Windows Vista Service Pack 1 RTM has been made available for download after the bits went gold on February 4, 2008. In an unexpected move, Microsoft released Vista SP1 to manufacturing on February 4, but postponed general availability until mid-March, due to quality concerns regarding specific driver integration.

"As I explained, one reason for this is that we are working through an issue with a small set of hardware devices that may not function properly after the Windows Vista-based PC they are installed on is updated to SP1. This is an issue with the way the device drivers were re-installed during the SP1 update process, not with the drivers themselves -- these drivers worked on Windows Vista RTM and they work on Windows Vista SP1. For new PCs with Windows Vista SP1 pre-installed, this is not an issue," revealed Mike Nash, Microsoft Corporate Vice President, Windows Product Management.

According to Nash, Microsoft is hard at work with the manufacturer of the hardware whose device drivers fail to integrate with Vista SP1 in order to resolve the problem. In addition, the Redmond company is also hard at work on preparing a smooth end user experience when delivering Vista SP1 over Windows Update. However, even at this point in time, the problem can be easily dealt with by simply uninstalling and then reinstalling the faulty drivers. Still, the mid-March general availability date for Vista SP1 will not be changed.

"We've heard the feedback and I want to update you on our plans and progress for making SP1 available to our beta participants, our Volume Licensing customers, and our MSDN/TechNet Plus subscribers: late Friday we made SP1 RTM available to individuals and companies who participated in the SP1 beta program; at the end of this week we will be making the English version of Windows Vista SP1 available to Volume Licensing customers (other languages will follow soon after) and later this month, SP1 will be available to MSDN and TechNet Plus subscribers," Nash added.