After enough criticism, rumors,tweaks, tests, blood and perspiration, Microsoft has started to provide Vista’s Service Pack1 from Tuesday. It is free to download and available through Windows Update service and retailers. Amazon will also ship boxed copies of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 from Wednesday.
Vista SP1 has been acclaimed to improves Vista’s reliability, security and performance. Some early testers of the service pack have noticed following improvements in performance:
>>GOOD: Better and faster perfoemance when copying files over a network and playing video games that weren’t designed for Vista.
>>BAD: Some preliminary file compression tests showed a decrease in performance with SP1 installed.
>>GOOD: improvements in performance and power consumption while browsing network file shares, improved power consumption, faster loading of large images, and faster searches.
>>GOOD: Service Pack 1 comes with a number of low-level enhancements such as support for the Extensible Firmware Interface and Extended File Allocation Table. It also includes improved compatibility with some hardware and software
>>BAD:Microsoft said it has determined that only a handful of Windows programs will break down in some way after SP1 is installed.
>>GOOD: SP1 also removes the reduced functionality mode that disables computers which have not been activated through Microsoft.
SP1 will also block several applications from running for “reliability reasons”. The list of such applications include:
— BitDefender Antivirus and Internet Security, version 10
— Fujitsu’s Shock Sensor hard drive protection for rugged laptops
— two versions of Jiangmin KV Antivirus software
— Check Point Technologies’ Zone Alarm Security Suite.
DOWNLOAD LINKS:
>>Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Five Language Standalone
>>Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Five Language Standalone for x64-based Systems
RELATED DETAILS: technical details, guidelines
