Jump to the RTM edition of SP1 by the end of the month

Jun 16, 2008 07:04 GMT  ·  By

The Release Candidate versions of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 have only two more weeks to live. Microsoft warned users still running development milestones of the first service pack for Windows Vista that the testing releases would expire at the end of the month. June 30, 2008 is the last day in the life of Vista SP1 RC builds. Microsoft introduces kill switches into all its Alpha, Beta and RC builds, and Windows service packs make no exception to the rule. In this context, Vista SP1 Release Candidates are also time bombed, and set to expire on June 30. This date is independent of the moment that users actually installed Vista SP1 RCs.

"I want to remind everyone who installed the Release Candidate that you must uninstall any RC builds (any build less than 6.0.6001.18000) before they expire on June 30. After this date, the kernel will stop with an END_OF_NT_EVALUATION_PERIOD error message an hour after the machine has booted. If you do wait until after June 30, just reboot your PC and start the uninstall process right away," revealed Microsoft's Anthony Mann.

Essentially, Vista SP1 Release Candidates will move into pseudo-reduced functionality mode following expiration. All RC builds of Vista SP1 are configured to display the text "For Evaluation Purposes" in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen along with the build number. Users can turn to the "WinVer" command in a Run dialog box or in the Search box under the Start Menu in order to confirm that they are running a RC version of the service pack, and the expiration date. Microsoft advises users to uninstall Vista SP1 RC builds and then update the operating system with the RTM version of the service pack, available since March 18, 2008.

"I do want to let you know up-front that we expect a small number of you may hit a glitch in uninstalling the RC builds. In some cases, the installation did not complete successfully and you may not be able to uninstall using the techniques in the KB. Fortunately, thanks to the broad beta testing, we were able to uncover and fix most of these issues prior to release. Unfortunately, those of you with machines that can't uninstall and are coming up on the June 30 expiration date will need to take additional steps. If this happens, the best solution is to back up your data and do a full reinstall (or restore OEM image). Any other hacks or workarounds may leave your system in a state where future updates may not install properly," Mann added.

Windows Vista SP1 RTM is available for download here.

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