Vista SP1 to hit Windows Update Tuesday
March 17, 2008 – 5:08 AMMicrosoft will release Windows Vista Service Pack 1 next week to a wider audience, according to information posted on Amazon.com and reports from a Web site that correctly called SP1’s ship date last month.Amazon currently lists Vista SP1 retail copies as available next Wednesday, March 19, while TechARP.com, the Malaysian Web site that nailed the update’s release to manufacturing (RTM) date several days early, said users would be able to download SP1 starting Tuesday, March 18.
Vista SP1 shipped to duplication and OEMs Feb. 4, but since then it has only been available to previous beta testers, volume licensing customers and subscribers to IT subscription services. In fact, subscribers to TechNet and Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) only got access to SP1 after raising a ruckus, with some threatening to cancel their subscriptions and others saying they would postpone Vista deployment.
Most Vista users, however, have been unable to obtain the service pack. That was a conscious decision on the part of Microsoft, which said that the delay was caused by a small number of hardware device drivers that won’t properly reinstall during the SP1 upgrade. Microsoft said it needed extra time to identify the drivers and set up blocking mechanisms that will prevent users whose PCs have those drivers from receiving SP1.
Microsoft has never identified the balky drivers or the responsible hardware manufacturers.
You must be logged in to post a comment.