14 DAY TRIAL // At the end of July, two compatibility, performance and reliability fix packs designed for 32-bit and 64-bit Windows Vista leaked to the Internet after they were initially made available to a select group of testers. Microsoft at that time scrambled to discontinue downloads from third party sources as a method to protect users since the updates, still in testing phase, were considered under the quality standards necessary for general availability. However, the Redmond company did promise that the fix packs will be delivered to all Vista users via Windows Update in the immediate future.
Well, Microsoft did live up to its promise. As of August 7, the two updates improving the compatibility, the performance and reliability of Windows Vista are live. Of course both fix packs will also be delivered through Windows Update. However, if you just can't wait for the updates to make their way through the Windows Update infrastructure, you will also be able to access them via the Download Center, from a genuine copy of Vista as validation is required. The descriptions associated with the updates promise resolves for performance and reliability of the operating system only in certain scenarios.
Update for Windows Vista for x64-based Systems (KB938979) Update for Windows Vista (KB938979)
Update 938979 is designed to deliver enhanced performance and responsiveness, but also to enhance the reliability of Vista. Below you can see a list of all the issues that the update will resolve, and trust me, getting rid of poor memory management performance is a godsend.
￭ You experience a long delay when you try to exit the Photos screen saver. ￭ A memory leak occurs when you use the Windows Energy screen saver. ￭ If User Account Control is disabled on the computer, you cannot install a network printer successfully. This problem occurs if the network printer is hosted by a Windows XP-based or a Windows Server 2003-based computer. ￭ When you write data to an AVI file by using the AVIStreamWrite function, the file header of the AVI file is corrupted. ￭ When you copy or move a large file, the "estimated time remaining" takes a long time to be calculated and displayed. ￭ After you resume the computer from hibernation, it takes a long time to display the logon screen. ￭ When you synchronize an offline file to a server, the offline file is corrupted. ￭ If you edit an image file that uses the RAW image format, data loss occurs in the image file. This problem occurs if the RAW image is from any of the following digital SLR camera models: Canon EOS 1D and Canon EOS 1DS ￭ After you resume the computer from hibernation, the computer loses its default gateway address. ￭ Poor memory management performance occurs.
Update for Windows Vista for x64-based Systems (KB938194) Update for Windows Vista (KB938194)
938194 is an update addressing a wide range of compatibility and reliability problems. Microsoft promised that with the deployment of the update users will be able to enjoy superior reliability and hardware compatibility in Vista. Here are the issues fixed by this update:
￭ The screen may go blank when you try to upgrade the video driver. ￭ The computer stops responding, and you receive a "Display driver stopped responding and has recovered" error message. You can restart the computer only by pressing the computer's power button. ￭ The computer stops responding or restarts unexpectedly when you play video games or perform desktop operations. ￭ The Diagnostic Policy Service (DPS) stops responding when the computer is under heavy load or when very little memory is available. This problem prevents diagnostics from working. ￭ The screen goes blank after an external display device that is connected to the computer is turned off. For example, this problem may occur when a projector is turned off during a presentation. ￭ A computer that has NVIDIA G80 series graphic drivers installed stops responding. ￭ Visual appearance issues occur when you play graphics-intensive games. ￭ You experience poor playback quality when you play HD DVD disks or Blu-ray disks on a large monitor. ￭ Applications that load the Netcfgx.dll component exit unexpectedly. ￭ Windows Calendar exits unexpectedly after you create a new appointment, create a new task, and then restart the computer. ￭ Internet Connection Sharing stops responding after you upgrade a computer that is running Microsoft Windows XP to Windows Vista and then restart the computer. ￭ The Printer Spooler service stops unexpectedly. ￭ You receive a "Stop 0x0000009F" error when you put the computer to sleep while a Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) connection is active.