Microsoft Releases Vista Service Pack 2
Posted 05/26/09 at 05:31:16 PM by Andy Salisbury
Comments
Print
Email
For those of you that are rocking Windows Vista, don’t you know what the Windows 7 release candidate is out? Well, at any rate, Microsoft released Service Pack 2 for Vista to the public today.
SP2 will include Windows Search 4.0, the Bluetooth 2.1 Feature Pack, the ability to record data on Blu-ray media natively, Windows Connect Now (to simplify Wi-Fi configuration), and other security and optimization-minded upgrades.
If you’re looking to download Vista SP2, you can get it here (for 32-bit users) and here (for 64-bit users).
Image Credit: Microsoft
DON'T USE SP2
Submitted by MDA400 on Sat, 06/13/2009 - 8:51pm
someone on microsoft's blog posted that NO ONE shouldve gotten sp2 yet. I believe this because i heard that a spokeswoman from microsoft said vista sp2 should hit the web around the end of JUNE. but what confuses me is that they have it for download on their download center. ive used it and it corrupted my drive so badly i had to use seagate's discwizard to reinstall windows. dont use it yet till there's a fix.
I was a XP holdout but I now enjoy the improvements....
Submitted by chrisld85 on Thu, 06/04/2009 - 12:56pm
I was a Windows XP holdout but I now enjoy the improvements made to Vista. It is so much better now! never would I go back to XP... Vista is as stable as Windows XP sp2 is... (Remember when xp came out it sucked and didnt get to where it is today untill it came out with sp2, same goes for Vista...I will be holding out on Windows Seven untill it gets sp2 as well, We all know from Microsoft's track history every os they came out with at first of release has some sort of bugs and compatibility issues.)
Submitted by MooMooM on Sat, 06/06/2009 - 5:34am
I'm reading from multiple postings all about the new and glamorous features of Windows Vista SP2. I'm confused as to which version of Vista you are referring to when you state, "Vista is as stable as Windows XP SP2 is..." because I've never had as many problems with any version of XP as I have had this past couple of years with Vista. It's good to hear from others that Vista has improved but my experience with it has frequently been and continues to be burdensome. I downloaded and installed Vista SP2 today and restarted it when prompted to. My laptop's splash screen popped up followed by Microsoft's, and then it started its usual initializing and updating process after a Windows Update. Then an error pops up stating it is having a conflict with my fingerprint reader and the system powers down. I powered up again and it repeated this process. I popped in one of my Linux boot discs and jumped on the 'net to find possible solutions to this problem but there are none yet. After today's last straw, I realize how I need to stop procrastinating the inevitable transition over to a stable Linux flavor on a permanent basis. Additionally, Vista is the best thing to happen to Macintosh. I bought an iMac for the better half and I cannot begin to tell you how much smoother it ran than my Vista-based laptop with twice the memory, hard drive space, and processor speed. Vista continues to disappoint. I'm done with it.
Submitted by Shckr57 on Wed, 06/03/2009 - 5:33am
i gained about 45gigs of space, and i slowly lose it over time for no reason. go into your c drive, select every file/folder, with all system and hidden files shown, right click hit properties and look at the total size of everything, then compare that with what your hdd says is taken up. interesting. i ra the cmd and then it went back to normall, now i am losing it again. think its restore points or somethin like that. not the pagefile cause thats on my d hdd.
Submitted by whiplash55 on Tue, 06/02/2009 - 2:37pm
I find it boots and runs a little faster, not as fast as Win 7 but Vista has come a long way.
Submitted by van_helblaze on Tue, 06/02/2009 - 3:29pm
Boot up for me seams slower on both of my computers. But over all I do prefer Vista SP2
Submitted by chrisld85 on Sun, 05/31/2009 - 6:15am
windows vista is expected to have just as long of a life
like any other os, its end of mainstream support ends in april
2012.That's 5 years of support.Plus micosoft is coming out with a new
os every 3 yrs for now on.As
far as xp goes when it was first released it was as buggy and bad as
vista was, It didn't get better till sp2 came out same goes for
vista,and probably the same will go for windows seven, The only thing
being phased out is xp its in extended support and its getting old.The
US Army is having to switch to vista by a deadline of Dec 31 2009 because of xp being
so outdated and prone to security.
Submitted by chrisld85 on Sun, 05/31/2009 - 5:52am
I have been using xp and was waiting on microsoft to release sp2 for vista... when it did I upgraded to vista and been using it for a few days now I would not go back to xp, before sp1 for vista it was awfull I then switched back to xp and waited to see if sp1 would fix things it was better bit still not there yet like xp sp3 was,Now after sp2 for vista finally released I have to say it's right now! (as stable as xp was in it's old age) As for windows seven goes I won't make the same mistake twice I'll wait till it gets a few service packs under its belt before swtiching.I think we all learned our lesson not to go with a new operating sytem at first and to wait to it matures a bit. Vista is suppose to end support in 2012 then I'll switch to windows seven...hopefully by then it will have sp2 out.
to be fair, wit hall the
Submitted by nekollx on Mon, 06/01/2009 - 8:45am
to be fair, wit hall the support (fro users, 3rd party vendors, etc) 7 is getting in the beta it'll pratically be SP1 when it releases...
Submitted by SpaceyJacey on Fri, 05/29/2009 - 8:16pm
yawn.
Submitted by JDK on Thu, 05/28/2009 - 8:27am
The point is not to put ones self in a situation where you then have to do a bunch of obvious backpedaling because you've spent so much time bashing an OS.
IOW....the problem with digging holes is that sooner than later you may have to climb your way out. The deeper the hole the worse a person looks when they try to pretend they never dug the hole in the first place.
And make no mistake....W7 was invented because of the national Vista bashing bandwagon....not because theres anything terribly wrong with Vista. W7 is nothing more than a glorified PR move. So where and how do these hate bandwagons start? With the "experts".
Submitted by MooMooM on Sat, 06/06/2009 - 5:46am
You state, "W7 was invented because of the national Vista bashing bandwagon....not
because theres anything terribly wrong with Vista. W7 is nothing more
than a glorified PR move. So where and how do these hate bandwagons
start? With the "experts"."Vista gave me far more trouble than XP ever did. It is too demanding on processors and its intense security features cancel out it's efficiency. Have you ever used Leopard? The .NET framework is trying desperately to compete with the latest and greatest coming out of Cuppertino, CA but Microsoft is falling behind, consistently chasing shadows. (e.g. Snipping Tool, File Indexing) I installed Vista SP2 today and it crashed my operating system. So now I'm working off of a Linux boot disc and it's not overheating my hardware like Vista does. Sorry, but you lose that argument. The whole operating system is for the birds. Vista lasted not that much longer than Windows ME did before the next version of OS was released, for a reason.
Feelin' Maximum
Submitted by Zazubovich on Wed, 05/27/2009 - 12:23pm
MPC is about cutting edge, so of course the newest, fastest, most expensivest and twitchiest is the bestest of the best. Why not quadruple boot OS X, Ubuntu, XP and 7 just to get as much goodness at once? See if the smoke comes out. That doesn't mean you have to copy the magazine every month, just use it to get your bearings on what is fast moving tech.
Evasive on the other hand sounds like a schizophrenic fighting with himself over which flavor of M&M is best. They're all M&Ms, but if you take an almond one and a plain one then mix the peanut butter ones it is TOTALLY better than a peanut one by itself or a peanut one with a peanut butter one. They're all M&Ms but only one internet poster can really get into the weeds and tell you what you should like best.
Isn't this automatic?
Submitted by bart3385 on Wed, 05/27/2009 - 11:05am
Shouldn't Vista detect this update automatically when connected to internet, and then offer me the update download?
I don't see anything popping up from my pc yet.
Service packs have been known to...
Submitted by Devo85x on Wed, 05/27/2009 - 4:37pm
Previous service packs for Windows (not just vista) have been known to mess with drivers and installed apps on your computer. Personally, im glad it doesnt force you or even try to bug you about the update since I dont rly want it until a reinstall :)
Submitted by JDK on Wed, 05/27/2009 - 5:24am
Yes, we are all aware that W7 RC is out. This looks all too familiar Max PC. This reminds me of when right before Vista was released. At first you guys get a bit overly excited about the potentials...then it's released and you guys will bash it for a year or so until they work the bugs out...and then you guys will start saying "Oh...well....I guess it isn't that bad." but only after completely condemning the OS.
How about this. I'll go buy W7 after SP1 just like I did with Vista....which works fine. That way I wont have to complain about features that dont work right.
Guess that doesn't make me very Maximum.....probably just smart. If early Vista in conjunction with you guys at Max PC taught me/us anything it's that bleeding edge will pretty consistently lead to frustration......so have fun with the bugs and be sure to let us know all about how much W7 sucks....until it doesn't.
Submitted by ceator3571 on Wed, 05/27/2009 - 5:45am
I am glad I am not alone after reading "doesn't make me very Maximum.....probably just smart." But I want a new machine now (my wife’s computer is old and failing and I want two powerful computers in the house); I really don't want to purchase Vista (really wanted to skip this) then purchase Win 7 (Win 7 seems too good to pass up).
It would be nice to know if MS would give a discount or make WIN 7 free if I purchased Vista now. Does anybody know what MS plans to do?
I don't want to be so far behind in Win OS's again. Yes still have XP and was holding out for Win 7 if you could not tell from above.
Submitted by MooMooM on Sat, 06/06/2009 - 5:51am
Now is a good time to learn how to use a Mac. Seriously, before you buy any computer that comes equipped with a Windows Vista or Windows 7, I highly recommend that you stop by your closest Mac store and check out the iMac. Nothing else on the market compares to it, and the Leopard OS is amazing.
Free copies of the OS will
Submitted by Caboose on Wed, 05/27/2009 - 8:11am
Free copies of the OS will be provided by OEM computer manufacturers (HP, Dell, Gateway, etc) and only if they offer such a package. They did that with Vista, so it won't surprise me if the same is done with Win7
-= I don't want to be dead, I want to be alive! Or... a cowboy! =-
Submitted by gothliciouz on Wed, 05/27/2009 - 4:33am
microsoft states "This service pack includes all the updates that have been delivered since Service Pack 1" and yet they say "Service Pack 1 is a prerequisite for installing Service Pack 2.
Please make sure that your system is running Service Pack 1 before you
install Service Pack 2".so if the sp2 has all the updates of sp1, why do i need to have sp1? this confuses me!
Submitted by bart3385 on Wed, 05/27/2009 - 11:11am
"This service pack includes all the updates that have been delivered SINCE Service Pack 1"
SINCE sp1
Submitted by Modred189 on Wed, 05/27/2009 - 5:36am
Ok, so this is how it works. Vista came out. Then there were a bunch of updates and fixes. These were then rolled up and included with the updates and upgrades in SP1.
Since then, a bunch of updates have come out. SO what MS did, was roll up all the updates that came out AFTER SP1, but before SP2, and included them with the new featues brought by SP2.
So SP1 included new features and all updates since release. SP2 includes new features and all updates that came out AFTER SP1 came out.
Submitted by gothliciouz on Wed, 05/27/2009 - 5:49am
now i see!... thanks man!.
HELP
Submitted by DanielDAZ on Wed, 05/27/2009 - 4:15am
I dowloaded this and I'm not sure exactly how it happened but now my computer won't startup.
So wow,
Submitted by D.E. on Tue, 05/26/2009 - 6:49pm
Not just is the new Vista SP2 coming out but apparently the new Zune too!
MaxPC is slow to the punch yet again.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/26/zune-hd-is-official-heading-your-way-this-fall/
Submitted by BaggerX on Tue, 05/26/2009 - 6:49pm
It may still have a few things that need to get ironed out for certain types of hardware, but I've been running Win7 RC since it was released to MSDN subscribers and it's been great so far. Took a little getting used to, but I like it now. All my hardware is working and I haven't run into any bugs so far. Things are looking good for MS this time around.
My setup:
Windows 7 RC x64
Core i7 920
Asus P6T Deluxe v2
Zalman CNPS9900 HSF
12GB Corsair XMS3 (6 x 2GB) DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)
Radeon HD 4870 1GB GDDR5
1TB WD Caviar Black WD1001FALS
640GB WD6400AAKS SATA II
300GB Maxtor Diamondmax 10 SATA
LiteOn SH-16A7S-05 SATA DVD Burner
Antec 900 case w/ Antec TPQ 850W PSU
Windows 7
Submitted by nuculear_core on Tue, 05/26/2009 - 6:29pm
I tried the beta Win 7 and got blue screened within an hour.
Tried the RC all went well til Windows recommended I update my Creative XFi drivers... then couldn't boot, couldn't even find itself even though it was visible on the C drive.
I got SP2 for Vista awhile back... haven't had any Vista issues right from the get go, aside from the slow moving of files.
Windows 7 doesn't like my configuration: Asus P5KC, 4GB Corsair Dominator, ATI 4850, 3x500GB Seagates, XFi Extreme Music Intel e8400 in Antec Sonato with 500W PS. I really liked Windows 7, Windows 7 didn't like me!!!!! And Vista runs very well, aside from a few hiccups there are no serious resasons to try 7 again til it's final.
It sounds like your PSU
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Tue, 05/26/2009 - 9:15pm
It sounds like your PSU maybe part of your problem. That is a very small PSU for all the hardware. I'd bet some of your hardware is not getting enough juice and that's your problem. I've had problems like that before that went away after I put in a larger PSU.
Also did you install all the latest drivers? And your sound card probably did have problems because it wasn't getting all the power it needed. I'm telling you.
Does your computer crash in Vista during game play? I'm running Win7 RC with Xfi Extreme gamer and all the drivers are super stable. It's just that I have an 850watt PSU.
My configuration is as follows
Intel E8400 Penryn Core 2 Duo with 6MB Cache and Thermaltake V1 HSF
Coolermaster Cosmos Case
Asus P5N-D Nvidia 750I SLI Motherboard featuring 2 X16 PCIe V2 slots
8 Gigs of Patriot DDR2 800 5x5x5x12 Ram
EVGA GTX280 1gb graphics accellerator card Yes it's a good card.
1.5TB Seagate Baracuda 7200.11 HDD with 32Mb Cache
500Gig Seagate Baracuda 7200.11 HDD with 32MB Cache
Lite-On 16x DVD Burner (Yes it's a WalMart Special, my old DVD Burner died in the middle of the night and I went to Walmart for convenience.)
850Watt Ultra X Pro PSU with Active PFC and 80+ efficiency.
Creative Xfi Extreme Gamer Sound Card
Logitech Z680 5.1 speakers
Logitech G5 Mouse
Logitech Wave Master Keyboard
and an LCD monitor gives me a look at Windows 7 RC.
Everything is super stable.
Submitted by SpazzAttack on Tue, 05/26/2009 - 10:09pm
Yes, I know Windows 7 RC1 is out. Do I care? Not really. I'll install Windows 7 after it has been offically released and the early adopter guinea pigs have been beta testing it for a couple of months. 7 sounds like a good improvement over Vista, but I'm happy with Vista x64 as it is right now. So there's no rush.
I'm downloading SP2 for Vista as I type this.
Submitted by The Relic on Tue, 05/26/2009 - 3:56pm
Do I know that 7RC is out? Uh, yeah. I have it as a dual-boot with Vista Business (among other things, RC doesn't allow me to use my Line 6 GuitarPort, but it runs fine in Vista). The release of SP2 just means I get to remove the test version of SP2 so I can have the final.
Submitted by foamcup on Tue, 05/26/2009 - 3:15pm
For those of you that are rocking Windows Vista, don’t you know what the Windows 7 release candidate is out? Yeah, I do know it's out, but oh hey, some of my games can't run EAX under 7. I'll stick with Vista until 7 is finalized and Creative can kick out a new version of ALchemy. And Evasive, that is the most ignorant comment, there is nothing wrong with Vista, try pulling your head out of your ass and maybe you could see that.
Submitted by Evasive on Tue, 05/26/2009 - 3:55pm
W7 is better than Vista. You need to pull your head out of your ass if you don't see that by now. Nothing wrong with Vista...that's an ignorant fanboy comment if I ever heard one. Admit it, you are really Bill Gates.
Hold everyone's horses
Submitted by CTskifreak on Tue, 05/26/2009 - 5:05pm
Yeah. Vista sucked in the beginning. I was hesitant when I knew it was coming on my college laptop through my college's partnership with Lenovo. However, I have not had a problem with Vista at all. The only gripe is the memory usage. However, Windows 7 is seemingly a lot cleaner and runs smoother, but I'd rather be on Vista over XP. I go back to my family's home XP machine and I feel like I'm missing stuff. I'm excited for 7, but no one should be bashing Vista anymore.
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Tue, 05/26/2009 - 8:52pm
Vista is great. I fell in love with it and couldn't go back and I tried for about 3 months I ran WinXP but I finally went back to Vista. I was triple booting Vista and Win7 Beta and Ubuntu Linux but when Win7 RC was released I obeyed Microsofts wishes to do a clean install and I did just that I did a full wipe and decided to dedicate my whole pc to only run Win7 RC. Win7 kicks ass. Vista was great and I really liked how alot of my older Win95/98 software that wouldn't run in XP worked great in Vista but Win7 just feels so much better.
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Tue, 05/26/2009 - 3:49pm
I'm running z680 Logitech 5.1 system and gaming is great with my XFi Extreme Gamer. Programmers have been running 3D sound and effects through the processor for years now. I think the most notable game that ignored hardware sound processing was Half Life 2. Sounded almost exactly the same under EAX as it does with a crappy Realtek sound. In Vista as it does under XPee. So I wouldn't let the EAX keep you from running Win7. I was upset with MS nolonger supporting DirectSound in it's Direct X system. Really sucks but such is life.
Submitted by colinjm0517 on Tue, 05/26/2009 - 3:07pm
it is easer and faster to connect to my home network now.
Submitted by colinjm0517 on Tue, 05/26/2009 - 3:05pm
Seems to work well, but overall system startup/ shutdown takes longer than usual.
Submitted by Evasive on Tue, 05/26/2009 - 2:57pm
Unless by SP they mean "replaced the entire OS with W7", I'll stick with XP and Windows 7 RC instead of Vista.
Submitted by almax on Tue, 05/26/2009 - 7:17pm
The people, who had problems with Windows ME, are the same types that have problems with VISTA.
They are quick to blame the OS for their lack of technical aptitude in figuring out what Third party hardware/software is actually causing their problem.
In the last 10 or so years.
This type of post;
"Has anyone else seen this type of problem with this video card?"
Has been replaced with;
"This OS sucks; I think that multi-billion dollar company should....."
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Tue, 05/26/2009 - 3:44pm
Yup I was thinking the same thing about SP2 turning Vista into Win7. Win7 is great and it's free.
Submitted by Modred189 on Wed, 05/27/2009 - 5:39am
It's free for ~8months when it starts shutting down every 2 hours. But whatever, same asme I guess.
Submitted by D.E. on Tue, 05/26/2009 - 2:49pm
Hopefully, SP2 has some nice system optimizations.
Submitted by nekollx on Tue, 05/26/2009 - 3:19pm
well its supose to include the cleaner tool that lets you removies old SPs and hotfixes that are part of SP2, thats a lot of space reclimation
Must Read Articles
Feature
Review
Feature
Feature
Feature
Most Popular Articles
This Month's Issue
FEATURE How to Get FREE Programs, Services, Software & MoreFEATURE Digital Photo Printer RoundupHOW TOBuild a 3D CameraFEATUREDIY Arcade PCWHITE PAPERHow TRIM Works
Technology News
Computer Cooling Fans
Computer Cases
PC Game Controllers
PC Games
Computer Hardware
Headphones
MP3 Players
Stream Video
Computer Mouse
Monitors
Motherboards
NAS Storage
Networking
Laptop Computers
DVD Burner
Digital Cameras
Portable Storage
Computer Accessories
Smartphone
Antivirus Software
Sound Cards
Speakers
Computer Systems
Thumb Drives
Video Cameras
Video Card Reviews
Water Cooling
Gadgets
- Keyboards
© 2009 Future US, Inc. All Rights Reserved.