It's about time they did a SP cos I find Vista quite tempermental. Does anyone else find this?? Also, why SP3 for XP?? I know it's good, but I've always found XP close to perfect... (compared to vista)

SP3 for XP is just a little more than SP2 plus the 100s of updates since SP2 came out - a roll-up, if you will. This will be good for new computers and rebuilds.

Vista SP1 RTW coming March 18

By Emil Protalinski | Published: February 20, 2008 - 04:00PM CT

On February 4, 2008, Microsoft announced that Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista had hit the Release to Manufacturing (RTM) milestone, but it would not be available for public consumption until sometime in March due to certain driver issues. Microsoft has actually already given some users SP1, which is no different than RC Refresh 2, but the Release to Web (RTW) is still in the works. Assuming Microsoft fixes the prerequisite update issue in time, the exact date for the SP1 Release to Web is reportedly March 18, 2008.

Microsoft has emphasized that certain systems will not be able to receive SP1 because of drivers that could cause problems but, once updates for the problematic drivers become available, they will be installed automatically by Windows Update. Only then will the user have the option to install SP1, if he or she so chooses.

Initially, SP1 will be available for manual download on Windows Update and the download center in five languages: English, French, Spanish, German, and Japanese. It will take until April for the remaining languages to hit Windows Update; at that point, SP1 will be pushed automatically to PCs. Tech ARP claims that the remaining languages will hit on April 9 while the automatic push will begin on or after April 18. Users who do not want SP1 should disable the automatic installation of updates before this date.

http://arstechnica.com/journals/micr...oming-march-18

i heard that the reason why its being held back (i dont know if you mentioned it at all) but is the fact that it kept rebooting machines on which it was updated on. Now, im really not a big fan of vista, i hate it and this is from personal experience. I used to love vista, but then yea it went and broke on me so xp was installed. Anyways, just a little tidbit of information for ya guys, im not sure if its like this anymore, but awhile ago, Dell was charging $50 more for xp than vista.

That's not exactly right. As reported by ComputerWorld and others, it was an update, a pair of prerequisite files that prepared Vista machines for SP1 that caused the problems, and which Microsoft quickly acknowledged, and took action on. SP1 itself is ready to go.

Part of Vista's acceptance problem is people who are having no problems with Vista don't make noise. Each individual problem generally affects considerably less than 1% of all Vista users. And with an estimated 50 million lines of code, with as much as half of that new, it is no wonder there are not quite a few problems. And remember, just 1% is still 10,000 out of every million users - for each problem! With many 10s of millions of Vista PCs out there - all unique within minutes after first bootup, that's a lot of noise!

This is exactly why many, including myself, have recommended holding off (if possible) until SP1 is released. I've have yet to build a new PC for my primary PC because I am waiting for Microsoft to release original OEM VistaSP1 install disks. The wait is almost over - and I have started my parts purchases.

For those that could not wait, either due to impatience or you needed new hardware then, and could not wait, please have a little more patience. Just as previous versions of Windows settled down, so too will Vista.

For those hanging on to XP, prepare yourself to let go. XP is old and obsolete, cannot keep up with future security concerns, and should be put out to pasture. Besides, the change is inevitable. Determined folks can probably hold off for 10 years - but wow! Would they behind the times.

Personally, for those of us that know what an IBM Selectric is, we've seen this many times before, with every upgrade to DOS - even Windows itself did not catch on until V3.0, and many converts held out for 3.11 - and you should have heard the scream when 95 was announced, then again for 98. It was with 98 that large numbers of folks started waiting to upgrade until reported bugs were fixed, and for 98SE to come out. Many folks did the same by waiting for XPSP1.

I have downloaded Vista SP1 not a a beta version from a MS CD and so far no problems. Some of my colleagues tried on their work PC's all networked to our servers and they crashed they told me that it was the servers needed a update, not being a techie I dont know the reason but I do know they had to uninstall SP1 as it caused problems on Vista PC'c on our network. but seems OK on stand alone PC's.

Windows Vista SP1 Released to Windows Update

http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/wi...ws-update.aspx

Driver Issues, Blue Screens Prompt Barrage of SP1 Gripes

While many Windows Vista owners have successfully installed the operating system's first service pack, some reported malfunctions ranging from sound and DVD player shutdowns to full-on blue screens of death. Others have reported driver issues outside of the ones Microsoft warned about prior to the roll-out. Next month, SP1 will be pushed to Vista users who have not decided to actively download it.

Much more here:

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/62250.html

Yeah, at least the article says,

the majority of commenters on the site reported no problems with the download and installation

I wonder how many of those machines came new with Vista, and how many was older HW that maybe never should have been upgraded to Vista in the first place?

We will never know, but I do know I would rather download the SP and install it on my time, then have it pushed out to me.

Vista SP1 goes to Automatic Updates.

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/f...3vistasp1.mspx

http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=1717

If you do not want it at this point in time turn off Automatic Updates.