Windows 7 Service Pack 1 is out today, but do you care?

Peter Dockrill
23 February 2011, 2:31 PM


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There was a time not long ago when a Service Pack release was itself an event (ie. Vista), but Microsoft's casual release of Windows 7 SP1 today shows how much times have changed.


Overnight Microsoft released Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1) at the Microsoft Download Center and just hours later made it available via Windows Update. The standalone SP1 package weighs in at 537MB (x86) or 903MB (x64), but most users won't need all of this code. Indeed, highlighting how much of SP1 has already been rolled out to users via Windows Update's incremental ongoing updates, the Windows Update SP1 delivery itself only measures 44MB for x86 or 74MB for x64 (with Windows Server 2008 R2 requiring 96MB).



The key features included in SP1 for Windows 7 as cited by Microsoft will not exactly be game changers for the regular PC user: additional support for communication with third-party federation services; improved HDMI audio device performance; corrected behaviour when printing mixed-orientation XPS documents; change to behaviour of “Restore previous folders at logon” functionality; enhanced support for additional identities in RRAS and IPsec; support for Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX); improved support for Advanced Format (512e) Storage Devices. Of more interest perhaps are the changes specific to Server 2008 R2, which gets Dynamic Memory (to boost performance for virtualised machines) and Microsoft RemoteFX (an enhanced UI environment for virtual desktops).

Indeed, compared to the performance-oriented focus of the eagerly awaited Vista SP1, it seems Windows 7 SP1 is a bit of a non-event all things considered, but - if anything - this is something we should be grateful for. It says an awful lot about a Microsoft operating system when the first Service Pack is released 16 months later and people don't even notice; weren't waiting for it; didn't realise they needed it (or don't). That Win 7 needs less ongoing structural TLC (or that it gets it more effectively from Windows Update) is a good thing as far as the average user is concerned.


Windows 7 Ultimate: now even more ultimate (not that you'll notice).

In any case, for a full set of Microsoft documentation outlining your various deployment options, see here but bear in mind that most people will receive the update simply through Windows Update (in fact, Microsoft recommends this for most users). For some general tips from Microsoft on what to do before installing SP1, see here, for how to install it see here and for a complete list of all the hotfixes and security updates included in the Service Pack (best pack your reading glasses for this one) see here.


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plutonium210 (User):

Boring release, yes.
But it could be an indication that MS got it right with Win7's RTM.

23 February 2011, 5:32 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Tin (Cornerstone member):

Tried to install it earlier (by means of Windows update) - failed with an error number that basically means it failed. Real helpful suggestion there MS.
I'll try it again tomorrow - if it still fails, I probably just won't care.

I agree with plutonium - since no one cares, maybe they got it right - or at least got it far better than Vista.

23 February 2011, 8:56 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Me In Oz (User):

No problems updating with Win 7 64-bit. Just 64 MB download.
Although with a major SP release, it is a good incentive for me to do a full re-install of the OS.

24 February 2011, 9:46 AM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

deusexmachina (New user):

hmmm maybe the fact I'm running a Mac means that this is a non-event...

24 February 2011, 10:53 AM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

plutonium210 (User):

" .... I'm running a Mac .." - deusexmachina
Shhhh ....... It might catch on.

24 February 2011, 10:59 AM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Tin (Cornerstone member):

Hmmm - Tried 3 boxes at work today. Same deal as at home... Same error number that apparently means it simply didn't work.

24 February 2011, 2:08 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Potoroo (Frequent poster):

Be aware that according to the list of hotfixes and security updates provided by Microsoft (linked to in the article), W7 SP1 includes the infamous update KB971033, whereby W7 phones home once every 90 days to supposedly verify that your copy is genuine. Given WGA/WAT's appalling track record this is something people should be wary of.

24 February 2011, 2:39 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Peter try hard (Cornerstone member):

Interseting. I was not looking forward to Vista SP1.
As a whole, i just dont trust MS updates anymore. Frequent errors in trying to update - crashing system - forcing system restores - thsi si all part of Vista updates.
Furthermore, you just dont knwo what MS hides in its updates - last update I received for my XP machine at work, had a couple iof unexpected results.
MS decided that I nop longer wnated to user Outlook Express as my default email client. instead - it set up Outlook as my default. Outllok was pinned and Outlook express was unpinned.
Also, I can no ,longer open L:otus files without in Excel without first opening them in OpenOffice.org and saving the fiel asan excel file.

26 February 2011, 1:19 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

ss-rotel (Senior Forumologist):

hmm... Are you still using Vista? i mean, it's a horrible operating system ... which i never personally had issues with.

Never had an issue with auto updates, never had an issue activating, never had an issue with Office... I guess you is very unlucky there peter

(that said, there was a crazy update for Server 2008 and Exchange 2010 that either broke something, or started to force a "good practices" compliance... spent 2 days or so trying to fix our exchage's fail over cluster)

mind you, if you can't speel a command that you need to execute, you might end up with errors... i can almost understand what you wrote above :)

Jokes aside, yes, on the odd occasion that windows fails an update, or an update downloads and corrupts, (and that's usually an issue with you net connection), there are steps to follow to fix this.

You should also become familiar with SFC, (system file checker), if you have odd re-occuring issues

Check the Error logs, and google the error codes to possible fixes.

For ppl's out there, hope this helps

28 February 2011, 7:02 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

ss-rotel (Senior Forumologist):

http://www.stickycomics.com/computer-update/

Go there, you'll love it!!! Pretty much sums up the sentiment here :)

yeah, you'll need to cut-paste in into your browser... sorry :)

28 February 2011, 7:18 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Peter try hard (Cornerstone member):

I might just be one of the last Vista users around! Not prepared to spend money updating my computer to Win 7. Will perservere with minor problems with Windows Update.
My real concern is with MS Office updates on my work XP machine.
Dont like what MS is doing with Excel and Outlook. In fact, due to changes, i cant click on a fiel and send it to an email recipient. My XP machine is now convinced that I should be using Outlook for my email, andf the Outlook Express 6 is an aberration!
I have watched a previosu pc of mine slowly grinding to a halt after each successive service pack!
Serves me right for trying to run XP on a pc with minimal hardware requirements.
So my mind is made up about Service Packs - I just dont like them!
I ahve rescued my daughters laptop from a Vista update that totally destroyed the operating system.
Do not beleive it has anything to do with internet issues, not when many users have the same problem, and you can google for a solution to get your pc/laptop working again. then you ahve to apply the recommended fixes to finally install the update!

28 February 2011, 7:46 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Tin (Cornerstone member):

So is the inability to click "reply" just me, or is everyone having that?

Anyway, Re: ss-rotel's comment about corrupted downloads usually being your internet... Who cares why it happens? The fact it can happen tells me there is a problem. Why can't it detect this problem and either correct or delete and re-download?

Or an even more serious issue I have with Windows Update - why on earth can they not give sane error messages? If I can't figure out what the heck 80023002 means, how does the average Joe figure it out? After all, isn't that the target audience?

28 February 2011, 7:47 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Peter try hard (Cornerstone member):

Obtuse error codes is why we have google. Just gogole the code and hopefully you will get the right answer!

28 February 2011, 8:20 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Tin (Cornerstone member):

Or MS could say "Connection Refused" or "Corrupted installer" or "404 Not Found" and save me 5 minutes EVERY time it happens.

OK, so the 2 times a year someone at home has problems are probably fine to check with Google (ironically), but for people dealing with it multiple times a day on dozens of computers it's a complete and utter time waster.

28 February 2011, 8:41 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Anonymousewiuu2945u389 (User):

Tin: No it's not just you, that reply button definitely seems broken (again...)

Quoting Peter try hard
Obtuse error codes is why we have google. Just gogole the code and hopefully you will get the right answer!

Yes, that will (hopefully) work. But I think Tin's point is that people really shouldn't have to whack obscure numbers into a search enging to find out what is going on. Human-readable things like "The update was corrupted during download. Please check your internet connection. If problems persist, visit (hyperlink to MS Support site)" make an awful lot more sense to most people than 0x0023A58B34.

28 February 2011, 8:44 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Anonymousewiuu2945u389 (User):

Note: Tin beat me to it while I was messing around with APC's half-broken website.

NOTE TO ADMIN: Please fix the reply button, post comment button and edit button. None seem to work properly.

28 February 2011, 8:49 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

ss-rotel (Senior Forumologist):

BUT, you dont need to google the complete code... 0x000000d3, google 0xd3. Workes for me

ok, Window's most annoying habit is to cache everything. so if the file you just download is corrupt, but it completes the download without error, and you try and download the file again, you end up with windows copying the corrupt file out of the cache.

It's worst when it does that for updates, and windows ends up in a loop.

Clearing the update cache isn't that hard, well, if you're not savy enough, it might be, but again, if you google how, you clear the cache, reset the cryptography server, reset the update server, and run windows updates, and it should update fine again

Peter - The issues with your system grinding to a halt as you install service packs is pretty much windows is a resource pig. You've probaly run out of memory. If the HDD light's going nuts during the slow down, then the system's out of memory. the minimum you'd run XP on these days is a Gig of ram. Vista needs at least 2gb, and win7 will run on a gig too.

Also, i'm sure there is a way of checking the integrity of your office installation, like using the sfc program to check windows. Look it up?

Tin - Arr.. but, if you have to fix the same thing over and over again, you wont need to check on google, or you'll have worked out how to create a batch file to run off your pen drive, or you'd email send batch to everyone @ work, and get them to run it.. there are ways around everything.

01 March 2011, 4:17 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

ss-rotel (Senior Forumologist):

damn it... send = said.

I busted my right hand middle finger the other day shutting the big steel gate @ work... it's REALLY hard to touch type when you can't feel the keys properly, AND it feels like there's a tack on the end of each one...

01 March 2011, 4:18 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

J876 (Regular user):

To all those people posting about problems with Windows Update and major upgrades like service packs. Download the full service pack from the Microsoft Download Centre, create a manual restore point using system protection, and then install it.

It can be found in by searching for KB976932 in the Microsoft Website. You can download the full ISO image (*.iso extension) or the follwing files:

windows6.1-KB976932-X64.exe -> Windows 7 64-Bit Editions installer (x64)
windows6.1-KB976932-X86.exe -> Windows 7 32-Bit Editions installer (x86)

I done it this way and it will work with legitamate copies of Windows. Like with any software installation use offline installers where possible, they are usually more reliable.




01 March 2011, 5:09 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Tin (Cornerstone member):

I don't work in a corporate environment - I work in a shop repairing computers. And I have remembered some, like the one that means our firewall is blocking them yet again (and MS seem to like throwing new IP ranges into the mix every month or so, and don't publish them anywhere).
We have created batch files for some things. And we do try to reduce the load on ourselves... But it's still bloody frustrating that Windows Update just doesn't straight up tell you what it's trying to tell you. I shouldn't have to remember 4000 different error codes. I could create a local sheet listing them too, but again, I shouldn't have to. It should use plain English. Or even have the error be a link to an official MS website about that error.

We do also have the full installers for most services packs locally. But these ones are 2GB each!

01 March 2011, 6:15 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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