Windows Vista Service Pack 1 For Providers

Important note: this document is designed for Local Support Providers (LSPs).

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

Provider note: Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is likely to be the supported and recommended version of Windows for new systems in the FY 2009 Desktop Recommendations and will probably be the only supported version of Windows Vista in FY 2009.

Information Systems & Computing (ISC) will support Windows Vista Service Pack 1 for its clients, including off-campus students, only on new systems that ship with SP1 pre-installed or that have been automatically updated through Windows Update or Microsoft Update. ISC strongly recommends that all other users adopt a "wait and see" attitude, continuing to use previous versions of Windows XP and Windows Vista until after the initial bugs in SP1 are identified and fixed.

Provider note: although ISC is following its standard three month "cooling off" period for a new or significantly revised operating system with Windows Vista Service Pack 1, we recognize that many users who are running Automatic Update on their Windows systems will receive SP1 without any intervention at some time in April 2008.

When ISC does recommend an upgrade it will be 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

Provider note: Windows Vista Service Pack 1 backs up the previous installation of Windows Vista by default. This adds considerably to the disk space that SP1 uses.

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 in common use 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

• BEN Financials: Client software for BEN Financials, the University's core business system for purchasing, general ledger, and accounts payable functions, will not install on Vista machines. The BEN team is working with the vendors, but there is no projected date for a solution. BEN Financials users should not upgrade to Windows Vista or purchase new Windows systems running Vista at this time.
• Office XP: This version of Office does not install under Vista. Users need to upgrade to Office 2003 or Office 2007, though Office 2007 introduces a different set of issues (see the Office 2007 article).

Incompatibilities Specific To Windows Vista Service Pack 1

• The Spring 2008 PennConnect DVD is compatible with Windows Vista Service Pack 1 with the exception of Symantec's Live Update, which in some cases will run but will fail to update. ISC is investigating further and will update this document and the PCNet list with further information as it becomes available. At present, the workaround is to download and run Symantec's Intelligent Updater.

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 will start to become available sometime in April 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.

Provider note: for providers who wish to prevent Automatic Update from installing Windows Vista Service Pack 1, Microsoft has a Windows Service Pack Blocker Tool available. This toolkit uses an executable to create a registry key that blocks downloading of SP1 (and other Microsoft operating system service packs) for twelve months.

2. For users with Penn's Windows Automatic Update Service (WAUS) activated, WAUS will not install Windows Vista Service Pack 1. Providers with systems running WAUS are free to install SP1 when they consider it appropriate, at which point WAUS will continue to function properly.

Provider note: ISC plans to make Windows Vista Service Pack 1 available within WAUS sometime in April 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 sometimes increase raw speed but almost always increase responsiveness. Power consumption in notebooks also drops slightly due to better implementation of hard disk spin down and sleep modes.

Provider note: users who have consistently installed the optional updates in Windows Update or Microsoft Update will find less of an improvement in performance, responsiveness, and power consumption.

• 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.

Provider note: these changes have the potential to make Apple's Boot Camp more seamless when running Windows Vista Service Pack 1. These changes also may convince some other OEMs to start moving off BIOS technology, though this may not come soon.

For further information

Microsoft's Notable Changes in Windows Vista Service Pack 1 page.

ISC's Windows Vista For Providers page.

-- John Mulhern III, Senior Project Leader, ISC Technology Support Services (March 19, 2008)

Thanks to Rob Short, Steve Strawser, Don Thatcher, and Vern Yoneyama.