Vista SP1 public beta to hit in December?

Speed boost or no, all of you clamoring for some hot Vista SP1 action will be able to get a beta-style fix in December, according to ZDNet. Apparently "selected testers" will get a release candidate in the first week of the month, with general availability to come the week after. ZDNet says the current SP1 build being tested is 17051, but it's not clear whether that's the version to be released or not. Like all things SP1, looks like we'll just have to wait and see.

[Via Download Squad]

[Tony @ Nov 30th 2007 12:22PM]

Tomorrow, December?

[Matthew Hilario @ Nov 30th 2007 12:23PM]

selected testers or guinea pigs?

[zebcarlson2007 @ Nov 30th 2007 12:33PM]

No one uses Vista anyway. Give me Xp SP3!

[strider_mt2k @ Nov 30th 2007 12:44PM]

I don't know about nobody using Vista, but I DO eagerly await XP SP3!

Big time!

[Electromodo @ Nov 30th 2007 1:35PM]

@zebcarlson2007

You all will have Vista next time you buy a PC. I know, there is OEM XP option still, but wait a bit longer... you all will be Vista adopters... Resistance is futile... Buwahahaha... ;)

I myself hope to have XP on my computers for as long as possible ;)

[tylerdille @ Nov 30th 2007 2:47PM]

Yea, Apple released its first update to Leopard, OS 10.5.1 a few weeks ago.

[Teetdogs @ Nov 30th 2007 3:19PM]

@ Sebatian

What the hell does that have to do with vista SP1? Oh yeah nothing go home apple fanboi

[The Blotch @ Nov 30th 2007 3:57PM]

Um, get a Dell? (or Asus, Apple, Everex, Lenovo/IBM, etc.)

[The Blotch @ Dec 1st 2007 4:28AM]

Oops. Meant to say @Electromodo.

[Daemonios @ Nov 30th 2007 12:48PM]

When's Leopard SP1 coming out? :P

[DonatoM3 @ Nov 30th 2007 12:58PM]

Next Time Apple needs to collect $150 from each of it's customers.

[Sebastien @ Nov 30th 2007 3:08PM]

It was released a few weeks ago!

Apple is always ahead of Microsoft :p

[Maestro @ Nov 30th 2007 12:57PM]

What's the rush for XP SP3? XP SP2 is a very stable platform regardless of all the BSOD jokes.

[Michael Scrivo @ Nov 30th 2007 1:35PM]

If for nothing else than to rollout the myrid of patches that has come out after SP2.

[Mickey Jones @ Nov 30th 2007 2:24PM]

Because "3" is a magic number!

-- Schoolhouse Rock

[Hax Or @ Nov 30th 2007 1:02PM]

XP runs fine. You don't need SP3.

Vista has strange problems... booting for instance. SP1 is needed for Vista!

[Ellianth @ Nov 30th 2007 2:32PM]

what booting problem do you have?

[Ashraf @ Nov 30th 2007 9:24PM]

I LOVE HOW FAST VISTA BOOTS to my desktop! as soon as im on, i can go instantly to firefox and the internet is there (wifi) it says it isnt connected, but it really is. that is one of the many problems in Vista.

I heard XP SP3 is much faster than SP2.

[Andrew Campbell @ Mar 7th 2008 3:59PM]

@Ashraf
You must have one heck of a setup for Vista to be that fast. On 2GB of RAM and a 256 NVIDIA graphics card, Vista acts like a slug when under a small amount of strain on my computers.

[Speedmonkay @ Nov 30th 2007 1:16PM]

Hopefully they improved it alot.
I got my hands on the first beta of Vista SP1. It FUBARed my machine. I had to wipe the drive and reinstall everything. I love Vista and have been awaiting all the great improvements SP1 is supposed to bring (that should have been there to begin with but thats a whole other story) but am deathly afraid of a repeat from the last time I tried applying the SP.

[fourthletter @ Nov 30th 2007 1:38PM]

About time indeed, hopefully this will do for vista what took M$ til service pack 2 to do for XP.

On the subject of Leopard, I use XP, Vista & Leopard.
10.5.1 was a bug fix and it didn't fix all the WIFI bugs or all the SMB networking bugs so don't wave from a semi-sinking ship.
10.5 was no easy ride either, I just assume Apple will beat M$'s time of 1 year til a SP fix.

[roach @ Nov 30th 2007 2:50PM]

Uhmm...Vista is fixed. Just get the latest update. I been running two lappy for almost a year and about to switch my home system to Vista. An un-updated Vista IS buggy...get the latest update. Vista SP1 gives speed boost. Leopard is still buggy with Apple's latest update...damn, check out all the complaint at Apple forum.

[fourthletter @ Nov 30th 2007 8:10PM]

I've been running Vista since last Oct on my dual core laptop and on my home media center and I know beyond shadow of a doubt that they are both still buggy.
Bluetooth modem support only got fixed a matter of weeks ago (meaning bluetooth was "buggy" for a year after launch) and system performance problems ARE BUGS.
Vista was supposed to give a faster desktop and explorer compared to XP since the GFX card are doing the work, they really don't so please don't preach about vista being perfect, if it was perfect there wouldn't be a service pack coming.

[fourthletter @ Dec 1st 2007 3:15PM]

Also fancy explaining why my full updated bug-free Vista crashes during startup , recovers then sync center has to close, i open task manager and finally everything settles down.
SP1 is bring a new kernel, which is probably whats so buggy about vista now.

To all people who identify themselves with their choice of OS or machine, WISE UP a tool is a tool use whichever suits you.
Fanboys suck ass

[BigDaddyM @ Nov 30th 2007 2:42PM]

I have Vista one one of my machines and it is terrible. Way too many clicks to continue, and yet last night I still got hit with a virus, yet my XP machine is rock stable.

I am egarly waiting for SP1 for Vista, I just hope they actually make improvements instead of enhancemnets.

for al the jokes, XP SP2 was very welcomed, I just wished that Vista really improved on XP inste3ad of try so many new things that didn't add to teh user experience.

I like Leopard (Not production ready IMHO but better than Vista) because it makes GUI type updates that help the user, things like quick look is very cool. I feel Vista was a step back, worst than Windows ME!
M

[Mark Richardson @ Nov 30th 2007 2:58PM]

"Speed boost or no"
Heh, Nilay still in denial from the spat with me over the previous two articles. Notice how the word "no" is linked to the article where the only evidence ever suggesting there will be no speed boost is Nilay's fictitious statement that "[SP1] certainly won't speed things up". Classic!

[Hotwings @ Nov 30th 2007 3:13PM]

V iruses
I intruders
S spyware
T rojans
A dware

[Tony @ Nov 30th 2007 4:09PM]

F at
A sshole
N uisance
B ug
O ld
I diot

[DAZA @ Nov 30th 2007 5:16PM]

Hotwings has been flagged for death.

[Hotwings @ Dec 2nd 2007 1:08PM]

Don't worry DAZA, Tony's just describing himself.

[Teetdogs @ Nov 30th 2007 3:22PM]

Why is it that everytime there is a story about a MS product you apple fanbois have to jump in and make some comment about Apple why not just leave it alone, I would like to read comments by people that actualy have something constructive to say without having to weed through youre pointless fucking comments about apple and their new os it drives me fucking crazy.

[js @ Nov 30th 2007 3:34PM]

Engadget is a concentration camp for Apple zealots, can't you tell?

Always have, always been.

[Teetdogs @ Nov 30th 2007 3:37PM]

I realize that, I usually dont go out of my way to say something but for some reason today it just pushed me over the edge. Hopefully I dont run into an apple fanboi in reality today or tomorrows headline will be "Engadget Reader Jailed for Mass Fanboy Massacre"

[fourthletter @ Dec 1st 2007 3:18PM]

if Engadget was a consentration camp for mac zelots then obviously engadget would be gasing all the mac zelots to death.
Go figure this old logic lark eh ?

[apeguero @ Nov 30th 2007 3:25PM]

Vista has been pretty good for me so far while running it in Boot Camp and through VM Ware. Does anyone know if this SP1 will stop all of those irritating balloon messages I get about activating my copy of Vista while using it in VM Ware?

[Teetdogs @ Nov 30th 2007 3:26PM]

No it wont, try activating it or buying a legit copy.

[snitch @ Nov 30th 2007 3:43PM]

its a shame how XP its better than vista that just came out. I use XP and Leopard on a Mac and Also have a new Hp laptop with 2Gb of Ram running Vista and from the time I hit the power button, it takes like 5 mitunes to boot up completly, Xp takes less than a minute on my Mac and also has never crash, what's up with that? Maybe some of the problems are not just microsoft related, and pc manufactures are to blame

[LTM @ Nov 30th 2007 4:23PM]

32 seconds of boot time to get to the desktop, 14 more seconds to get the internet notification icon to go from X to available; using a Dell M1330 2.0 centrino duo with 2GB of Ram.....no vista problem issues to speak of either. All I did was tweak the number of processes running, used vista manager and vista smoker pro to get rid of all the things that irritated me. Either HP is doing something seriously wrong with Vista or something is buggered up with your installation.

[roach @ Nov 30th 2007 4:47PM]

Two laptop running vista. one is 1.1 ghz 1.5mg the other is 1 mg...both runs awesome. You're running it on a Mac, I can see the reason why you're having problem. But then again, even apple who makes their own OS and system is also having issue with Imacs. Now lets see Apple make an OS that will work on thousand and thousand of different configuration...they wouldn't even dare!

[snitch @ Dec 1st 2007 1:34AM]

No am not having problems with my Mac, am having problems with this new hp laptop that takes forever to boot up having 2gb of ram. My mac runs windows Xp and leopard with just 1 gb or ram am have not had a single problem but this new vista thing really sucks I like ebaying it sometimes, maybe if something new comes out at macworld this year I'll get rid of it for good

[Tony @ Nov 30th 2007 4:16PM]

Wow.

Does anyone ever read what they type?

[Tony @ Nov 30th 2007 4:17PM]

Opps, meant as a reply to BigDaddyM.

Ignore and press the red button.

[TheCow5 @ Nov 30th 2007 4:51PM]

I don't know why ppl keep attacking Vista. I've running it on a laptop and home PC and I have yet to experience any problems.
I will agree it does hog resource, and its quit bloted and far too expencive but as far as speed and security its quite nice.
I belive if you place it on a PC that ran xp it would not run as xp did but if you were to build a fastr system it's quite fast.

[ssuk @ Nov 30th 2007 5:51PM]

Currently running Vista SP1 Beta 17042 (which is the latest, as I installed it from Windows Update about an hour ago) and I'm now actually enjoying using Vista now. The file transfer problems I was having before with Vista are gone (about time) and the control panel no longer takes 20 seconds to list all the items in it... Some items still take a while to appear, but most are there insantly.

I do wish though, that while on the Administrator account there'd be a tick box on the program alert dialogue that had something like "Never ask again for this program". I keep having to allow my firewall permission to run it's updater every boot up... Why isn't there an option to automatically allow that program administrative privalages after I've told it to allow it once? It's highly annoying. =/

[fourthletter @ Nov 30th 2007 9:13PM]

Glad to hear it made it difference and it fixed all the "bugs" I imagined.

[iofthestorm @ Dec 1st 2007 3:10PM]

If you live in the Silicon Valley, you might want to check this out:
http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsvista/archive/2007/11/19/silicon-valley-install-fair.aspx
Basically they install the beta of SP1 on your machine (you bring it there, they have monitors) and they see how it goes, and give you a free Office 2007 for your troubles. Unfortunately it's Dec 8/9 and I won't be able to go those days, or else I'd go check it out. They want to test it on multiple configurations to see how it reacts to the different software on people's computers.

[Technex @ Dec 1st 2007 3:11PM]

Yes! Finally SP1 for Vista!

[jm @ Dec 1st 2007 8:49PM]

Ummm, When i run this will i see

1) Starting Vista SP1
2) Deleting All traces of Vista
4) Install XP
5) Service Pack Completed....
6) Have a nice day.

[Gregory Krause @ Dec 10th 2007 5:49PM]

when can i have this?