, we avoid sharing benchmark tests of software that hasn't gone RTM (i.e., final code). This explains why we have not to date published any findings of benchmark tests (nor commissioned anyone to do so) on performance improvements brought about by Windows Vista SP1. Publishing benchmarks of the performance of Windows Vista SP1 now wouldn't be a worthwhile exercise for our customers, as the code is still in development and, to the degree that benchmarking tests are involved, remains a moving target.

Aside from that point, let me also emphasize that there are a variety of ways to benchmark the performance of a PC. Different techniques can yield different results. Some benchmark techniques simply test PC hardware performance by running a series of tasks at superhuman speed. Such tests tend to exaggerate small differences between test platforms and consequently are used less frequently nowadays, replaced in favor of benchmarks running tasks at human speeds with realistic waits and data entry. Benchmarks that run at superhuman speeds often deliver results that don't tell the whole story. In fact, we made deliberate choices during the development of Windows Vista to focus on real-world scenarios affecting user experience, rather than focusing on improvement of microsecond operations imperceptible to the user. In addition, in Windows many operations can require additional processing time for work that is done for reasons that benefit the customer; these can include security, reliability or application compatibility checks conducted when a program launches. These operations may add microseconds to an individual application's launch that under real usage isn't perceivable to the human eye. When thousands such operations are strung together through automation, those few microseconds can have a cumulative effect on the benchmark result, causing performance to appear much better or worse than expected.

I've included below a video we captured depicting a "benchmark test" running a window-open, window-close routine at accelerated speed. You can see that it isn't representative of real-world user behavior and hence isn't an accurate gauge of the actual end-user experience. Further, tests like these only measure a very small set of Windows capabilities and so aren't representative of the user's overall day-to-day experience of working with Windows and running applications.

Video: Windows Vista benchmark testing

Methods like those of Principled Technologies that actually approximate the experience of using the PC, taking an OS through the paces of completing actual tasks at the approximate pace a user might click through them, tend to provide results far more useful to our customers. The typical Windows customer generally wants to know how his/her actual computing experience will change (read: improve) with an upgrade. The Principled Technologies tests do that.

For what it's worth, I can personally attest that I prefer to get my work done on Windows Vista SP1 RC bits. I run Windows Vista RTM on two production machines and SP1 RC bits on two others; in fact, I'm writing this post on a machine with SP1 RC bits installed. As a part of our internal SP1 testing program, I know that we continue to develop and improve SP1 every day, in large part based on feedback and bug submissions from external an internal Beta-test program members. IMO, the perceived gains in performance between SP1 Beta and SP1 RC code are significant. As I said at the beginning, though, performance is only part of the story -- don't forget that SP1 also brings support for new types of hardware and several emerging standards, and further eases an IT administrator's deployment and management efforts.

But don't take my word alone for it. We'll broaden the testing pool of SP1 RC bits soon (very soon), so when I post that notice here on the blog, you'll be able to put Windows Vista SP1 RC through its paces yourself. I think you'll find the experience worthwhile and satisfying.

Silicon Valley Install Fair next month

Nick White — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 18:48:00 GMT

Similar to last month's Redmond-based Install Fair, the Windows Vista SP1 Deployment Team is holding another Install Fair at our Silicon Valley campus early next month. You're welcome to drop by if you find yourself in the neighborhood, provided you register beforehand.

Windows Vista SP1 Beta Install Fair - Silicon Valley

Date: 8-9 December 2007, 9:00am - 4:00pm

Location: Microsoft Silicon Valley Campus, 1065 La Avenida St., Mountain View, CA 94043

Timeslots:

Desktops: 9:00am or 1:00pm
Laptops: 9:00am or 1:00pm

Registrations must be made via email to Windows Vista Install Fair Registration (vsp1reg@microsoft.com). Please indicate your preferred timeslot when replying. Spaces are limited.

What is Windows Vista SP1? Windows Vista SP1 is an update to Windows Vista that addresses feedback from our customers. In addition to previously released updates, SP1 will contain changes focused on addressing specific reliability and performance issues, supporting new types of hardware, and adding support for several emerging standards. SP1 also addresses some management, deployment and support challenges.

The goals of the Install Fair are to:

Upgrade your system that is already running Windows Vista with unfamiliar (to MS) applications, configurations and devices to pre-release (Beta) version of Windows Vista SP1.
Acquire valuable feedback about the Windows Vista SP1 Beta Windows Update and standalone install experience from the broader community.
Send attendees away with a usable Windows Vista SP1 Beta operating system.

As a thank-you for your participation, you will receive a copy of Microsoft Office 2007 and a special gift.

What to bring:

Your PC, its power cable and special converters if necessary
Any special hardware you want to test on Windows Vista SP1 Beta (video or audio capturing during the event is prohibited)

Resources provided:

Monitors, keyboards, mice, network cables and speakers
Installation CD/DVDs and Installation analysis tools
Snacks and beverages

Checklist/Criteria to attend:

My important data has been backed up!
My system's OS is Windows Vista RTM
My system has an Intel/AMD processor running at 1GHz or higher
My system has a minimum of 512MB of RAM
My system's video adapter is AGP4x/8x or PCIe with a minimum of 64MB RAM
My system has a DVD-ROM drive

We look forward to seeing you there!

- The Windows Vista SP1 Install Fair Team

Redmond Install Fair later this month

Nick White — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 19:08:00 GMT

The Windows Vista SP1 Deployment Team wanted me to pass along notice of an upcoming Install Fair being held here in Redmond at month's end; we've held events like this before and they've always been well received. You're welcome to drop by if you qualify and you're in the neighborhood.

Windows Vista SP1 Beta Install Fair

Windows Vista SP1 Beta includes changes to improve performance, reliability, security and application compatibility.

Date: 27 October 2007 from 9:00a to 3:00p
Location: Redmond Campus / Microsoft Conference Center (Building 33), McKinley Room
Audience: Microsoft employees, friends & family
Timeslots:

There are 2 timeslots with a maximum of 90 openings each for desktops

9:00a to 12:00p
1:00p to 3:00p

There is 1 timeslot with a maximum of 20 openings for laptops

9:00a to 3:00p

Microsoft internal registrations: Install Fair Sign-up (first come, first served) (site is MS internal-only)

Public registrations must be made via email: Windows Vista SP1 Install Fair Registration (vsp1reg@microsoft.com). Please indicate a preferred timeslot.

The goals of the Install Fair are to:

Update 100 Windows Vista RTM PCs or laptops with less commonly found applications, configurations and devices to Windows Vista SP1 Beta.
Acquire valuable feedback about the Windows Update and stand-alone installation experience from the broader community.
Send attendees away with a usable Beta version of Windows Vista SP1.
Generate excitement about Windows Vista SP1 Beta.

What to bring:

Your PC, its power cable and a DVI-to-VGA converter if necessary

Resources provided:

Monitors, keyboards, mice, network cables and speakers.
Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 Beta DVDs and product keys.
Update analysis tools.
Food, beverages and a gift for participating!

Checklist/Criteria to attend:

My important data has been backed up!
My PC operating system is Windows Vista RTM.
My PC has an Intel/AMD Processor running at 1 GHz or higher.
My PC has a minimum of 512MB of RAM.
My PCs video adapter is AGP4x/8x or PCIe with a minimum of 64MB of RAM.
My PCs hard disk has a minimum of 6GB of free space (on the same partition as Windows Vista) to allow for installation and analysis tools.
My PC has a DVD-ROM drive.

We look forward to seeing you there...

The Windows Vista SP1 Install Fair Team