14 DAY TRIAL // The Windows Vista Service Pack 1 RTM build release parade continues along. Following the releasing to manufacturing of Vista SP1, Microsoft set the general availability date no less than a month and a half away. But this does not mean that the company did not start shipping Vista SP1 almost immediately. The OEMs were among the first to get the service pack, as they rush to deliver Vista SP1 preloaded computers at the start of April 2008. The service pack also went into production for the retail DVDs.
Then, the beta testers involved in the development of Vista SP1 got their hands on the RTM build. And next it was the turn of the company's Volume License customers, as well as TechNet Plus and MSDN Subscribers. As of February 14, Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (x86, x64) - DVD (English, French, German, Japanese, Spanish); Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (x86) - EXE (English, French, German, Japanese, Spanish); and Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (x64) - EXE (English, French, German, Japanese, Spanish) went live on both TechNet and MSDN.
Microsoft even fixed an issue that prevented some TechNet subscribers to access the right version of the Top Subscriber Downloads control and Vista SP1 RTM. "This issue has been resolved. We located what was causing this issue and have corrected a setting the the XML file for the Top Downloads control. Thanks for your patience," stated Kathy Dixon with TechNet Plus subscriptions.
Now, it is time for the next wave of Vista SP1 RTM downloads. If you are a simple end user of Vista, you have nothing to worry about. Microsoft will not permit access to the service pack until mid-March when Vista will be made available via Microsoft Updates, the Download Center and Windows Updates. However, MSDN and TechNet Plus subscribers will be getting by the end of February the slipstream ISO version of Vista SP1.
"The integrated full install of Vista with SP1 will be available for download prior to the end of the month; we are working through download capacity planning and will make it available as soon as we can," Dixon added. Keith Combs, Microsoft IT Pro Evangelist, confirmed this: "later this month the 'FULL' Windows Vista SP1 .iso will be made available so you can install a SP1 machine from scratch." The exact date remains unknown with all indications pointing to next week.