Windows Vista Service Pack 2 out today

Tue May 26, 2009 2:45PM EDT

See Comments (26)

It hasn't gotten nearly the amount of buzz that Vista Service Pack 1 got last year, but the Windows Vista SP2 is now available for download.

Right now, Vista SP2 is an optional download, most easily downloaded by visiting the Microsoft download site and grabbing it manually (it's a 348MB download, but downloads this morning are going quickly), and if all goes well it will begin being automatically delivered by Windows Update (in a more compact form), likely within a few weeks. (SP2 is also supposed to be available as an optional update via Windows Update, but I'm not seeing it there just yet. Be warned that after downloading, installation can take an hour or more to complete.

Also note that unlike most other Windows Service Packs, in this case you will need to have Vista SP1 already installed in order to install SP2, so make sure you already have that update before proceeding. (Check the System Control Panel if you don't know for sure.)

What's in SP2? Mostly the usual stuff, with no notable new features being added: New drivers, application compatibility updates, and a whole bunch of bug fixes make up the bulk of the update. Nearly 700 repairs are listed in Microsoft's list of SP2 hotfixes and security updates, the vast majority of which have not been repaired already via Windows Update. That said, none of these fixes should cause you immediate alarm (you've been living with them for years, anyway), as most represent very rare bugs that only a small percentage of users will ever encounter (example: "The optical disc drive is intermittently not displayed on a ThinkPad X300 computer that is running Windows Vista.") Still, there's no reason not to fix them.

I'm running the update and have encountered no problems to date; will update this post if I do. Of course, if you have trouble with Vista SP2, please let us all know in the comments section below!

Comments on Windows Vista Service Pack 2 out today

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  • 7 Posted by dehnger2u on Tue May 26, 2009 7:19PM EDT Report Abuse

    Windows 7 RC fer sure. Been running it since BETA. Will buy it when it hits the retail shelf......and that's saying an ENORMOUS amount about it....to me anyway. Really, folks....go get it. I run a gaming/multimedia rig, and have had no issues at all. None. And it's FREE until March of next year. (June, but they start rebooting your machine for you every 2 hours in March.....still a free year to try it out......)

  • 8 Posted by rogueist on Tue May 26, 2009 8:44PM EDT Report Abuse

    I will wait and see if there are any glaring bugs before installing it. No sense in rushing bleeding edge releases.

  • 9 Posted by kupriaa1 on Tue May 26, 2009 9:00PM EDT Report Abuse

    Rogueist, if you do inadvertently install it, you could always use some of those gold bricks you have laying around to pay me to remove it from your system.

  • 10 Posted by pattigoettler on Tue May 26, 2009 9:21PM EDT Report Abuse

    Hey! Will it crash and burn my hard drive like SP 1 did? (Do I sound nervous?)

  • 11 Posted by kupriaa1 on Tue May 26, 2009 9:26PM EDT Report Abuse

    hey patti- it probably will do no harm. Neither did SP1

  • 12 Posted by landon885 on Tue May 26, 2009 9:50PM EDT Report Abuse

    people i am running windows 7 for about a week now and already beats xp and vista with no sevice packs. my computer has not crashed over heated and i can actually play some games now.

  • 13 Posted by uffpet on Tue May 26, 2009 9:57PM EDT Report Abuse

    Thanks, Shlomo, will try that!

  • 14 Posted by davidliebe53 on Wed May 27, 2009 2:01AM EDT Report Abuse

    If you're having problems installing, try this: http://windowsfixup.com/2009/05/windows-vista-sp2-wont-install-fixes/

  • 15 Posted by harber_1 on Wed May 27, 2009 3:43AM EDT Report Abuse

    Well just right now at 2:42 AM CST the windows Vista SP2 is available on the windows update but still a option and I'm starting to download now well i tell you what happens next...

  • 16 Posted by asal_asali_ready4 on Wed May 27, 2009 5:05AM EDT Report Abuse

    well... windows VISTA SERVICE PACK 2 is an "important" update now (in my windows update center) downloading it now... 343.9Mb total 43% completed

  • 17 Posted by racerjacob2004 on Wed May 27, 2009 8:27AM EDT Report Abuse

    SP2 for me game through windows update, large file, took about 15 minutes to download and it installed and restarted without a single problem. PC working just fine

  • 18 Posted by jg76aries on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:34PM EDT Report Abuse

    It's all about Windows 7 now. Couldn't care less about Vista or it's updates.

  • 19 Posted by bstes1 on Wed May 27, 2009 7:52PM EDT Report Abuse

    Why do so many people feel the need to comment here about Windows 7. If you are using Win7 and like it better than Vista, great, but this article is about Windows Vista. Windows 7 is not even mentioned in the article. I too like Win7 but I would like to hear as most others reading this article about how this new service pack effects Windows VISTA. It has nothing at all to do with Windows 7. Six out of nineteen comments (including mine) are about nothing but Windows 7. That is almost 30%. I think everyone knows that potentially Windows 7 will be a better operating system than Vista so if that is all you have to contribute please find a Windows 7 article and comment there. Thank you.

  • 20 Posted by willyd24@att.net on Thu May 28, 2009 8:25PM EDT Report Abuse

    I tried four times to download and install sp2 yesterday with no luck. It kept telling me I had to check the "I Agree" box on the licensing terms. I had checked the box, because you can't go on to the next step if you don't. I tried again today and it seemed to install just fine although it didn't take nearly an hour to install. It only took about 20 min. We'll see what happens next, but it does say the instalation was successful.

  • 21 Posted by wnwaiw on Thu May 28, 2009 9:51PM EDT Report Abuse

    All that I goto say is Windows better get doing something good or the free world of linux is going to rule! If it was not for the games that I play I would not pay for Maycrashsoft...

  • 22 Posted by jimz50 on Mon Jun 1, 2009 12:49PM EDT Report Abuse

    mine did not load...error 800700002, nice. followed directions to fix still no go. now with microsoft email support really nice.

  • 23 Posted by jon14688 on Wed Jun 3, 2009 2:28AM EDT Report Abuse

    Don't install Vista SP2 unless you have all your data backed up. I did just before I installed the update from windows update and I get an error during booting while the install tries to finish. Windows recovery doesn't work either. I wish I had done a search about this before running the update because a lot of people are starting to get this problem!!!

  • 24 Posted by fotoright on Thu Jun 4, 2009 5:51PM EDT Report Abuse

    I had to install Monzilla Firefox because Internet Explorer 8 locked up after installing service pack 2 on my I 7 machine. The lock-up would occur when trying to download something from the internet; it appeared as a protection scheme to stop the inappropriate use of memory; Firefox didn't have that issue. By the way, the sites that I visited were Adobe (to upgrade my CS4 Photoshop and Windows' http://safety.live.com/site/en-us/default.htm?s_cid=sah

  • 25 Posted by voyager8152000 on Thu Jun 11, 2009 2:14AM EDT Report Abuse

    I just downloaded Vista sp2 and it took less than half an hour on my Fujitsu laptop with Intel Centrino 2 p7450 processor. So far my computer hasn't crashed or had any problems.

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