Windows Vista Service Pack 1

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) was made available through Windows Update and Microsoft Update on March 18th, 2008 and began to be pushed out via Automatic Update on April 23, 2008. SP1 is the first significant update to Microsoft's newest operating system.

Information Systems & Computing (ISC) supports Windows Vista Service Pack 1 for its clients, including off-campus students, for systems that meet or exceed ISC's recommended hardware specifications for Vista, which are for systems with dual-core or hyperthreading processors that have at least

Current Vista Incompatibilities

A handful of the most important remaining Vista incompatibilities are listed below. Be sure to check the Windows Vista Compatibility Chart for compatibility information for a larger subset of applications commonly used at the University. In addition, if you are considering Vista for a new system, check to confirm that all other applications in use locally are compatible with Vista.

General Windows Vista Incompatibilities

• Office XP: This version of Office does not install under Vista. Users should upgrade to Office 2003 or Office 2007, though Office 2007 introduces a different set of issues (see the Office 2007 article).

Before You Install

Run Windows Update/Microsoft Update

Run Windows Update/Microsoft Update and make sure that you have installed all critical and suggested updates.

Update Your BIOS, Drivers, and Vendor-Specific Middleware

Make sure your BIOS firmware, device drivers, and vendor-specific middleware (backup utilities, etc.) are up-to-date. For Dell systems, visit support.dell.com and click the Search for Drivers button. For IBM or Lenovo systems, run System Update in the ThinkVantage folder.

Reserve Some Time and Get a Fast Connection

Updating to Service Pack 1 rarely takes less than an hour and sometimes can take up to four hours. The update process will be quicker if you use a fast wired network connection.

How to Get It

Microsoft is making Windows Vista Service Pack 1 available at the University in three different ways:

1. For users who have Automatic Update installed and set to automatically download and install, Windows Vista Service Pack 1 started to become available on April 23, 2008. The timing for users to receive SP1 through Automatic Update depends on a number of factors, including the user's Internet usage, location, language, and level of Internet demand for SP1.
2. For users with Penn's Windows Automatic Update Service (WAUS) activated, Windows Vista Service Pack 1 became available in early June 2008.
3. For users who run Windows Update or Microsoft Update manually, Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is available as a critical update as of March 18th, 2008.

What's New in Windows Vista Service Pack 1

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 does not add many new features to Windows Vista. Like Windows XP Service Pack 1, it is mostly a compatibility, reliability, and performance upgrade.

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 has a few new features:

• Performance and Power Consumption Improvements: Windows Vista Service Pack 1's performance improvements significantly increase responsiveness, which is how many users perceive the speed of their systems. Power consumption in notebooks also drops slightly due to better implementation of hard disk spin down and sleep modes.
• Support for New Technologies and Standards: Windows Vista Service Pack 1 adds additional support for Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) and adds support for Direct3D 10.1. It is also able to map more RAM in many modern notebooks.

-- John Mulhern III, Lead for Client Technologies, ISC Technology Support Services (April 24, 2008)