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

Users who are interested in download Windows Vista SP2 RC or Windows Server 2008 SP2 RC can do so either at the Customer Preview Program site or by using the Windows Update Experience Kit. The difference is that users can download an iso containing the service packs if they access the Customer Preview Program while they download the service packs from Windows Update if they install the Windows Update Experience Kit.

The release candidate builds are available for all supported languages of both Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 and available for both 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the operating systems. Users who are interested in the release notes can take a look at the most notable changes here.

First make sure that the first beta of the Windows Vista Service Pack 2 is completely uninstalled from the computer system as the new beta cannot be installed over the old one. Once the first beta of Windows Vista Service Pack 2 has been uninstalled you can go ahead and add the following Registry keys to the Windows Registry: The easiest way to do this is to copy and paste both lines into a new text documents and rename it so that the extension changes from txt to reg.

reg delete HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\VistaSP2 /f
reg add HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\VistaSP2 /v Beta2 /t REG_SZ /d DCA54ECC-362A-4B4D-B62B-22780E839A7E /f

A double-click will execute the file and add both lines to the Windows Registry. You can try and check Windows Update right away to see if Beta 2 shows up. It might take some time and you might need to reboot the computer after applying the Registry patches before you can see the new beta release.

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.

Windows Vista Service Pack Beta 2 is available in the five languages English, German, Japanese, Spanish and French. Microsoft did publish the release notes for Windows Server 2009 Service Pack 2 Beta and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Beta already. The release notes do not contain many information at this point but they contain information about incompatible applications and updates which should be updated or installed prior to installing the beta release of the Service Pack.

Users with previous versions of Service Pack 2 have to uninstall that Service Pack before being able to install the beta 2. This is done in the Control Panel as usual. The website where MSDN or Technet subscribers can find their download links and where regular users will find their download links as well is available here. Interested users can also take a look at the updates and patches that are included in both betas of the Service Packs.

It should be noted that this is still a beta release and therefor intended to be installed on development or test computer systems.

It should be noted though that users have to uninstall the last build before they will be able to download the current one since there is no way of updating the builds on top of each other. Users who have already installed Windows Vista Service Pack 2 105 will have to uninstall it, reboot their computer and connect to Windows Update again where they have to download a series of updates that brings the version of the service pack to 113.

Users who did not install the latest service pack beta can simply apply the Registry keys of the file and connect to Windows Update to bring their Vista operating system to version 113 as well.

It should be made clear that beta releases of service packs should not be installed on computer systems that are needed on a daily basis. This version of the Service Pack will add a Evaluation Copy message on the desktop and expire on 4/2/2010 unless uninstalled before that date.

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.

There are not any changes yet that can be identified after installing Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista. The service pack 2 currently contains all released patches and hotfixes that have been already released and several files that are required for future updates that Microsoft will release to testers.

Users who are still interested in testing Windows Vista SP2 can download a batch file that is stored at Mediafire which will add the required keys to the Windows Vista Registry. The computer has to be restarted after executing the batch file before the changes become visible.

Windows Update will present the Vista SP2 Servicing Stack Update first which has to be installed before the actual Vista SP2 becomes available.

The pre-beta release is distributed to a select group of testers who have to run a program that adds a few keys to their Registry which enables the download of Windows Vista service pack 2 on Windows Update.

The release which has the build number 6002.16489 has a size between 290.7 MB to 296.9 MB. It contains all released updates but no obvious changes or additional features according to Within Windows.

KB955430 is the hotfix that has to be installed after making the changes to the Windows Registry. After installing that hotfix the real Windows Vista Service Pack 2 download becomes visible in Windows Update.

It will probably be only a matter of time until the Registry changes leak on the Internet which would enable the Service Pack 2 downloads for anyone making the changes to their Registry.

According to ZDnet Microsoft has already send a beta of the Windows Vista Service Pack 2 to selected partners to receive feedback for the development process. Some users might wonder about Service Pack 1 for Microsoft Windows Server 2008 since there was no official release until now.

Windows Server 2008 was build on the Windows Vista Service Pack 1 codebase meaning the functionality is already included in the release of Windows Server 2008. It might still confuse customers who do not know that.

Both service packs are said to be released before the release of Windows 7 to avoid customer confusion since some might want to test the announced service pack 2 before making a decision whether to switch to Windows 7 or stick with Windows Vista.

Windows 7 is still on track to be released in the second half of 2009 with a first public beta coming out in late 2008.