What's New: Vista Service Pack 2 Released Today

Microsoft released the second major update to Windows Vista today. Service Pack 2 (SP2) clocks in at 348 MB (577 MB for the 64-bit version) and has a few new features in addition to over 700 fixes and security updates. For size reasons we suggest companies download it from Microsoft Download and run it on each PC, rather than having each PC download it via Windows Update. The exact same update (32-bit or 64-bit) applies to Windows Server 2008 as well, since they are built on the same kernel and base code.

Vista SP2 adds support for recording Blu-Ray DVDs and Bluetooth 2.1 support, fixes for Wi-Fi connection issues when waking from sleep mode, improves performance of the RSS feed desktop sidebar gadget, and improves power management efficiency by 10%. SP2 also adds support for some newer CPUs and the exFAT file system, designed for mobile storage. Vista SP2 also includes Windows Search 4.0, Microsoft's update to their desktop search technology released earlier this year.

Service Pack 1 is required to install Service Pack 2, however, Windows Server 2008 already has Service Pack 1 "built in" so there is no prerequisite, there.

ITS recommends waiting at least a few days before installing SP2, which is currently appearing as an "important" but not critical update. That way, any compatibility issues can be found before causing a problem on your network.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009 05:36 pm CDT

Tell a friend about this news item!

Return to the article list...