To address problems found in Vista since its release in Nov. 2006, Microsoft is preparing the first Vista service pack for release in early 2008. The service pack may satisfy those customers reluctant to install a Microsoft OS until after the first service pack, and therefore could spur corporate deployments of Vista. However, the service pack changes some features and the OS kernel, so customers will want to examine it and decide whether or not it truly improves the performance and reliability of Vista.

SP1 Improvements

The goal for Windows Vista SP1 is to fix problems identified by customers without reducing application compatibility. Unlike Windows XP SP2, which included sweeping product changes designed to increase security and ended up being closer to a full product release, Windows Vista SP1 returns to the more traditional service pack role of delivering only improvements and enhancements to existing features rather than substantial new OS features.

Windows Vista SP1 will include all updates that Microsoft has released up to the time when the service pack is being finalized for release. All updates released on Patch Tuesday for vulnerabilities found in Vista through Dec. 2007 should be included.

Other changes can be categorized in four key areas: reliability, performance, administrative, and support for new hardware and standards.

Reliability

Reliability updates improve the overall stability and availability of Vista, addressing many of the causes of the most common crashes and hangs resulting from Microsoft code. The Vista SP1 reliability improvements include fixes for the following situations:

• Working with newer graphics cards
• Connecting a laptop to an external display
• Upgrading Windows XP to Vista
• Transitioning between power states, such as resuming from sleep.

Performance

According to Microsoft, Vista SP1's performance updates make the following operations faster:

• Copying files and extracting files from archives
• Parsing JScript by Internet Explorer 7
• Displaying the password prompt after initiating logon sequences (pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del)
• Browsing network file shares.

In addition, customers with Vista SP1 should experience longer battery life due to reduced screen redraws, which reduces CPU utilization.

Administration Improvements

SP1 offers administrative improvements, such as the following:

BitLocker Drive Encryption (BDE), a feature that encrypts entire drive volumes to protect sensitive data (particularly for lost laptops), will offer an additional multifactor authentication method that combines a key protected by the Trusted Platform Module with a startup key stored on a USB storage device and a user-generated personal identification number. BDE will also be able to encrypt local volumes other than the system volume; Vista currently requires users to use the Encrypted File System to encrypt files and folders on volumes other than the system volume.

The Group Policy Management Console tool that customers use to manage Group Policy will be uninstalled and GPEdit.msc will become the default local Group Policy editing tool. In the SP1 timeframe, administrators can download an out-of-band release of a new Group Policy tool with the ability to add comments to Group Policy Objects or individual settings, and to search for specific settings.

Hardware Improvements

SP1 adds support for the following new hardware and standards:

The Extended Firmware Interface (EFI), like the basic input-output system (BIOS), is stored in rewritable memory and is the first piece of code that runs when a computer boots. SP1 will allow x64 computers to boot using the EFI.

Extended File Allocation Table (exFAT) is a new version of the MS-DOS and Windows 9x-era FAT file system. Despite newer file systems, such as NTFS, FAT continues to live because it provides a lowest common denominator that can be read by multiple OSs and devices. ExFAT supports larger media capacity (over 32GB), more than 1,000 files per directory, and supports files larger than 4GB. The new file system also supports transactional FAT (TransFAT) functionality, which provides transaction protection for disk reads and writes (analogous to the transactional capabilities added to NTFS in Vista). Microsoft says that ExFAT also speeds up storage allocation and supports OEM extensibility so that OEMs can define parameters to specify characteristics of a device, such as performance, or create a unique ID (global unique identifier, or GUID) for the device.

Improvements for Partners

Two changes to Vista implemented with SP1 are designed to address partner concerns with the original release:

Kernel Patch Protection changes include an API that third-party security and malicious software detection applications can use to interface with kernel patch protection on x64 versions of Windows Vista. Changes have also been made to improve the interface with the Windows Security Center so that security products can better communicate their status.

Kernel Patch Protection, formerly named PatchGuard, prevents third-party software from modifying key OS internals. The use of the word "patch" in the name Kernel Patch Protection has caused confusion about which activities kernel patch protection blocks. In the context of Kernel Patch Protection, patch does not refer to the installation of a legitimate update to fix a problem with the kernel but to hooking a piece of software into the kernel so that a request to the kernel is passed to a third-party software component for servicing. It could also refer to the complete replacement of a kernel component with a third-party component that provides similar functionality.

Desktop Search changes should make it easier for users to use alternative search tools from providers such as Google and X1. Changes include the following:

• Providing a mechanism by which end users can choose another default desktop search product
• Ensuring that whenever Windows launches a "top-level window" with desktop search results (such as when users conduct searches from Vista's Start menu and click "Search Everywhere"), this window will be launched from the default search application
• Updating Vista so that search interfaces that do not automatically launch a new window, such as the search pane in Vista's Windows Explorer, contain a link that lets users launch the default desktop search product and conduct the search from that product instead
• Providing desktop search ISVs with technical information so they can minimize their products' effects on performance.

Resyncing with Server

Both Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 are built on the same foundation and share a significant number of files. In particular, Windows Vista SP1 will get the latest versions of files that make up the kernel and core OS files, the networking stack, and file sharing. On one hand, this means that the OS will have the latest versions of key OS files; on the other hand, the files represent a new release when customers were expecting SP1 to improve stability of existing files.

Deployment Issues

Windows Vista SP1 will be available in three formats:

Express. This format downloads only the files needed (approximately 55 MB) for the computer being upgraded. It requires an Internet connection.

Stand-alone. This is a larger (approximately 1GB) download that provides a single packaged update that can be used to update any Windows Vista version and language combination, and it can be used with distribution tools like System Center Configuration Manager 2007. It also requires an Internet connection.

Slipstream. This version ships on physical media and contains the full OS with the service pack. Organizations (in particular Volume Licensing Customers) use this media to deploy the OS to new computers or to upgrade existing computers.

The service pack will also be released in two language waves, first with English, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish, followed by remaining language versions.

Installation of the stand-alone distribution can require up to 12GB of free disk space on 64-bit systems and 7GB for 32-bit systems), most of which can be reclaimed after installation. Because SP1 will change a significant number of files, customers cannot apply SP1 to offline Windows Vista images, although this will likely be possible with future hotfixes and service packs post SP1.

Availability and Resources

A white paper describing Windows Vista SP1 is available at www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=090DEAF6-2EAA-4AAA-8B3B-2E199DB4A97D&displaylang=en.

A Knowledge Base article on the changes to Vista's Desktop Search in SP1 is available at support.microsoft.com/kb/941946.

Information on the exFAT file system is available at msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa914353.aspx.

The TransFAT file system is described at msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa911939.aspx.