Microsoft Vista Service Pack 1 (RC1) has been made publically available. A huge number of updates are included in this service pack and complete list of these updates (and deployment guides for,overviews of, changes to and enterprise guideance for) Microsoft Vista SP1 can be found here .

The installation of Windows Vista SP1 RC1 (which can be downloaded here does sound a little complicated, but does break down into a few steps. Microsoft provide two methods for installing the software:

Method 1: Automatic Update

You can install Windows Vista SP1 RC using the Automatic Update process by following these steps.

• Save the included SP1cppRK.cmd script to your machine.


• Right-click on the script and select Run as administrator. The script will set a registry key on your machine that allows Windows Update to offer Windows Vista SP1 RC to your machine.


• From the Windows Update control panel, select Change settings.


• Verify that Install updates automatically (recommended) is selected. This enables the Automatic Update feature to download and install the prerequisite updates and service pack automatically.


• Windows Update Automatic Update will automatically update your machine over the next several days with the prerequisites updates. When the service pack has downloaded a pop-up notification will inform you that updates are ready to be installed. You must click on this notification and choose to install the service pack at this point. The service pack will not silently or automatically install itself.

Method 2: Manual Installation using Windows Update

To intall Windows Vista SP1 RC as quickly as possible, follow the steps below.

• Save the included SP1cppRK.cmd script to your machine.


• Right-click on the script and select Run as administrator. The script will set a registry key on your machine that allows Windows Update to offer Windows Vista SP1 RC to your machine.


• Windows Update Automatic Update will automatically update your machine over the next several days with the prerequisites updates provided you have the Windows Update Automatic Update feature enabled. When the service pack has downloaded a pop-up notification will inform you that updates are ready to be installed. You must click on this notification and choose to install the service pack at this point. The service pack will not silently or automatically install itself.


• To manually install the service pack, start by installing all Important updates applicable to your system and the prerequisite updates. You may have to repeat this several times to fully update your system by opening the Windows Update control panel and selecting Check for updates. Note: If your system is managed by a administrator and has a Windows Server Updates Services (WSUS) server for updates, you need to use the Check online for updates option of the Windows Update control panel. If this option is not available, your administrator may have disabled this functionality.


• If you have Windows Vista Ultimate or Windows Vista Enterprise, Update for Windows Vista (KB935509) should be in this list. If you have any other version, Update for Windows Vista (KB938371) should be in this list. Install these updates and reboot your machine when prompted.


• If you do not have Windows Vista Ultimate or Windows Vista Enterprise Update for Windows Vista (KB938371) should be in the list first and Update for Windows Vista (KB935509) is not required. Note: If you reboot and immediately check for updates you may not see all updates. This may be caused by the installer service completing the installation of the prior update. Please wait 5-10 minutes and check for updates again.


• Install Update for Windows Vista (KB937287). Update for Windows Vista (KB937287) does not require a reboot.


• Wait for 10-15 minutes before checking for updates again to enable the installer to complete its installation.


• Check for updates again and install Service Pack for Windows (KB936330).

Once you have finished installing Windows Vista SP1 RC1 there will be a couple of changes tot he desktop, the phrase "Evaluation copy. Build 6001" are added to the desktop to indicate that you are running the SP1 RC1 build and a shortcut named "How to share feedback" will appear.