Microsoft lets loose Vista SP1 for x64-based systems
By Donald Melanson 
posted February 21st 2008 12:26PM
posted February 21st 2008 12:26PM
Not a whole lot to say here, but if you're running Vista on an x64-based system, you've probably already noticed a little surprise courtesy of Windows Update, which today started pushing out the x64 edition of Vista Service Pack 1. If you've been following things in SP1 land, you'll notice that's actually ahead of the neat and tidy Windows Update launch for non-x64 systems, but behind the unofficial options already available. On the upside, that should mean that all the bugs have been ironed out, but you can never be too careful, so take all your usual pre-update precautions and let us know how it all works out in the comments below.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
and still doesn't see SP1.... damn it MSFT
The update isn't showing up for me. Have all the updates that are available (including all optionals), checked windows update multiple times, have Vista Business x64.
Perhaps it's somehow blocked at my school (doubtful, but possible perhaps?) I'll check again when I get home.
my update does not show SP1. I have vista ultimate x64... Any idea.............
If it was posted onto Windows Update as a accident... and they removed it. Shame on MSFT.
Where are you getting the info roy? Is it confirmed that I missed it by mere hours? (Oh the humanity!)
no no no... i don't know... i just said "IF" and i think they probly did... i need to call up some friends of mine at MS and ask... XD
Wasn't released by accident. I am in Redmond and I got it ;)
Yeah, so Intel PROSET adapter teams do not work in Vista SP1.... WTF?!?!?! Little faster and smoother, less ram usage at 18% of 8GB idle.
still not showing up after over 30 Check for Update Clicks... still nothing... WTF MSFT
MS has pulled the update off.
http://www.tcmagazine.info/comments.php?shownews=18279&catid=6
If I'm not mistaken that site is talking about the pre-requisite update for SP1, which was pulled yesterday. The question then remains, how is it people are reporting they can install SP1 today? Perhaps it is no longer a pre-req? Was it re-posted?
neal, thanks for the info... were those supposed to be two different steps or two different methods? anyways i did that... and my pc went through the whole 1... 2...3... uninstalled and the update is no longer in the folder but my desktop still has "windows vista(TM) Evalutation copy. Build 6000"... so im not sure what to do, besides google, which is what i am doing now
It was 2 different methods to get to the same thing, just pick whichever you like :)
Have Ultimate x64 and it is not showing up in Windows Update.
Well their promise of file performance improvements seems to be true. I timed how long it took to unarchive a 1.45GB zip file (6.4GB unarchived, 2043 folders, 41113 files, mix of large and small files) using the built-in tools.
Vista 64 took 2h43m and Vista SP1 64 took 22m!
For a comparison of teh same zip file on different OSs:
WinXP: ~47m
Vista 64 bit: ~2h43m
Vista SP1 64 bit: ~22m
MacOS 10.5.1*: 3m22s
MacOS 10.5.1**: 3m56s
Ubuntu 7.10: ~15m
WinXP & Vista: 2.4Ghz Core Duo 2, 4Gig DDR2 800 Ram, Seagate 500GB SATA 2 7200 RPM drive (ST3500630AS)
*MacOS 10.5.1 : 2.8GHz Intel Core Duo 2, 4Gig DDR2 667 Ram, Seagate 750GB SATA 2 7200 PRM drive (ST3750640AS Q)
**MacOS 10.5.1 : 2GHz Intel Core Duo 2, 2Gig DDR2 667 Ram, Seagate 750GB SATA 1 7200 PRM drive (ST375064AS)
Ubuntu 7.10: Athlon 64 3800, 1Gig DDR 400, IBM 75GB PATA 7200 RPM drive (IBM-DTLA-307075)
Slight correction; the second iMac was a 2Ghz Core Duo, not a CoreDuo 2.
Well all is not perfect in file performance: Copying the extracted folder (Control-C/Control-V) took 7m in Vista 64 and 9m in Vista SP1 64. I don't think it's fragmentation as I defragged the drive before the test.
I'd be interested to know if anyone has gotten SP1 started in the last hour or so, or if everyone is hitting the same it-doesn't-show-up wall.
make sure u guys get the preriquisite update that was pulled, i think maybe thats y ur not seeing the SP1 update. Heres the link to the stand alone version that installs just fine.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=54235949-b5db-4fe2-a841-ef938217b285&displaylang=en
Amazingly, I already had that update. Must have gotten it when I got the other updates (which didn't include SP1) an hour or so ago.
Just did a clean install of Vista x64 Ultimate, and this update was stalled automatically by WU. Still don't see SP1, though..
I have windows vista 64 on AMD Turion but have no luck when i did the update refresh... what gives?
Have they released a stand-alone x64 installer for slipstreaming?
It took just under an hour to download and install, with no problems what so ever. Not sure yet what has been all updated but plan to check it out after work.
Just installed on my new HP dv6700t SE w/ Vista Ultimate.
I blazed through the install in less than 30 minutes with no errors or failures. Could be that my machine is so new (last week) that the install is so clean it was an easy upgrade.
Explanation for less than 30 minute install? Intel Core 2 Duo Penryn T9300 2.5ghz.
Thats my guess anyway.
Everything seems stable, haven't read up on what it was supposed to fix exactly though.
Yeah it showed up for me earlier but I didn't download it. I backed everything up and now it's not showing up so they must have pulled it.
It says this when I look at the details for the update:
Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) Beta is an update to Windows Vista that addresses key feedback from our customers. Windows Vista SP1 Beta addresses specific reliability and performance issues, supports new types of hardware and adds support for several emerging standards. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.
Is this really the final SP1?
After installing, my system properties indicates I am now on SP1, but it does not indicate its a beta...
...interesting.
Here's a screenshot - http://www.derekvanoss.com/sp1shot.jpg
I'm back home and SP1 still isn't showing up. Checked multiple times, have the pre-reqs, don't know why I'm not getting it.
im running vista 64 bits and windows updater isnt saying anything about sp1 update. any ideas why?
Yeah i am on Vista 64 Ultimate, i was running the beta SP1 from a few weeks ago and just uninstalled it so i could install this supposed "final" SP1, but its not showing up in Updates?? It must be gone like DarkNeo pointed out...
I havent seen it yet.
Im on an evaluation version though, as I dont get my license from WFP for another week or so.
Link to PDF about what SP1 is supposed to improve - http://download.microsoft.com/download/f/4/a/f4a35b2b-2f62-4104-a3e6-5f7bc1318e9f/Notable%20changes%20in%20Windows%20Vista%20SP1.pdf
I found a feature. Automatic switching of Power Profiles for mobile devices. Automatic switching to PowerSaver when on battery, and then switching to the profile you were on before when plugged in. This is a feature I was hoping for.
Confirmation of the disappearance of this update: apparently it has indeed been pulled, see. http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=1364
Quoting from the post by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes: "Since releasing SP1 to manufacturing on February 4th, we have made Windows Vista SP1 available to beta testers, MSDN and TechNet Plus subscribers, as well as Volume Licensing customers. Today, a build of SP1 was posted to Windows Update and it was inadvertently made available to a broad group. The build was intended only for our more technically advanced testers, and was meant to only be offered to those with a specific registry key set on their PC. For general availability, we are still planning to make SP1 broadly available in the mid-March timeframe." -pgk
I simply un-installed the RC, rebooted, installed 8 new updates, rebooted, installed SP1 and, yup, rebooted. This was late last night(11pm PST)so I don't know when they "pulled" it. It does seem snappier this morning but that could be my Stumptown coffee talking ;)
Not a native speaker. Either way, he may have 'pulled it' out of his rear end, but looking at the comments it does seem that few if any people were able to download this some time after 3.30pm PST. Not sure how you got your hands on it - different time zone perhaps? -pgk
Well, I should admit I could cry on this. During the first week of February, my x64 computer died (and I can trace the cause down to my motherboard, an ASUS A8N-SLI Premium, because I tested my 600-W power supply, my AMD Athlon x2 4200+, my Ultra DDR400 DIMMs and my hard drive with a different A8N-SLI motherboard and they worked fine) and I had missed two full weeks of computer fun until I got my hands on ASUS' very last AMD64 mobo based on NVIDIA nForce chipset, the M2N32-SLI Deluxe, which of course required an AM2 CPU and DDR2 DIMMs (so I coupled it with an Athlon x2 5600+ and a pair of Corsair DDR2-800 DIMMs) and also required me to re-install Windows Vista from scratch (because it was based on nForce 590 and not nForce 4 as my dead A8N-SLI). I had all Windows Updates prior to February 3 2008 saved on a secondary hard drive, including the SP1 prerequisite that dealt with BitLocker (yes, my Vista is x64 Ultimate), so I decided to install all the updates at once without re-fetching them from the internet. I had to manually download and install the two other SP1 prerequisites because somehow my Windows Update control panel tool was failing to check for new updates because it first required installing an update for .NET Framework 3.0 (necessary for installing .NET 3.5 and Visual Studio 2008) before it would start searching for any other necessary updates, and the .NET update failed to install for unknown reasons every time. Now that I manually installed the two SP1 prereq updates from the Download Ctr, .NET Framework 3.5 installed without hassles. Now let's see if Windows Update is able to connect again and see what other updates did I miss during these two weeks of total, grieveous unconnectivity. Let's see if SP1 x64 is still available from Windows Update, even though I would still prefer to download the full 600+MB installer.