John Barnett's Windows Vista Support: Download A Full Copy Of Windows Vista Service Pack 1

Download A Full Copy Of Windows Vista Service Pack 1

Service Pack 1 (SP1) is Microsoft Windows Vista's latest update. The package itself is quite weighty consisting of around 434.5MB for the 32 bit version and 726.5MB for the 64 bit version. Although the Service Pack does not contain anything new to add to the operating system it does contain many performance enhancements and fixes to previously irritating problems.

Before you begin the link below tells you what you should do prior to installing the Vista service pack 1

Learn How To Install Windows Service Pack 1 (SP1)

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/Help/133c8953-c9cd-4fa5-8883-03e91bb6f2021033.mspx

The Service Pack should automatically download via Windows Updates, with the download being between 60 and 435MB depending upon whether your machine currently has all of the latest Windows Updates. If you are unable to download Vista SP1 via Windows Updates first take a look at this knowledgebase article to see if you have all the requirements for Windows Updates to download the package:

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=948343

If, however, you simply want to download the full standalone version (this incidentally cannot currently be slipstreamed to the original Vista DVD) then you can download it from the following link:

Important:

Make sure you download the correct version update type for your system. Remember the 32 bit version will not update a 64 bit system and visa-versa; they are not interchangeable.

Check your system type first

To check which System type you need click the Start button followed by Control Panel. In Control Panel, Click the System Icon. When the 'view basic information about your computer' window opens look at the 'system' section. Under 'system type' you will see either 32 bit operating system or 64 bit operating system. Whatever operating system type is displayed here is the 'type' you will need to download.

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 For Windows Vista 32 Bit Update Link

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=b0c7136d-5ebb-413b-89c9-cb3d06d12674&DisplayLang=en

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 For Windows Vista 64 Bit Update Link

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=874A414B-32B2-41CC-BD8B-D71EDA5EC07C&displaylang=en

PLEASE NOTE

This download site is for IT Professionals and Developers and you are advised not to download this software if you are only updating one computer; however, this warning can generally be ignored as the software will not only update one PC but also multiple PCs.

1/ Just click Download option

2/ When the download dialog box appears click Save.

3/ The Service Pack should now be saved in the 'Download' folder on your hard drive.

4/ Once the download has finished, Navigate to the folder where you saved SP1 (the Download folder by default) then, Right Click on the Service Pack icon and, from the drop down menu, Click on 'Run As Administrator.'

5/ If the user Account Control (UAC) windows opens then Click Continue to start the installation.

6/ Installation may takes some time, anything from 45 minutes to over an hour or more, depending upon how much of the Service Pack needs to be installed. (If your PC has not been fully updated with All windows updates since Vista was released then the service pack will install those updates and will, thus, take longer to complete. If your PC is fully up to date with windows updates the the service pack install will be quicker.

7/ After installation your PC will require rebooting. During the reboot sequence you will be informed of the update progress, i.e., 1 of 3 20% etc. Once the progress has reached 3 of 3 100% then the update has been fully installed.