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Loading ...Windows lives and dies by its service packs. I can’t recall the last initial release of any Windows product that didn’t have at least some problems. Microsoft has often used the service packs for some serious after-release polishing of the OS. In the case of Windows XP, the first service pack made a difference in speed and software compatibility, with a few nods to security.
But XP really took off with the release of Service Pack 2 (SP2)—effectively a rethinking of the entire security underpinning of the OS that bought Microsoft extra time to get Vista ready for release. Now, roughly nine months after Vista started hitting desktops, Service Pack 1 (SP1) has started its beta run. The latest iteration of the SP1 beta, which is closed to the public, reveals a useful set of OS updates, but one that’s not as critical as SP2 was for XP. SP1 speeds up a few operations and enhances third-party program compatibility, but it changes little you’ll notice in your day-to-day experience. Once again, the bulk of the development effort has gone toward upgrading security subsystems—elements that enterprise clients find appealing but consumers and small-business users won’t really notice. Still, given that Vista is essentially a rewrite of XP meant to enhance security (and, of course, media features), I’m not surprised to see Microsoft take this route for the service pack.
Installation
Once released, this update, like all its predecessors, will appear in downloadable form on the Microsoft Update site, but you’ll likely be able to order it on DVD and will certainly be able to purchase a DVD that will bundle both the full, installable version of Vista and SP1. [to see the windows vista sp1 installation click on the thumbnails]
Although many will argue that a service pack behaves better as an entirely new installation of the OS (a “clean install”) rather than as an upgrade to your existing OS, often that’s simply impractical. Most people have already installed most of the programs they need on their current version of an OS. Applying the service pack to the OS in use rather than doing a clean install is the only realistic option.
I tried both, though. The clean install worked perfectly and went much faster. The update didn’t install properly the first several times I tried, but that’s typical with an early beta of any service pack, since the whole point of the process is to find and fix bugs. I finally got the update to work by upgrading my office machine from XP to the first Vista release—a process that took over 2.5 hours—then applying SP1, which took about 30 minutes. That resulted in an immediate speed improvement, although not as much as with an installation on a clean system (it just makes sense that Windows slows down as you clutter it up with all kinds of start-up programs, drivers, and the like).
SP1 in Everyday Use
As mentioned, you won’t see a lot of difference in day-to-day Vista performance as a result of installing SP1. But there’s no question that the entire OS is a bit more responsive—dialog boxes appear more quickly, and switching among open windows goes faster. I found that the big programs in Adobe Creative Suite CS2 (particularly the resource-intensive Illustrator and InDesign apps) sped up considerably. I haven’t upgraded to CS3 yet, but neither have a lot of other people, so it seems like a fair test.
The speed increase is the result, I suspect, of code optimization and improvements in application compatibility. The change was particularly noticeable when I had Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign loaded simultaneously, with Microsoft’s Outlook, Word, and Internet Explorer 7 all running as well. IE also seemed more responsive, but it didn’t slow down when I uninstalled SP1 (which returned the OS to the original Vista release), so I can’t be sure I really saw an improvement. Overall, however, the system certainly was zippier.
The time Vista takes to return from Hibernation dropped markedly—by about half, in fact. That’s good, because wake time has been a major irritation with the original Vista—not only for laptop users (a fact Microsoft quickly recognized) but also, if my experience is a guide, with desktops. With SP1 installed, I no longer have time to make coffee after pushing the power button on my desktop PC to bring it out of hibernation. On the downside, though the system may be awake, I still can’t do anything until the frenetic drive accesses stop. Still, it’s real improvement. Sleep mode also recovers substantially faster on laptops. The overall improvement is significant, and with any luck future SPs will continue this trend—we all still dream of the instant-resume (and instant-on) PC.
The speed of other day-to-day tasks has improved as well. Copying files and extracting them from compressed folders takes less time, and opening Windows Explorer for the first time in a session (which on my desktop could take as long as a full minute) now takes an acceptable 10 to 15 seconds—and much less with no other programs loaded. Microsoft says the newly upgraded IE7 consumes fewer CPU resources and parses JavaScript elements more efficiently, but I didn’t notice improvement—that doesn’t mean it isn’t there, however.
The company also claims that SP1 improves battery life on certain laptops—Vista doesn’t redraw the screen as often on them—but I noticed no difference on the two Gateway systems I tried. I’ll definitely continue to look into this as the beta progresses; it’s too early to draw a conclusion, especially based on my quick-and-dirty tests. You will, however, no longer suffer that 10-second wait for the Password box to appear after hitting Ctrl-Alt-Delete to log on, and that’s a worthwhile improvement.
Security Enhancements
As noted, improvements in security define SP1. First—and particularly important if you’re a group administrator—the Group Management Policy Console (GMPC) has disappeared, and the Group Policy editor (GPEdit) focuses on local instead of global policy. The goal is to leave strategic group policy decisions in the hands of systems administrators, rather than individual users. Second, with SP1 on 64-bit Vista, third-party anti-malware programs gain access to new application-programming interfaces. That lets these programs directly extend the Windows kernel to provide lower-level detection of malicious code, giving security software a better chance of blocking or deleting such code, a useful advance.
SP1 also allows Remote Desktop files to be signed, providing increased security for anyone using the Remote Desktop Protocol to connect with (and control) other PCs. Larger organizations will also be happy on at least two counts: Vista PCs on a domain experience less difficulty working offline, and SP1 adds the Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol, allowing for more secure access to VPNs.
Another enhancement affects, for the most part, only those who’ve purchased computers that shipped with Vista installed. BitLocker, built into the original Vista so users could encrypt an entire drive, functioned only with the drive the OS boots from. To encrypt other drives (or folders), you had to use Vista’s Encrypting File System. With SP1 you can use BitLocker with any drive—an obvious improvement.
But if your motherboard doesn’t already contain a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chip (these started appearing in earnest only on systems that shipped with Vista), you can’t use BitLocker, unless you’re willing to do some serious system configuration. Still, for systems shipping with Vista preinstalled, this is a good upgrade.
To see if BitLocker will work, click on the Start button and type bitlocker into the Start Search field. On systems without a TPM chip, the resulting window will announce the fact (and not let you use the capability). Because BitLocker encrypts the entire boot drive, it’s especially useful to laptop users, whose computers can easily be stolen—but keep in mind that if you forget the password, there’s no way to get into your own files.
The Rest
A few other details round out the SP1 beta release. With SP1, Vista now supports Direct3D 10.1, a worthwhile addition for hard-core gamers. The update also works with the x64 Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI), allowing x64 machines to perform network boots from an EFI device; Vista originally supported only EFIs for IA-64 machines. Finally, SP1 adds support for exFAT, or Extended File Allocation Table drive partition system, used by numerous Flash devices.
The upshot of all this is a better Vista. The actual first beta of SP1 may not deserve a fanfare, simply because—like all first betas—it has its own set of issues to resolve. But by the time you can get SP1 on the Microsoft Update site or as part of a new Vista installation DVD, you’ll want your PC to have it. Nothing dramatic here, but SP1 is a solid, useful upgrade that makes the operating system a little safer and a little faster.
Source: PcMag
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