Windows Vista^® Service Pack 1

Service Pack 1 Overview

Thinking Beyond Service Pack 1

Getting Service Pack 1

Summary

Getting Service Pack 1

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The Deployment Guide for the Release Candidate Version of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 at http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsvista/en/library/5cf710a1-1414-4d11-97de-0748abdcec651033.mspx?mfr=true describes in detail the deployment scenarios and methods that Windows Vista SP1 supports. The sections that follow describe the installation methods available and the installation requirements for SP1.

Table 1 recommends the best installation method for different types of users. Consumers and small-business users should purchase computers that already have SP1 or use Windows Update to update Windows Vista with SP1. IT pros should deploy the stand-alone package to computers that are already running Windows Vista; they should use the integrated installation method to deploy Windows Vista with SP1 to computers that don’t already have an operating system or computers on which they are performing clean installations. For more information about installing SP1 by using Windows Update, stand-alone packages, or integrated installations, see the section, "Installation Methods."

Table 1. Installation Methods

Installation Methods

The following list describes the methods available for installing SP1:

• Windows Update

  Windows Update will automatically install SP1 on computers that are configured to receive updates through Automatic Updates. Windows Update downloads the required service pack files to the target computer and installs the service pack. This method requires relatively low bandwidth and minimizes network traffic, because only the changes needed for a specific computer are applied.

Note: Some customers use Windows Update to manage their organization’s computers and do not want Windows Update to install SP1 because they prefer to manage the service pack’s installation themselves. For these cases, Microsoft is making the blocker patch available. The blocker patch helps ensure that Automatic Updates will not automatically install Windows Vista SP1. For more information, see Windows Service Pack Blocker Tool at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsvista/bb927794.aspx.

• Stand-alone Package

  A stand-alone SP1 package contains all files, including the prerequisites that the previous section described, needed to install SP1 on any computer. You install the stand-alone package to upgrade computers that are already running Windows Vista. Microsoft recommends this method for applying SP1 to computers without (or with limited) Internet connectivity or applying the service pack to more than one computer by using deployment tools such as Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003, WSUS, or Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007. Users can download the stand-alone SP1 package from the Microsoft Download Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=107075. The download size of the stand-alone package is larger than the package applied with Windows Update.

  To make the improvements that this white paper describes, a large number of individual files and components have been updated for SP1. Also, the language-neutral design of Windows Vista necessitates that the service pack be able to update any possible combination of the basic languages that Windows Vista supports with a single installer, so language files for the 36 basic languages are included in the stand-alone installer. This results in a large stand-alone package, the delivery method that IT professionals typically use.

  However, most consumers and small-business users will receive SP1 through Windows Update, which uses an efficient transfer mechanism to download only the actual bytes changed, resulting in an approximately 65 MB download. This is similar in size to many common software and driver updates delivered by other software vendors over the Internet.

• Integrated Installation

  With integrated installations, the service pack is integrated with the operating system. As a result, the operating system and service pack are installed simultaneously. You use the integrated installation to upgrade computers from Windows XP and to perform new installations on computers that do not have an operating system. Volume License customers will receive integrated installation media as part of their media kits. Additionally, MSDN® and Microsoft TechNet subscribers can download integrated installation media.

• New Computers

  Consumers can purchase computers with SP1 installed on them. However, if they purchase computers that don’t already have SP1 installed on them, they can easily install SP1 from Windows Update.

Installation Requirements

Table 2 describes the approximate disk space requirements for the system partition. Note that these requirements will increase if there are multiple language packs on your computer. For more information about the requirements for installing SP1, see the Microsoft Help and Support article, "System requirements for Windows Vista," at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/919183. SP1 does not change the hardware requirements for installing or running Windows Vista.

Table 2. Approximate Disk Space Requirements for SP1

Computers running Windows Vista RTM also require two or three updates before installing SP1. These updates are permanent and cannot be uninstalled, because they ensure that the operating system continues to work properly after uninstalling SP1. Windows Update will detect your configuration and offer the prerequisite packages applicable to your system, installing them in sequential order. The following updates are required for installing SP1 (the stand-alone SP1 package already includes these updates):

• KB935509

  This update is only required on Windows Vista Enterprise and Windows Vista Ultimate editions (which support BitLocker Drive Encryption). This update is required prior to installing KB938371, the second prerequisite update, and is required to prevent potential loss of data on BitLocker Drive Encryption–encrypted systems during updating.

• KB938371

  This update consists of fixes for several components, increases the success rate for installing the service pack, and enables the service pack to be uninstalled successfully.

• KB937287

  This is an update to the servicing stack or the component installer technologies built into Windows Vista. This update enables the built-in installer to properly and successfully install the service pack.

Note: If you’ve installed preview versions Windows Vista SP1, you must uninstall them before installing the final version of SP1. If you don’t uninstall preview versions before trying to install the final version of SP1, you’ll see an error message that says, "Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is already installed."

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Some product features are only available in certain editions of Windows Vista and may require advanced or additional hardware.