8 ms·

Windows 7 SP1 is out

• mrcharles 16y ago
  Does anyone have a link to actual release notes from SP1? I followed about 10 links, downloaded a *.doc that the microsoft site led me to believe had release notes, which actually only contained links back to the page I downloaded the doc from. Helpful site design.
  • Qz 16y ago
    I just did the same and somehow ended up back at the page linked to in this submission... edit: okay, just got to the same document you did. Apparently microsoft considers 'release notes' to be 'notes about the process of releasing' which that document will have when there are any, rather than notes about the release itself, aka the Service Pack. There is another file on that link called 'Notable Changes in Windows 7 SP1' or something similar, which basically boils down the changes to: HDMI audio improvements, fix to XPS documents, and a change in the way 'restore previous folders at logon' works...
    • sliverstorm 16y ago
      Seeing as these are not major notable changes, what seems most likely? 1) They released a SP as a milestone because it was 'about time' 2) They released a SP as a rollup to bring everyone to the same page 3) They need to push the HDMI audio updates extra hard...?
      • mrcharles 16y ago
        More likely they just hit a limit for hotfixes, and do a rollup because they'll do a reprint of the DVDs as well, so that new systems come without needing 200 hotfixes.
  • deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
    • mrcharles 16y ago
      I dare you to click the release notes link on that page.
      • Qz 16y ago
        Round and round it goes, where it stops, nobody knows!
      • InclinedPlane 16y ago
        Indeed. This is literally all that's there: http://imgur.com/HCPZC.jpg http://imgur.com/HCPZC.jpg The bulk of it is these three links, which just point back to the same pages: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=194725 http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=194725 http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=194726 http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=194726 http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=194727 http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=194727
  • pero 16y ago
    5 clicks after hitting the 'release notes portal' you can find: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=61924cea-83fe-46e9-96d8-027ae59ddc11&displaylang=en http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=...
    • nailer 16y ago
      Why do they want me to download the release notes? Can't they just show them to me? In their own page, or, if they somehow need to be Word docs, using the Office web tools?
  • ztan 16y ago
    It seems like they did not make a single document that contains everything. The information about SP1 is split up into four separate docs: 1. Hotfixes and Security Updates included in Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 2. Notable Changes in Service Pack 1 for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 3. Deployment Guide for Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1 and Windows 7 with SP1 4. Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Beta Test Focus Guide Depending on which type of information you are looking for you'd need to get the corresponding one. Note the list of hot fixes is an xls spreadsheet.
• chime 16y ago
  What's New in SP1: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/nickmac/archive/2011/02/11/what-s-new-in-windows-7-windows-server-2008-r2-sp1.aspx http://blogs.msdn.com/b/nickmac/archive/2011/02/11/what-s-ne... See "Changes specific to Windows 7" section in "Notable Changes in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1.doc": http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=61924cea-83fe-46e9-96d8-027ae59ddc11&displaylang=en http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=...
• ghuntley 16y ago
  "In short - there is no new functionality as we have mentioned previously beyond client-side support for RemoteFX and Dymanic Memory which are 2 new virtualization features enabled in Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1." http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/b/bloggingwindows/archive/2011/02/22/windows-7-sp1-now-available-for-everyone.aspx http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/b/bloggingwindows/archive... Summary: SP1 is just a collection of hotfixes: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/17855015/Hotfixes%20and%20Security%20Updates%20included%20in%20Windows%207%20and%20Windows%20Server%202008%20R2%20Service%20Pack%201%20%281%29.xls http://dl.dropbox.com/u/17855015/Hotfixes%20and%20Security%2...
• maxxxxx 16y ago
  That's the problem with Microsoft these days. It's just plain boring. Windows 7 has been out for more than a year and no new features.
  • krmmalik 16y ago
    Two ways to look at what you just said. Windows 7 is a very solid OS. I've been using it for the past year or so now, and this is the first time that i'm using a Windows OS that i havent said to myself on almost weekly basis, "I wish the OS could do X, or y or z" The whole ecosystem is changing, and so maybe we dont demand so much from the OSes in themselves anymore, at least not in terms of feature-set itself.
    • maxxxxx 16y ago
      I agree. It's just hard to stay interested when they update their stuff only every 3 years or so.
      • icefox 16y ago
        Or... Hard to stay interested when [my company] uses XP.
        • maxxxxx 16y ago
          Very true :-)
      • locopati 16y ago
        I don't want my OS to be interesting - I want it to be stable & reliable. Those sides are usually mutually exclusive.
  • lwat 16y ago
    What kind of new features are you looking for?
    • 16y ago
• protomyth 16y ago
  Ok, let's say I'm trying to be a nice guy and download it to a shared drive for the PC/Techs. Let's also say I don't use Windows. Is there actually a link for that?
  • deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
    • AdamGibbins 16y ago
      I think he's asking for a direct link that doesn't require you to go through the Windows validation requested in the link. That validation requires you download via a Windows PC.
      • protomyth 16y ago
        Yes, I am asking about a normal download link. I really don't get why they continue, years after Mr. Gates's memo, to make it so hard to download anything. The OS checks its validity, why worry about the updates?
    • protomyth 16y ago
      I get the "continue" button, not a download button, and it asks to verify my windows.
      • pero 16y ago
        You're right...
• kenjackson 16y ago
  I think we may have some history in the making here. This is the first SP1 for an MS OS release that I have no interest in installing. I probably will at some point, but my system is running so well that w/o new features I fail to see what the upside can be. Who would've thunk anyone would say about Windows... "No need for SP1. The original version is working like a charm."
  • dotBen 16y ago
    ...and so how are they going to buy the next version of the operation system in a years time? I had this with Win XP - I prob used it for 8 years+. Vista was no reason to upgrade. Then I discovered OSX and made the switch over to Mac.
    • jquery 16y ago
      Same here. Then I discovered Windows 7 and switched back to PC.
      • rbanffy 16y ago
        What features Win7 has that OSX lacks? Why the switch back?
        • robryan 16y ago
          What features does OSX have that Windows lacks? Assuming a user that doesn't really interact much with the terminal. To me unless your a developer I can't see much that would really drive a decision one way or the other. Can't think of anything that either Windows or OSX makes impossible that the other does.
          • rbanffy 16y ago
            - Virtual invulnerability to malware - no need to buy and use crippling and intrusive anti-malware systems. - Partly as a result of the above, it's noticeably faster. - Time Machine (albeit it would be much nicer if it were based on ZFS). - It comes bundled with pretty computers that have no blue LEDs (and most users, Windows and Mac alike, just stick to whatever came pre-installed). My last HP had 18 blue light sources piercing my retinas all the time. - The company comes with a very charismatic CEO. - It's prettier than Windows. - It just works. And keeps working. - If you are a developer, it offers a rich Unix environment matched only by Linux machines - that, I have to admit, don't work as consistently. It also comes with a kick-ass IDE for free. - It already ships with a decent web browser. No need to download and install one. - The App Store promises near-Linux ease for finding, selecting, downloading and keeping software up-to-date. It certainly beats the Windows way of googling for the software, hitting a malware site, going back, searching more, finding the correct site, downloading an executable and giving it the keys to the kingdom so it can do whatever it wants with your computer, something it may never recover from.
• ximeng 16y ago
  Note that you don't need the 1.9GB file linked there to install this on one PC. You should be able to get it from Windows Update. I needed to select it, it was listed as an "important update" but deselected by default.
  • trezor 16y ago
    Yeah. And it was about 100MB, not 2GBs. Careful though: I managed to hose one of my Windows 7 VMs with the stock WU SP1 update. Do remember to take your snapshots. I didn't :(
• AbnormalGun 16y ago
  I have found Windows 7 to be a pretty good OS, I am happy to say. I just wish Microsoft would make the intergrated Windows 7 Install DVD ISOs available for download, like the do for MSDN and Technet, even if they charged a small fee for it.
  • blinkingled 16y ago
    What do you mean integrated? I bought Home Premium and Pro version from Microsoft online store and they did provide ISOs and even USB tool to put the ISO on flash drives.
    • deleted 16y ago
      [deleted]
    • riobard 16y ago
      He wants an ISO that packs in SP1.
      • timthorn 16y ago
        They don't provide that on MSDN - the ISO there just contains the SP1 installers for Win2K8 and Win7.
  • tsvk 16y ago
    Yeah, true. Fortunately the MSDN subscriber downloads inventory is publicly browsable: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/downloads/default.aspx http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/downloads/defa... From there we can see the download details for all "Windows 7 with Service Pack 1" ISO files (all Windows 7 editions, all processor architectures and all languages). From there we can for example see the following information for the English Professional x64 version: File Name: en_windows_7_professional_with_sp1_x64_dvd_621750.iso Date Published (UTC): 2/16/2011 8:49:08 AM Last Updated (UTC): 2/16/2011 8:49:08 AM SHA1: 5ED2584110E03F498DB4458BA9FAFD5A7EF602ED ISO/CRC: 74F3CB73 With this information, I can be confident in downloading an ISO from a peer-to-peer torrent. When the hash matches, I can be assured that the file is legit and not backdoored.
• npalli 16y ago
  Just installed SP1 on 64bit professional. Went smoothly in 20 mins. Freed up 7GB of diskspace on my SSD. Nice!
  • sliverstorm 16y ago
    Now THIS is interesting. Seriously? Do you know where the fat was cut?
    • xpaulbettsx 16y ago
      Once you install the SP, it can get rid of a lot of older binaries that were related to Windows Update (i.e. we have to keep around old versions in case you ever decide to uninstall anything)
    • Leftium 16y ago
      The WinSxS folder is cleaned up after a service pack is installed. (http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/itdojo/reduce-the-size-of-the-winsxs-folder-with-vsp1clnexe-and-compclnexe/1060 http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/itdojo/reduce-the-size-of-t...)
  • altano 16y ago
    Humm. I just successfully installed SP1 and my winsxs folder is 9.8GB, ~1GB larger than before. Did you have to do anything other than install SP1?
• Sticker 16y ago
  Upgrades continue to this day! As an example, I updated my last household PC to Windows 7 Ultimate (up from Windows MCE 2004 from HP: a frankenstein OS). It runs better than ever (2.4Ghz, 2GB memory). Media Center works great (looks like MCE 2005). For a 7 year old PC with AGP graphics (7600 GT) it's surprising how well Windows 7 performs. Assuming nothing breaks, it's still a good 'dev test server' for .NET and LAMP work.
  • riobard 16y ago
    How are you going to test LAMP on Windows 7? L stands for Linux.
    • Sticker 16y ago
      Those are just examples of course, but 2 methods come to mind: WAMP install works good, or "andLinux" or something to virtualize Linux.
• keyle 16y ago
  Why is it that when OS X has a new update (version+1), I get excited, but when Windows has a new service pack, I shit my pants?
  • Groxx 16y ago
    You drink laxatives heavily right before a new Windows service pack comes out? Maybe it's a form of prescience - you should see if you can use it to make money, somehow.
• TillE 16y ago
  Looks like it won't install (error code 0x800F0A12) if you have a different bootloader in the MBR. Bah. Can't be bothered to redo my whole Hackintosh setup.
• xpaulbettsx 16y ago
  Some highlights of Win7 SP1 that aren't in the main list (this isn't exhaustive, just what I can think of): * Support for new Nehalem processor instructions (AVX) * Many fixes for 512e and 4k-native disk drives * TS can now remote 3D primitives across the wire (we had a demo internally where we played Mass Effect 2 over remote desktop) * Better support for volumes > 2TB * Superfetch now detects if you have an SSD installed and disables itself * For devs, better crash reporting for 32-bit apps running on 64-bit OS (see http://is.gd/TaK9ZK for more info)
• e40 16y ago
  Here is the download: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=c3202ce6-4056-4059-8a1b-3a9b77cdfdda http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=...
• pero 16y ago
  I've recently worked for a large bank still running XP and IE6 and their migration policy stipulated that upgrades to the OS weren't considered until a SP has been released; perhaps this is more widespread, and enterprise applications notwithstanding, the insignificance of the Win7 updates could be in anticipation of IE9...
  • rbanffy 16y ago
    If they are still running XP and IE6, I suspect some other problem exists, like a very critical program that was done in, say, Webclasses or plain ASP/VBScript, that breaks under IE7 and nobody dares to touch it for it will collapse.
  • JanezStupar 16y ago
    That is a standard practice AFAIK. Think of it... All previous MS OSes really became feasible after SP1 and started to shine after SP2. Win 7 seems to be a notable exception (truthfully it is a Vista SP2). Anyways one supper happy Win7 user here - although 64 bit is STILL not what it should be - Firefox memory leaks are a bit worse and it is noticeably slower (I have 32bit W7 on laptop) plus some other minor issues - but that is hardly Microsoft's fault.
• jcitme 16y ago
  download's going slow, the ms server is probably getting hammered. is there a link to a torrent that's not one of the pesky SP1 betas?
• yuhong 16y ago
  Don't forget this is required to use Sandy Bridge's AVX instructions.
• ck2 16y ago
  The update is 2GB in size? Whoa. Oh wait, that's a fully patched W7, the update is really 100mb. 32bit x86 http://download.microsoft.com/download/0/A/F/0AFB5316-3062-494A-AB78-7FB0D4461357/windows6.1-KB976932-X86.exe http://download.microsoft.com/download/0/A/F/0AFB5316-3062-4... 64bit x64 http://download.microsoft.com/download/0/A/F/0AFB5316-3062-494A-AB78-7FB0D4461357/windows6.1-KB976932-X64.exe http://download.microsoft.com/download/0/A/F/0AFB5316-3062-4... AllInOne http://download.microsoft.com/download/0/A/F/0AFB5316-3062-494A-AB78-7FB0D4461357/7601.17514.101119-1850_Update_Sp_Wave1-GRMSP1.1_DVD.iso http://download.microsoft.com/download/0/A/F/0AFB5316-3062-4...
  • natep 16y ago
    Or if it's just one computer, use the built-in Windows Update