t e c h i e - t a l k s ::: technology at its best

Windows Vista SP1 update was released for public download two days ago to eager consumers worldwide who are in need of bug fixing — after more than a year living with Vista’s irritating idiosyncrasies. Users can download it from the Microsoft Download Center or directly from your Windows Vista automatic updates. Here comes the quirks when using Windows. There are cases of Windows updates not being available in their auto-updates. So where has the SP1 update gone to?

Microsoft gives 8 reasons to why your update isn’t available in your automatic updates.

1. You are already running Windows Vista SP1. (duh)
2. Windows Vista SP1 has not been released for the language of the language pack that you have installed.
3. Windows Service Pack Blocker Tool is used to block the delivery of Windows Vista SP1 from Automatic Updates or from Windows Update.
4. You tried to install Windows Vista SP1, and the installation failed with a known inconsistency in the file or registry structure.
5. A hardware device driver or device software was problematic when you updated to Windows Vista SP1.

   The Windows Update service can detect the small set of device drivers and software that falls into this category. The Windows Update service will not offer Windows Vista SP1 until an update for the hardware device driver or the device software has been installed.

6. You have installed a prerelease version of Windows Vista SP1, and you must uninstall the prerelease version, or start with a new installation of Windows Vista.
7. You used the third-party program vLite to configure the system, and you may have removed required system components that have to be available for Windows Vista SP1 to be installed.

   For more information, visit the following vLite Web site:

   http://www.vlite.net (http://www.vlite.net)

   Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.

8. You see one or more updates for Windows Vista when you run Windows Update. However, you do not see Windows Vista SP1 listed.

There are fixes for these problems though. They can be found here. My advice is if your Vista have been working perfectly fine (or some minor glitches) and does not affect your usage of your PC; give the SP1 download a miss first. Wait a few month after everything is settled (there could be unforeseen bugs needed to be fixed in the SP1) before downloading it. If it ain’t broken — why the need to fix it so urgently?

Cheers!