Windows Vista/Server 2. Service Pack 2: What to Expect. I've gotten a number of emails about Microsoft's next major update to Windows Vista (and Windows Server 2. Service Pack 2 (SP2). And while I did in fact publish a short description of this release before Microsoft announced SP2 last October, I'm embarrassed to admit that I haven't really provided any substantial updates since then. This is particularly odd because I've been using various builds of SP2 with Windows Vista on a Lenovo Think. Pad SL5. 00 since last fall. So let's take a look. Timing. First, Microsoft will almost certainly ship SP2 to the public in April. This final release will follow three major pre- release milestones, including a Beta 1 release in late October 2. Beta 2 release in December 2. Release Candidate 1 (RC1) version that shipped late last week. I've installed each of these releases, in turn, on that Lenovo laptop, on which I also test the Internet Explorer 8 RC build and other Vista- related software. Vista + Windows Server 2. Better together. Before getting into the functional changes in this release, I should also point out that SP2 will be a shared, common update between both Windows Vista and Windows Server 2. This is possible because Microsoft has now aligned its client and server OS releases, so that when Server 2. SP1 included. Moving forward, customers will now have a simpler task of testing and deploying service packs, since the exact same service pack(s, one each for x. Windows Vista and Server 2. I'll try not to dwell on that.)What's new in Windows Vista SP2. From a functional standpoint, SP2 is nothing like Windows Vista SP1 (see my review). That is, it does not include major functional, reliability, and performance improvements. Instead, SP2 is largely a traditional service pack, aggregating all of the hot- fixes and other updates that Microsoft has released since SP1. After all, time moves on, and Microsoft does need to address emerging trends when it can. Functional updates in SP2 are highlighted in the next two sections. Updates that apply to both Windows Vista and Windows Server 2. Hot- fixes and security updates. As with all Windows service packs, SP2 includes all the previously released updates for Windows Vista and Server 2. This includes several hundred updates, which are comprised of both publicly available updates and others that were previously only made available to specific customers or partners.
Two additional editions of Windows Vista have been released for use by developers of embedded devices. Microsoft lists the system requirements for these editions as. Windows Vista (codenamed Longhorn) is an operating system by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs and. The inclusion of previously- released updates and the minor functional changes noted below will provide users with moderately improved compatibility, reliability, and performance, Microsoft says. Some of these updates come from Microsoft's partners as well. Servicing stack update. Though it's technically not part of SP2, it's worth pointing out that a servicing stack update (KB9. Windows Vista before SP2 is installed. Available now as a separate update for Windows Vista, Windows Search 4. Group Policy support, and the ability to index encrypted files. Bluetooth 2. 1 support. Also available now as a separate update called the Windows Vista Feature Pack for Wireless, this update supports the latest version of the Bluetooth wireless standard. Blu- Ray data disc writing. With SP2, you can natively write to Blu- Ray data discs from the Vista shell. Microsoft developed the Extended FAT, or ex. FAT, file system as a more modern file system for flash devices such as USB storage. SP2 utilizes Windows Connect Now (WCN) technologies to simplify Wi- Fi configurations (this functionality is also available now as part of the Windows Vista Feature Pack for Wireless). Wi- Fi connection performance is also improved when resuming from Sleep mode. VIA 6. 4- bit support. With SP2, Windows Vista now supports 6. VIA microprocessors. Power management improvements. The default power management policies are approximately 1. Microsoft. RSS Feed gadget improvements. The Feed Headlines gadget for Windows Sidebar has been updated for better responsiveness and performance. Windows Media Center. Microsoft has improved the performance of protected TV content in Windows Media Center. Service Pack clean- up. Finally, SP2 will come with a Service Pack Clean- up tool (compcln. RTM- and SP1- based files that have been replaced by SP2. This can save disk space, of course, but can also be used to reduce the size of future install images. Updates that apply to Windows Server 2. In addition to the changes noted above, some SP2 changes are Server- specific. For example, while the original shipping version of Windows Server 2. Hyper- V virtualization solution, with SP2, the final shipping version of Hyper- V 1. SP2 also cleans up some Terminal Server license keys issues. How SP2 will be delivered. As with other recent Windows service packs, SP2 will ship in three main versions, one that is downloaded to individual machines via Windows Update and two standalone installers that are provided to system administrators so that they can deploy SP2 to multiple machines. The Windows Update download will vary in size according to which updates are already installed on the client machine; this can range from a minimum of 4. MB to a maximum of 9. MB, depending on your configuration. One or two reboots will be required during installation. SP2 will be delivered via Windows Update as an optional update at first. After that first phase, it will appear on Automatic Updates (AU), again as an optional update. Eventually, Microsoft will make SP2 available more prominently. As always, businesses that wish to prevent SP2 from being offered to client machines can install an SP2 Blocking Tool, which will work for 1 year from the general availability of SP2. The smaller of the two, which supports 5 core languages (English, German, Spanish, French, and Japanese), weighs in at about 3. MB for the x. 86 (3. MB for the x. 64 version. The complete version, which supports 3. MB and 6. 22 MB, respectively. The 3. 6- language version of SP2 will trail the release of the other version by several weeks. The standalone installers work with both Windows Vista and Server 2. Additionally, the standalone installers include a pre- installation analyzer that will block SP2 installation or warn the user if an incompatible driver is detected. Note: Remember that Windows Vista/Server 2. SP2 requires that SP1 be installed first. Microsoft will not be providing a rollup version of SP2 that includes all SP1 updates, primarily because such an update would be too large. Going forward, Microsoft will of course integrate SP2 into Windows Vista and Windows Server 2. Setup DVDs. These integrated DVDs will be made available to customers via MSDN and Tech. Net subscriptions, via volume license media kits, and will ship with new PCs. Windows Vista with Service Pack 2. Availability. If you're interested in testing SP2 and aren't on the technical beta, Microsoft should be making the RC1 version available via MSDN and Tech. Net soon. If you do install a prerelease version of SP2, you will need to uninstall it before installing the final release. You can uninstall SP2 via the Program and Features control panel; to do so, check View Installed Updates and search for Service Pack for Microsoft Windows (KB9. Final thoughts. Microsoft notes that organizations and individuals interested in running Windows Vista (and Windows Server 2. Service Pack 2 (SP2) update before moving ahead. This is good advice as SP2 does not appreciably change the Windows Vista experience in any measurable way in my experience. But that said, SP2 fulfills the requirements of a traditional service pack by aggregating previously- shipped updates into a single, easily deployable package that does not disrupt or dramatically change day- to- day use. With that in mind, SP2 is exactly what it should be, and appears to be of the high quality we've come to expect from Microsoft service packs. An edited portion of this article originally appeared in the February 2. Windows IT Pro UPDATE.
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