Most Popular
| Top Stories | Commented | Featured |
Weekend Open Forum: Google Chrome OS and the future of cloud computing featured
Tech Tip of the Week: Unearth Region-Specific Windows 7 Themes featured
Google previews its upcoming Chrome OS
Mozilla reveals 2008 revenue, rumors say Firefox coming to PS3
Sony: PlayStation 3 to be 3D-capable via firmware update
Xbox Live bans prompt class action lawsuit
TechSpot RSSMicrosoft
Microsoft releases Windows Vista SP2 RC to the public
As expected, Microsoft has put the release candidates for Windows Vista and Server 2008 SP2 up on its website for public consumption. The service pack brings with it a number of changes and bug fixes, including support for Blu-ray disc burning and Bluetooth 2.1 as well as simpler Wi-Fi setup and Windows Search 4.0. For the server version, on the other hand, it offers the Hyper-V virtualization environment as a free fully integrated feature along with improved management options and various fixes.
Anybody hoping to tinker with the almost final version of Service Pack 2 can download it today from Microsoft's website in both 32-bit and 64-bit flavors – note that you will need to uninstall any beta versions first and have SP1 running. Microsoft has not confirmed a shipping date for the final version of SP2, though some speculate it will arrive as soon as next month.
Anybody hoping to tinker with the almost final version of Service Pack 2 can download it today from Microsoft's website in both 32-bit and 64-bit flavors – note that you will need to uninstall any beta versions first and have SP1 running. Microsoft has not confirmed a shipping date for the final version of SP2, though some speculate it will arrive as soon as next month.
Related Stories
User Comments (9)
Post a comment| supersmashbrada on March 5, 2009 11:01 AM | Honestly I'm scared to touch this thing with a 10 foot stick.
|
| yukka on March 5, 2009 11:48 AM | hmm yeah my sp1 installation at home is working fine and i dont want to kill it.. we will be testing it at work though.
|
| tengeta on March 5, 2009 4:37 PM | Really, other than people who have no clue or experience with what they are talking about, is the problem with Vista right now? Its beating XP in terms of stability, performance, and looks at the same time. Its been that way for me since I've used SP1... and I've been blown away at how 7 kills XP and Vista in all aspects.
|
| avoidz on March 5, 2009 6:58 PM | @tengeta - millions of PC users and businesses worldwide say otherwise. Vista does *not* beat XP in performance on PC hardware not capable of running Vista in its best configuration. There are a *lot* of PCs operating with specs below Vista's needs.
|
| PanicX on March 6, 2009 12:35 AM | Originally posted by tengeta: Really, other than people who have no clue or experience with what they are talking about, is the problem with Vista right now? It's still incompatible with Windows 2003 Small Business Server client setup. Its beating XP in terms of stability, performance, and looks at the same time. Its been that way for me since I've used SP1... and I've been blown away at how 7 kills XP and Vista in all aspects. It's still lacking drivers for HP 1000 series laserjets and other printers. It's now reporting errors with Quickbooks Enterprise 2007 R11. It bluescreens when transferring files on network shares when Kaspersky Antivirus is installed. I had one machine enter an endless rebooting cycle after a .NET Framework 3.5 patch failed, couldn't even access safe mode. There's more than I care to list here and the list grows every week. And with Windows 7 carrying almost all the same problems, magic 8 ball says the outlook is bleak.
|
| trinitibt on March 6, 2009 12:47 AM | People kill me. It is amazing how people overlook the obvious. XP took a long time to become the XP that it is today. It was a nightmare moving to XP when it first came out. I must admit that this was not the case with Vista. Things went perfectly smooth for me and my clients transitions to Vista Ultimate 32 and 64bits. We find them to be awesome and rock solid for both business and personal use. Even to the point that I had new found respect for MS. Vista SP1 was even better. The same with XP SP2 and XP SP3. Major OSes typically find their legs around SP2. Unfortunately, we just have to weather the storm until they get things where they need to be. With Win7 though we will all have a head start since the core of the OS is relatively the same as Vista. This should be their best, fastest, most stable OS release ever. I honestly can't wait until the RTM hits so we can make the switch.
|
| fullmetalvegan on March 6, 2009 8:19 AM | "It bluescreens when transferring files on network shares when Kaspersky Antivirus is installed. " Doesn't do that for me, so it can't be Vista alone that's the cause of your bluescreens.
|
| PanicX on March 6, 2009 2:12 PM | Originally posted by fullmetalvegan: "It bluescreens when transferring files on network shares when Kaspersky Antivirus is installed. " It's a known issue, Kaspersky has a workaround hereDoesn't do that for me, so it can't be Vista alone that's the cause of your bluescreens. http://usa.kaspersky.com/support/corporate-support.php?selected_faq_id=208279495&selected_product_id=&selected_topic_id= Microsoft has an article here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/177078 I call it a vista issue because it's occuring on 2 vista machines out of 3 in a network with 15 xp machines, all running the same software. These 2 machines BSOD with "IRP STACK SIZE TOO SMALL" on file transfers to network shares when Kaspersky AV is installed. Uninstalling the AV corrects the problem. Increasing the IRPStackSize doesn't. Sure you can blame the AV here too, but it works perfect on the XP stations, just one more incompatibility for Vista.
|
| yukka on March 6, 2009 2:38 PM | There arent HP Laserjet 1000 series drivers available for Vista? Well no I guess not but those piece of **** printers should be binned  Okay so maybe thats based on my experience of the 1010, 1012 and 1015 all causing spooler errors in Vista but since my University went to Vista and we stopped supporting XP, those printers are the bane of my life - a recommendation to get shiny new 1515n printers is preferable to the hours spent trying to keep the spooler from crashing.. Anyway, those printers will burst into flames shortly and then no one will be able to use them as an excuse Vista runs fine on anything dual core - my work machine is a 1.86mhz core 2 duo and it runs fine. thats not crazy new.
|
