While Microsoft is indeed making consistent headway with the development of Windows Vista Service Pack 1, approaching at fast pace what is a potential, but unconfirmed, mid-February 2008 release date, the company is also hammering away at the issues associated with the delivery of the service pack. The development milestones for the first service pack for Vista come in various flavors, permitting testers to either access the ISO image of the streamline version, the refresh via Windows Update or Microsoft Update, or as a standalone download.

Microsoft estimates that the vast majority of Vista users will rely on the company's automatic update servicing infrastructure for the download and deployment of the service pack. But the delivery of Vista SP1 is not as streamlined as Microsoft would have wished. Vista is now in Release Candidate stage, working its way to the RTM build. In this context, the Redmond company informed of issues involving failed installations of Vista SP1 through Windows Update and Microsoft Update. The installation error messages are either "Installation was not successful" or "An internal error occurred while installing the service pack".

Microsoft does not have a resolve in place at this time, however, users are presented with an alternative method designed to mitigate the installation failures. First off, it seems that the issue is directly related to the way specific Vista copies interact with Windows Update or Microsoft Update. In this context, Microsoft advices users to download the standalone package for Windows Vista SP1 and deploy it manually from their machines.

"One of the most common causes of installation failure is when a third-party application holds a file open or locks a file that the service pack installation program needs. Close all applications, and restart your computer. After your computer has restarted, disable any antivirus or any antispyware applications that may load during the startup process. As soon as you close the antivirus or the antispyware application, try to install Windows Vista SP1 from the Windows Update site or from the Microsoft Update site. Or, try to install Windows Vista SP1 from the full download package," Microsoft stated.