Windows Vista SP1 near-final release available to the public

Microsoft has unleashed a release candidate for Vista's Service Pack 1. The download was initially only available for a selected group of beta testers last week, but is now available for the public.

 

According to a Microsoft representative, the current build includes a number of bugs that testers have encountered in the previous pre-release versions of SP1.

However, there are a few prerequisite updates that are needed to install the release candidate SP1 for Vista:

• KB935509 This updates is only required on Windows Vista Enterprise and Windows Vista Ultimate editions (which have Bitlocker capabilities).
• KB938371 This update consists of fixes for several components (including the TrustedInstaller), increases the success rate for installing the service pack and enables the service pack to be uninstalled successfully.
• KB937287 This is an update to the “Servicing Stack” or the Windows Vista component installer technologies built into Windows Vista.

Microsoft confirmed this week that:

“In the interest of gaining additional tester feedback, on Thursday, we made the Windows Vista SP1 RC Refresh available via Windows Update to interested beta testers on the public TechNet site. We are still on schedule to deliver SP1 RTM in Q1 CY08. The final release date is based on quality, so we will continue to track customer and partner feedback from the beta program before setting a final date.”

Windows XP SP3 is due in the first half of 2008, according to the company.