Windows Vista Service Pack description
Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is now available!

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is an update to Windows Vista that addresses key feedback from our customers. SP1 addresses specific reliability and performance issues, supports new types of hardware, and adds support for several emerging standards.

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) is an update to Windows Vista that addresses feedback from our customers. In addition to previously released updates, SP1 will contain changes focused on addressing specific reliability, performance, and compatibility issues; supporting new types of hardware; and adding support for several emerging standards. SP1 also will continue to make it easier for IT administrators to deploy and manage Windows Vista.

Windows Vista has become the fastest-selling operating system in history, with more than 100 million licenses sold—and counting. If you haven’t tried Windows Vista yet, it’s time to give the operating system a look for yourself. Windows Vista is already delivering tangible benefits to customers. For example, it can help enterprises better control costs and optimize their desktop infrastructures and help mid-sized businesses improve their security, mobility, and productivity. Windows Vista can also help small businesses spend less time managing their information technology (IT) infrastructures. IT professionals already benefit from Windows Vista by more effectively managing computers, and consumers are better able to open their digital lives.

Windows Vista is also more secure than earlier versions of the Windows operating system. For example, Windows Vista had fewer security vulnerabilities in its first 12 months than Windows XP in its first 12 months. In the first half of 2007, Windows Defender detected 60 percent fewer malware and spyware infections on Windows Vista than on computers running Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2).

Windows Vista and Windows Live made major advancements in the way people interact with technology, connect with each other, and maintain a more secure and safe computing environment. From the new security model to support for new kinds of devices to a new generation of rich Web services and applications, business and consumers find it easier and safer to use Windows and can be more productive than ever before.

People are communicating, sharing, and experiencing Windows to its full extent and are delighted with the enhanced features of Windows Vista combined with Windows Live. Windows Vista introduced major progress but also some challenges. While Microsoft knows that may Windows Vista users are having positive experience with Windows Vista, the experience was not smooth for everyone using it. For some, the applications and devices they used with Windows XP no longer worked with Windows Vista, frustrating them.

In the year that followed, Microsoft listened to its customers and along with its partners has made great progress in addressing Windows Vista compatibility issues. Now, with Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1), the Windows Vista experience gets even better. SP1 improves the reliability, performance, and security of Windows Vista. For example, SP1 provides faster file copying, large file handling, and file decompression. SP1 also adds support for emerging technologies and standards and helps enterprises better optimize their IT infrastructures.

The release of Windows Vista SP1 enables customers to take advantage of improvements that Microsoft and its partners developed. It’s a continuation of Microsoft’s and its partners’ drive to provide the best experience possible. The goal is to address key feedback that Microsoft has received from customers without regressing application compatibility. SP1 delivers improvements and enhancements to existing features that significantly affect customers, but it does not deliver substantial new operating system features. For example, the service pack improves file-copy performance but does not include a new version of Windows Explorer.