I made the decision to install all updates, and new software to make the transition for the family member as easy as possible. Starting with Windows Updates, I ran into the problem that the Service Pack 2 installation would not complete.

The notebook was running an OEM copy of Vista, licensed to Toshiba. Research on the Internet revealed many users who had troubles installing Vista SP2 on OEM notebooks and desktop PCs.

The main suggestion in most of the “how to fix service pack 2 installation problems” guides, articles and forum posts was to run the System Update Readiness Tool for Vista.

This tool is being offered because an inconsistency was found in the Windows servicing store which may prevent the successful installation of future updates, service packs, and software. This tool checks your computer for such inconsistencies and tries to resolve issues if found. This update is provided to you and licensed under the Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 License Terms.

It seemed to fix the issue for many users, but not all. Fingers crossed, I downloaded the software from Microsoft Download and began the installation.

It took about 15 minutes for the tool to analyse the system, and install a single hotfix. I tried the installation of the Service Pack 2 via Windows Update again after that and lo and behold, it installed without errors this time.

This may help other users who are in a similar situation, even though I doubt it that this many Vista PCs are still running Service Pack 1 or no service pack at all.

Did you ever run into troubles installing a service pack in Windows? Let us know about it and how you fixed the issue.

The size of the Service Pack 2 is considerably smaller when downloaded over Windows Update with all downloads being less than 100 Megabytes in size for all possible editions. Microsoft has created a What’s New article at Technet which details the most notable changes that are introduced in Windows Vista Service Pack 2.

Changes that affect most users are the removal of the halp open outbound TCP connection limit, support for Bluetooth 2.1, improvements to Wi-Fi connections and configurations and the integration of Windows Search 4.0.

The standalone Windows Vista Service Pack 2 can be downloaded from the following pages:

Windows Vista Service Pack 2 5-language (English, French, German, Japanese, or Spanish) standalone pack download

Windows Vista Service Pack 2 5-language DVD ISO download

Windows Vista Service Pack 2 5-language 64-bit download

The all language standalone packages are not available yet, the links are the following for 32-bit and 64-bit

Please follow these links for additional information about the second service pack:

Notable Changes
Release Notes
Hotfixes and Security Update List

via OS News

The standalone add-in to save documents as pdf or xps has been built into the service pack 2 which means that users do not have to download and install the add-in for this functionality. A complete list of changes is available at the official announcement of the availability date of service pack 2 for Microsoft Office 2007.

Downloads will be first made available via Microsoft Download and various third party download portals.

Update:

Microsoft Office 2007 Service Pack 2 is available on the download portal and via Windows Update.

There is however no need anymore to fire up your P2P application as you can download both service packs directly and officially from Microsoft. Two ways are provided by Microsoft. The first is a direct download of both service packs which is definitely the easier and probably also the faster method to download the service packs.

The second method would be to download a small script that adds an entry to the Windows Registry upon execution which will make the service packs available in Windows Update.

Please note that the service packs are only available in the languages English, German, French, Spanish and Japanese.

It is also important to note that this is still a beta version of the upcoming service pack 2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 and as such should not be installed on computer systems that you need to work with. The release is intended to be tested by a larger audience.The beta of the service pack will expire in May 2009.

This essentially means that users who want to install Windows Vista Service Pack 2 will have to install Service Pack 1 first before they can do so. Microsoft is aiming for a public release in the first half of 2009 with beta builds going out to selected testers as usual.

Another interesting aspect is that Service Pack 2 will not only be for Windows Vista but also for Windows Server 2008 RTM. Several new features have been confirmed by Microsoft.

• Support for VIA 64-bit CPUs
• Support for Bluetooth 2.1.
• Support for ICCD/CCID smart cards.
• Support for native Blu-Ray media recording.
• Windows Connect Now (WCN), a new tool to assist in connecting to Wi-Fi networks.
• ex-FAT file system, supporting UTC timestamps to ensure correct file synchronization across time zones.
• Windows Search 4.0 integration.
• Improved support for resuming with active Wi-Fi connections.

Nothing spectacular in the list (yet) but probably helpful for some users who are experiencing Wi-Fi connection issues or use hardware that supports Bluetooth 2.1 or run Via 64-but CPUs or Blu-Ray devices.