130. Windows Vista Service Pack 1
Update
By Andrew D. Wright
Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Mousepad column
#129 was not
published in any of the three Weekly newspapers. This column is an update
to that column with some new material added.
Microsoft has released the first major revision to the Windows Vista
operating system, Service Pack 1. SP 1 can be downloaded as a stand-alone
version or as a smaller download through Microsoft's Windows Update site.
Service Packs are major updates to Microsoft software, rolling up months
of security updates and program bugfixes into one download. Sometimes new
features are added.
Windows Vista Service Pack 1 includes all the security updates and
software patches Microsoft has released for Vista since it came out in
January 2007. It also fixes some of the more commonly reported bugs with
Vista including slow file copying, slow extraction of compressed zip files
using Windows Explorer, and poor network performance.
SP 1 improves Vista's hibernation and resume function, and adds battery
run time to laptop computers through more efficient processor and graphics
usage.
Vista's UAC, the User Account Control watchdog that protects Vista by
making the user manually approve any sensitive actions has also been
slightly reworked.
Advanced users with the Ultimate and Enterprise versions of Vista may like
the new BitLocker disk encryption system. Gamers with the very latest
video cards may enjoy the new Direct3D 10.1 update.
Vista SP 1 adds support for some new hardware and software standards not
currently in wide use such as Secure Digital (SD) Advanced Direct Memory
Access, coming in the next generation of SD host controllers; booting from
UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface), which is set to eventually
replace the computer BIOS (Basic Input/Output System - the part of the
computer which starts first); and better support for Blu-Ray and HD-DVD
optical drives. Support for the next generation of larger size flash
memory is also included.
Now the bad news. Vista Service Pack 1 is even less tolerant of older
hardware than original Vista. In some cases pre-2007 hardware that would
work with Windows Vista will produce system lockups and the famous Blue
Screen of Death with SP 1.
Dialup Internet users in particular may want to avoid this update unless
their modem has had new drivers written specifically for Vista or Vista SP
1. Many common modems may never get Vista SP 1 support.
If Windows Vista Service Pack 1 does not show up on Windows Update one
reason could be an incompatible device or driver that needs to be replaced
or updated first.
Be sure to check for the newest drivers for all computer hardware,
especially any hardware involving video, graphics, networking or sound.
Device drivers written before January 2007 are likely to have problems or
not work at all.
Brand-name computers should have driver updates on their websites, listed
by computer model number. Other hardware should have driver updates on the
individual component maker's website.
Before running the Service Pack 1 update, backup any personal documents or
important files to a different device than your hard drive, just in case
the update process goes wrong and your Vista hard drive needs to be
re-formatted. Be sure to have enough free hard drive space available for
the update - up to 15 GB may be needed.
Leave lots of time for the install. A quick problem-free install on a fast
computer takes about an hour, but the process can take up to several hours
on slower machines. The computer will need to reboot several times during
the update and may appear to be not making any progress for long periods
of time. Be sure to do the update when there is good weather as a badly
timed power outage can make a real mess of things.
After successfully installing Vista Service Pack 1, be sure to check
Windows Update for new post-SP 1 updates.
Windows Vista Service Pack 1 standalone download (free - 435 MB):
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?
FamilyID=b0c7136d-5ebb-413b-89c9-cb3d06d12674
Things to know before downloading Vista SP 1:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsvista/bb968859.aspx
Microsoft Vista SP 1 Support Web Forums:
http://forums.microsoft.com/TechNet/ShowForum.aspx?ForumID=1992&SiteID=17
Free Microsoft Vista SP 1 Support:
http://support.microsoft.com/ph/11732
Programs with known issues with Vista SP 1:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/935796
Device drivers with known issues with Vista SP 1:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=948343#method5
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Originally published 18 April 2008
