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Microsoft Releases Vista SP2
Microsoft has officially released Vista Service Pack 2 and it is available for download now. Also released was SP2 for Windows Server 2008.. In both cases SP1 must be installed on the host as a prerquisite for SP2.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=a4dd31d5-f907-4...
So what's new?
You can find the full change list here but as far I can see there's nothing dramatic. Looks like they don't want to upstage the release of Windows 7 later this year.
Combing through the "enhancements," these seem the most relevant to average users:
- SP2 integrates the Windows Vista Feature Pack for Wireless, which contains support for Bluetooth v2.1 and Windows Connect Now (WCN) Wi-Fi Configuration. Bluetooth v2.1 is the most recent specification for Bluetooth wireless technology.
- SP2 improves performance for Wi-Fi connections after resuming from sleep mode.
- SP2 includes updates to the RSS feeds sidebar for improved performance and responsiveness.
- SP2 includes ability to record data to Blu-Ray Disc media.
- SP2 includes Windows Search 4.0, which builds on Microsoft’s search technology with improved indexing and search relevance. It also helps find and preview documents, e-mail (including signed e-mail messages), music files, photos, and other items on the computer. The search engine in Windows Search 4.0 is a Microsoft Windows® service that is also used by programs such as Microsoft Office Outlook® 2007 and Microsoft Office OneNote® 2007. Autotuning Diagnostics in SP2 now interprets current network conditions when implementing Windows scaling. This feature includes full netsh support.
Worth installing? My first reaction is no unless you specifically need the features. However I'm downloading it to my personal laptop at the moment (348MB) and when I've installed it I'll append my experience to this item.
Of course I'm going to make a drive image of my existing setup first just in case SP2 messes things up.
Gizmo
Postscript.
I downloaded and ran the 348MB exe rather than the much larger ISO.
My first attempt at installation on my Vista SP1 Lenovo T500 laptop ended with error 0x8e5e01fe. I was refered to Microsoft KB947366 which suggested a number of solutions. I opted for downloading and running the System Update Readiness Tool (72MB).
After running that I rebooted and tried again. This time the upgrade completed successfully in 29 minutes including a reboot.
At this stage everything seems to be working well except my KeyText utility which apparently will not run under SP2. I downloaded the latest version and it won't run either.
Apart from that there are no other problems apparent but time will tell.
My first impressions are that SP2 looks just like SP1 and seems to run at much the same speed. This is what I expected.
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Comments
Hi Gizmo,
I have sp2 running, but cannot get the bluetooth to work. Which version of the bluetooth drivers are you using (microsoft or thinkpad)? Any help would be appreciated.
Regards
I installed SP2 on all three of my computers (1 desktop, 2 laptops) I have had 0 problems the desktop and one of the laptops and have seen quite a speed increase. Very pleased.
Both are laptops are Dells: Inspiron e1705 and XPS m1530. The problem was with the m1530 which I think it had to do with the way Vista was pre-installed. (I know, I know, I should have done a fresh install when I got it) Seems very similar to the vLite problems people are experiencing. I kept getting an install failure with some error codes but I just did a quick repair install of Vista (which worked quite amazingly! kept all of my drivers and software. didnt have to reinstall anything!) and then installed sp2 with no errors. I highly recommend installing SP2.
What method of installation did you use -- Windows Update or the stand alone download from the MS site?
I too have a Dell (XPS420 and I never knew to do a fresh install when I got it) so I was wondering if a repair install on Vista means just fixing a few system files or something more? Will drastically change anything?
it might
Thanks for the info Gizmo. I'll be sure to update my wifes computer when she gets back home because her lappy has a hard time with wifi after returning from sleep mode. As for me, I am running windows 7 on my desktop,and I must say that I am pleasently surprised by the performance of this new OS. Very smooth, 20% less memory used and surprisingly easy to set up! What's not to like? I think all the Microsoft bashers will have to look long and hard for things to complain about now.
See Ya
Fatman
you got to hold on the updates. I updated on both my laptops. Each time I reboot them, I got 'Configure the updates ... don't turn off your computer' message. When It starts up come through the Windows start progressing bar before prompting the password screen, the screen display 'Installing service package, 3 of 3 blah, dont turn off your computer'. I have turn the computers on and off for at least 10 times. and it happens to both computers. I feel there are bugs.
For your info.
Little Danniel
PS. Tried to use vista's built-in restore and got error. Finally recovered used Acronis backup image.
I am having exactly the same problem with the continual "Configure the updates ... installing 3 of 3" message appearing at boot up. And the system restore was wiped so I can't go back to any earlier version. Even if I wanted to, the system restore after the SP2 install is not working.
Does anyone have a solution to this? I have tried everything I can think of, but nothing works.
Please, please, please help!
SOme users have reported conflicts with anti-malware sware, particularly ESET (NOD) version 4. If you feel you're in a "nothing to loose situation", you could try disabling your anti-virus (& perhaps disconnecting from the Internet) and re-installing SP2. However, it may not be possible to recover without a fresh Vista install.
I tried uninstalling SP2 and I got the message that some components could not be uninstalled. A reinstall did nothing - still had the same problems. I am mightily unhappy. I don't have an OS disc to reformat as the laptop I bought didn't come with one. Has anyone else had any success with other solutions?
Has anyone found a solution to this problem?
"the screen display 'Installing service package, 3 of 3, dont turn off your computer, never installs."
I tried everything. I tried every suggestion I could find on the internet (apparently many people have had this problem), but nothing worked. Nothing. Eventually I just reformatted. And I have not reinstalled SP2. I understand that it's to do with conflicts with some security programs (I was using Online Armor Pro), but disabling and even uninstalling OA did not help. In the end, I could see no other alternative than to reformat. Now my comp is working fine and it doesn't take forever to shutdown and start up, and no more of those annoying "Installing Stage 3 of 3" messages. It's probably not the ideal solution, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
Than you so much for this. We're currently testing image creation & restore for Vista-64 bit. It's the Restore bit we're trying to test. It's a nightmare ... we can't find any freeware ... so we may break our focus & Review a commercial product. I'd guess our Review is a week away, so plz keep checking back. My personal advice is "Don't install SP2" yet, but that's my view. One of our testers is having more than a nightmare with his RAID setup.
Download was quick, 1.86 MBs, and installation was a breeze. Rebooted and all is well. Noticed a quicker to respond system, don't know if SP2 related or cleaned up some Windows problems, but my system is running very well.
Verified all my installed programs are operating properly and nothing was broken by the upgrade, so I would recommend. It took a whole 30 minutes.
Thanks Gizmo, after reading through your summary of most relevant enhancements, I am inclined to agree with your initial reactions...not much there for me!
Good advice on the drive image too, SP1 would just not complete its install for me and fair mucked up my system. Ended up installing OK from downloaded, stand alone execute file after restoring image.
thanks again...much appreciated information,
cheers now....JIM
Seems like your mileage may vary. After install I have about an additional 20 gig of hard drive so there are definitely some registry features being amended. I don't notice any speed up or slow down but neither have I encountered any problems so far. The Windows Search Feature has been upgraded but I use the program "Everything" which is infinitely fast and comprehensive as well as highly configurable. I don't plan on upgrading to System 7 unless I buy new hardware. I have to admit that I like Windows Vista 32 bit since Service Pack 1. There aren't any bells and whistles as near as I can tell but I wouldn't be worried about upgrading. Oh, I was one of the guys who initially had a problem downloading the free "Coldplay" concert material last week, it worked just fine the next day, the server was likely overloaded. Gizmo, I love this site, I probably try too much new software thanks to you and your team :)
Thanks,
Michael Bradley
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