Getting ready for Windows Vista Service Pack1 - RECOMMENDATION TO WAIT

Good Afternoon,

On February 4, Microsoft released the long-awaited Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1). At this time SP1 is available only to MSDN, TechNet subscribers and Volume License customers. According to Microsoft, SP1 will be available to the general public in mid-March via a Windows Update and the Microsoft Download Center.

Information Services and Technology (IS&T) is in the process of evaluating

SP1 for use in the MIT environment. As a precautionary step, IS&T is issuing a RECOMMENDATION TO WAIT before proceeding with SP1 installation.

In the meantime, IS&T also recommends that Departments, Labs and Centers

(DLCs) test SP1 in their own environments. To support this effort, IS&T is in the process of mailing Vista Enterprise with SP1 media to DLC software liaisons. IS&T WAUS server, win.mit.edu domain, and software download page

will not provide SP1 until later this Spring.

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NOTABLE FEATURES

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SPI is the first major update to the Vista operating system since its initial release in 2007 and includes many new enhancements and improvements, such as:

- security improvements

- faster copying of files across networks

- faster wake-up times from sleep or hibernation modes

- power consumption improvements

For more details on Vista SP1 please visit SP1 Release Notebook <http://web.mit.edu/swrt/releases/vista-sp1/>. You will also find a test matrix of major IS&T software packages on the Release Notebook site.

For an overview of Vista SP1 see:

<http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=39B802EA-B2CF-4585

-8CEA-2CC6A6247CB3&displaylang=en>

To see Vista SP1 Release notes visit:

<http://support.microsoft.com/kb/936330>

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HOW TO INSTALL

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Installing SP1 requires careful planning and preparation.

- Make sure that you have a full backup of your system and data before proceeding with installation of SP1

- Allocate enough time (at least two hours) for completing the installation.

Please note that you cannot use your PC during this time, it will take up to three reboots during installation process.