Entered CNET Catalog: 02/07/2008
SKU: CNETWINDOWSVISTASP1
Manufacturer: Microsoft Corp.
Product summary
The good: Windows Vista SP1 improves the overall upgrade process, fixes hundreds of tiny problems, and makes it easier for third-party vendors to write stable code for Vista.
The bad: Windows Vista SP1 lacks any compelling "must haves," and, in most cases, doesn't significantly improve performance (in some cases, it even degrades performance).
The bottom line: While it's always good to install the latest code for any operating system, installing the Windows Vista SP1 update will require some casual users to spend a few hours without any visible or tangible improvements to their systems.
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 02/07/2008
Photo gallery:
Windows Vista SP1
A little more than one year after its release, Windows Vista will receive its first service pack update in March. Microsoft says the pack will offer better compatibility with third-party hardware, increased reliability, tighter security, and better performance. But unlike the last Windows Service Pack release, Windows XP SP2--which offered users a new Windows Firewall, an improved Automatic Updates feature, and a pop-up ad blocker for Internet Explorer--Windows Vista SP1 is largely a code update, devoid of new eye candy, and very light on "must-have" features for home users. Most of the features touted by Microsoft are for the Business, Enterprise, or Ultimate editions of the operating system. Our advice: Be patient, and don't download it once it becomes available. Wait until Windows Vista SP1 is offered to your PC via Microsoft's Automatic Updates service.
Installation
Windows Vista SP1 will arrive one of three ways. Most users will automatically receive the update via Windows Update. Microsoft says that users will only receive the changes specific for their computer to cut down on network traffic and download times. Users with limited or no Internet connectivity, or who need to update more than one PC, will be able to download a complete image of Windows Vista SP1 via DVD. Volume license customers (enterprises) will receive an integrated DVD media package for installation on new PCs.
Before installing SP1, all users running Windows Vista RTM (that is, if you bought your computer with Vista preinstalled) will need to install three updates from Microsoft. Microsoft's Windows Update will automatically detect and install these updates prior to the release of Windows Vista SP1. Two of these updates increase the success rate for installing Windows Vista SP1; one is necessary only if you have Windows Vista Enterprise or Windows Vista Ultimate installed.
While all this sounds complicated, Microsoft says it has learned from Windows XP SP2, an upgrade that sometimes stranded users with long, overnight downloads. Windows Vista is modular, thus the upgrade will download only the bites of code necessary for your specific system. If you have enabled Automatic Updates, in theory, you should have a much shorter download and installation of the upgrade than someone who hasn't kept up with the numerous updates since Windows Vista's release. Despite the many changes within the code, Windows Vista SP1 does not change the basic hardware requirements for running the different editions of Windows Vista.
Using a disc provided by Microsoft, we found the upgrade of Windows Vista to SP1 on a typical Acer Travelmate required about 1 hour. During that time, the computer was unusable and automatically rebooted several times. A display informed us exactly where the install was in terms of overall progress (for example, "Configuring update, stage 1 of 3, 34 percent complete").
Should you, for any reason, want to uninstall this upgrade, Microsoft allows you to do so, although the three preinstallation updates cannot be removed.
Features
Where Windows XP SP2 introduced the Windows Security Center, and changed the existing Windows Firewall, Windows Vista SP1 introduces almost no visible change to your desktop. There are no new features to view, with almost all of the nearly 300 changes occurring under the hood, and mostly intended for Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions.
Specific reliability improvements include the prevention of data loss while ejecting NT file system file-system-formatted removable media; enhancements to TCP/IP Version 6; improved driver sleep and wake-up times; improved Meeting Space connections; improved Remote Assistance applications; and it includes Encrypting File System in the Windows Vista file-backup set.
For performance, Microsoft says SP1 uses less bandwidth when browsing network shares, and automatically selects between wireless and wired when more than one is offered. There are also many tweaks and improvements in ReadyDrive (requires the use of special hybrid drives) and ReadyBoost (requires special USB drives), and SuperFetch (requires a specific amount of RAM). As a result, users currently running Windows SuperFetch will notice, after installing Windows Vista SP1, their system is slower. Microsoft says that's because SP1 erases the existing SuperFetch data. As new data is collected, the system will respond "within a few days," Microsoft says.
There are many new standards introduced with SP1. For example, there's a new Unified Extensible Firmware Interface, x64 Extensible Firmware Interface network boot, Direct3D 10.1 for 3D gaming, new flash based xFAT, identifies HD-DVD and Blu-ray drives as HD drives, supports SD Advanced Direct Memory Access, second-generation Windows Media Center Extenders, enhances the MPEG-2 decoder, and enhances support for Windows Network Projector.
For security, SP1 improves the Bitlocker encryption in Windows Vista Enterprise and Windows Ultimate by adding multifunction authentication methods; moreover, Microsoft now allows encryption support for volumes other than the bootable volume. SP1 also includes some Smart Card enhancements, and allows for biometric, as opposed to PIN, access to Smart Cards. Within Vista, SP1 creates a more secure PIN channel for authentication.
For most home users, the new features will have little or no effect on the day-to-day use of their systems.
Performance
In general, CNET Labs found that Windows Vista SP1 offered a mixed bag of improvements. For example, Microsoft says that reading and writing files will be much faster within Windows Vista SP1. Tests performed by CNET Labs on a Dell XPS M1530 laptop showed that performance did improve in one scenario, remained steady in another, and even deteriorated in a third scenario. When transferring files from one folder to another on the same drive volume, the transfer time did somewhat improve. However, when reading those same files from an external drive, or writing them to the external drive, performance was the same or worse.
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
 |
Write to external HDD | |
Read from external HDD | |
Copy files on same internal HDD |
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
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Boot time | |
Shutdown time |
Those looking for enhanced battery life under Windows Vista SP1 will be disappointed. Although Microsoft touts its own internal study showing that in 14 out of 16 randomly-chosen laptops battery life did improve, CNET Labs was unable to support that in it's own testing.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
Support
We found that Microsoft offers a reasonable amount of support for the SP1 upgrade. For example, before you start there is a link to a Read Me page called "What you should know before installing Service Pack 1" which covers what to do before installing, during, and after installation. Also, Microsoft has improved the upgrade process itself so that if the installation of one update fails, it tries another while preparing to rerun the failed update. This should speed installation for most users. But if users do run into trouble, they can always uninstall the upgrade.
Conclusion
Do you need Windows Vista SP1? Yes and no. It's always good to install the latest (read: patched) code for any operating system. But downloading and installing the update will take some users a few hours without any visible or tangible improvements to their systems.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85out of 85 user reviews
Does Nothing To Fix Vista - Headaches Continue Unabated
Pros: Nothing at all
Cons: Hardware incompatibilities
Software incompatibilities
Bogs machine down compared to XP Pro /x64
Continued instabilities
AMD Socket AM2+, 4GB RAM, Athlon X2 6400+, AMD 790 chipset, and a pair of Ati HD3870 graphics.
Voila . . .
Hardware works as designed
Software works as intended
Noticeable improvement in processing speed with less RAM and HDD bloat
Rock solid stable again . . . XP Pro /x64 SP2 was created from the Server 2003 branch of WinXP. I plan to run the wheels off of WinXP /x64 until there's zero support left. Don't bother advising me to try this or try that. Been using MS O/S's since DOS 2 and building my own platforms starting with an Intel 8086 PC XT clone. Tired of mucking around with Vista . . . the worst thing since DOS 4 and WinME . . . and I don't hold much hope for Win7 to be much better (aka Fixta or Vista SP2 with a price tag). MS shouldn't be crying and complaining about the Apple Mac vs PC commercials. They've provided Apple with all the fodder they use . . . and then some that hasn't been exploited yet. Nope . . . not an Apple Fan Boy . . . never have been . . . don't care for their "closed" architectures. My next O/S after XP completely dies will most likely be Linux. Bottom Line: Vista, even with SP1, still gets the biggest "Thumbs Down" of any software application, utility or O/S I've used in the past 25 years.
out of 85 user reviews
SP1 is a terrible service patch for Vista
Pros: Computer ran slightly faster.
Cons: Blue screens of death (BSOD) on Startup.
out of 85 user reviews
Unbelievably frustrating - on par for Window Vista!
Pros: I have not seen any pros to this service pack
Cons: Difficult installation - tech support time wasted
out of 85 user reviews
Terrible Experience
Pros: Nothing, really.
Cons: So bad I uninstalled it.
out of 85 user reviews
Sped up my computer dramatically!
Pros: Faster boot-up, faster file copying, better battery life.
Cons: nothing really special addition though
out of 85 user reviews
I would use windows over mac anyday
Pros: It has a lot of shinier things to choose from to decorate the desktop.
Cons: The start menu isn't very convenient.
out of 85 user reviews
no notification of how long the install takes
Pros: after the installation process, who cares. Vista has been awful from day one. I can't believe how long it takes to shut down or hibernate. I'm through with MSFT.
But, I can already tell that it hasn't much improved the constant (not responding) msg.
Cons: once the intall starts, you cannot stop it. Why does MSFT continue to harm their users? I came in, got notified of a new program to install and started the process. Next thing I know, I'm stuck in install mode for an hour. My first hour of my day.
out of 85 user reviews
I'm not impressed.
Pros: I can't think of any.
Cons: If you want to spend tons of time recovering from blue screen events and reinstalling all of your apps, by all means go for it. Not.
out of 85 user reviews
VISTA - Hopeless WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY
Pros: Absolutly No positive traits
Cons: It's a Performance Killer with nothing else going for it
out of 85 user reviews
Not what I'd hoped for
Pros: Fixes some problems
Cons: Still a long way to go
MS, you can do better.
out of 85 user reviews
Is it realy worth it?
Pros: Real support from a real person
Cons: It is a bear to install. Despite support I still have not been able to install.
out of 85 user reviews
Screwed up my computer
Pros: None whatsoever
Cons: Wasted alot of my time.
out of 85 user reviews
Not a good thing
Pros: Can't think of any!
Cons: After installing this service pack I began to experience program problems. Programs began freezing or just shutting down on me. I even had some Windows Explorer errors pop up on me.
out of 85 user reviews
CNET review gives short shrift to SP1
Pros: Smooth upgrade, some performance enhancement and corrections
Cons: Some questionable political compromises
CNET's conclusion that SP1 lacks tangible benefits because it lacks new features seems strange. Improvements to the kernel may not be a sexy feature, but they yield dividends. That also alludes to one of the most significant changes with Vista relative to XP: the new kernel architecture makes it much simpler to maintain and upgrade the kernel. I suspect further benefits of the improved kernel are down the road. Also lacking from the CNET review is any mention of changes to the behavior of two of the most controversial features of Vista, UAC and WGA. I would not have first hand knowledge of this, since I was not one of those who had a hard time with UAC and I have not been in a situation that confronted WGA so far. But if those changes prevent misery in limited situations, they are worthwhile. The conclusion that network file copying is slower is at odds with the findings other reviewers who have evaluated the performance of SP1. In my experience there is a small boost to speed, but I am not one who transfers large batches of files between drives. Disk defragmenting is also handled with a little more finesse with SP1, allowing defragmenting to be performed on targeted volumes instead of through the whole system. Anything that simplifies fundamental maintenance is a major improvement.
On the downside, what's with obscuring the search from the start menu and allowing more kernel hooks? It' not encouraging that accommodations to certain "partners" are allowed to compromise the architecture of the OS. It reminds me of Microsoft's wishy-washy approach to standardizing to its most up-to-date API. That's one area where Microsoft could take a lesson from Apple.
CNET's dismissive attitude toward the significance of the under-the-hood improvements with Vista, originally relative to XP and now with SP1, is puzzling. The reference to Vista as "warmed over XP" in the original Vista review is so superficial and off-base that it is bizarre coming from a professional. Much more insightful opinion on Vista/SP1 is available elsewhere on the net. If anyone has been dissuaded from upgrading to SP1 by the CNET opinion, it has been a disservice.
One other beef with the review process. Lots of user opinions pre-date the release of SP1 through the Windows update process and fall under one of two circumstances. The first would be that the upgrade was downloaded from the MS update site, which was explicitly not the recommended procedure for common users. Anybody doing so runs the risk of user error in performing the upgrade unless they are unusually heads up. I suspect that some of the bad upgrade experiences leading to negative reviews arose from user error. The other circumstance is that the reviewer was not a Vista user at all and is simply engaged in the trolling against all things Microsoft, and particularly Vista, that in a certain mindset is seen as the cool thing to do. It would be helpful in assuring the relevance of user opinions on CNET to delay the input of user opinions until a product is under general release.
out of 85 user reviews
Bad News for Vista users
Pros: None that I know of
Cons: Erases all restore points prvious to installation.
out of 85 user reviews
Makes PC more stable
Pros: Defuses many bugs, helps internals
Cons: Long Install
out of 85 user reviews
Tweaks to a decent operating system?
Pros: More stability, better loading times.
Cons: People that whinge about Vista
Service pack 1. Here we start our journey for a legendary Windows Vista, like XP had service packs and Windows 2000 before that. I had run Vista since release without an issue, but having just got a new set of components for a new system i decided a clean install would be nice. I pre downloaded SP1 and backed it up with all my other documents and bits to my 120Gb back up drive. Write time for 80Gb of core back up, 13 mins. Installation and formatting with Vista is roughly twice the speed of XP to install and set up. Pre-installed RAID drivers. All up it took about 5Hrs to wipe out and reinstall with drivers, restored back up data etc. and now the system is faster than ever. Stability has never been an issue. SP1 has just improved to me what is essentially a good operating system.
out of 85 user reviews
Works Fine
Pros: Helped to speed up Vista
Cons: Like they said no new features
out of 85 user reviews
My wife and I are in our 7th hour of MS "HELP"
Pros: none, it has screwed up my new HP a6152n
Cons: wait, wait, wait as a poor tech tries to help from India
out of 85 user reviews
Reduced Lock-ups, maintains my Internet Connection.
Pros: Reduced Lock-ups, maintains my Internet Connection.
Cons: None as of yet.
However, when running Ubunto these issues never occurred so I was confident the issue was not related to my hardware configuration.
After installing SP1, I cannot say if my system if faster, but it is more stable, it has not dropped the Internet connection once, nor have I experienced system lock-ups.
Craig Knapp
out of 85 user reviews
SP needs a SP - do NOT install until it is fixed!
Pros: Haven't found any
Cons: Made my laptop unusable
Before: A well functioning, stable laptop.
After: 9 hours of time wasted, a 3-month old laptop that freezes and crashes.
out of 85 user reviews
Lets just ditch Vista and UPGRADE to XP or better yet switch to Mac
Pros: It fixes lots of little problems
Cons: In a lot of ways it makes your computer slower
out of 85 user reviews
Very Good Product
Pros: Make the system a lot more stable
Cons: There are no Cons
out of 85 user reviews
I hate it I hate it
Pros: None I hate it
Cons: All GAS HODGE ON RAM
out of 85 user reviews
Windows Vista SP1 improves your O.S. - overall it is a good fix
Pros: Vista SP1 is the best upgrade improving performance and stability.
Cons: Update will require up to a few hours and no visible change to your desktop
out of 85 user reviews
Fresh look, poor performance.
Pros: I like the tools and utilities.
Cons: Slow, very quirky, actually possessed by demons, changes settings arbitrarily
out of 85 user reviews
No noticeable improvement to performance
Pros: faster file copy over network
Cons: no improvement to performance
out of 85 user reviews
your kidding right, Mr. Gates??????????
Pros: its a computer..........
Cons: too many too list..........
lst my OS during/after SP install. Research the internet and many folks have lost their Operating System downloading SP1. Microsoft is not help if you run the OEM Version. You must call HP/Dell etc. Found it too circumstantial that HP online support was shutdown during the launch of SP1. Microsoft knows they have a problem here. FTC should investigate Microsoft.
out of 85 user reviews
Night And Day!!!
Pros: quicker boot up. fewer lock ups.
Cons: None that I have seen.
out of 85 user reviews
It's crap, like Vista itself.
Pros: None - absolutely none
Cons: It won't install and I'm in 8 hours!
out of 85 user reviews
awesome!!!!!
Pros: actually improved the speed of my comp slightly.
Cons: problems being able to save files to my program files folders, other then that, none what so ever.
out of 85 user reviews
had some issues with display adapter
Pros: Could notice anything yet
Cons: display adapter issues
so if you get a red screen, then the best bet is to contact your manufacture first then your display drive company, then microsoft.
out of 85 user reviews
computer great before, now messed up
Pros: Improves stability and several bugs
Cons: Causes issues with Office 2007, folders not accessibile from other programs(Outlook, Yahoo! Mail, etc.) Much slower and compatibility issues
out of 85 user reviews
It just annoys me
Pros: Nice new colors and interface
Cons: It's worse than XP
out of 85 user reviews
No problems here!
Pros: Speed has increased for some tasks.
Cons: Non so far.
out of 85 user reviews
The Disappearing Explorer
Pros: none Found
Cons: Explorer Crashed 10 times in the first day, no noticable difference in performance for what i need
out of 85 user reviews
Terrible service patch.
Pros: None bad product.
Cons: Destoryed my build
out of 85 user reviews
Hosed itunes
Pros: I removed it SP1!
Cons: I installed SP1
out of 85 user reviews
Fantastic Update
Pros: Already notice improved speed and reliability.
Cons: I have found none
out of 85 user reviews
Rendered my computer useless
Pros: None that I can see so far
Cons: Even after 4 hours of tech support , I still do not have a usable machine
out of 85 user reviews
Vista's useless Service pack upgrade
Pros: It did enhance my ram from 893mb to a full 1gig
Cons: It took 13 hours start to finish on phone line
Any suggestions?
out of 85 user reviews
No difference
Pros: None noticeable
Cons: None noticeable
out of 85 user reviews
Vista Service Pack 1 Updates or Crashdates?
Pros: Vista SP1 has updated many bugs and glitches.
Cons: Vista SP1 is issuing Crashdates not really but still crashes are coming in.
out of 85 user reviews
Good experience on 2 PCs
Pros: It all went nicely
Cons: Had no problems
Intel and MS were not sufficiently upfront with users in what was really required.
out of 85 user reviews
VISTA UPDATES HAVE CAUSED MY CPU TO FREEZE MORE!
Pros: None at all, this OS will make sensitive people commit suicide!
Cons: Its an OS made by Microsoft
Then Ctrl+Alt+Del to open the file explorer,
then Ctrl+Alt+Del to stop Windows Explorer from freezing, then click the file, then hit
Ctrl+Alt+Del to be able to open the file, then Ctrl+Alt+Del to get it to actually open, then Ctrl+Alt+Del to get the computer to actually thaw from a frozen state while opening the file.
The reason...
Microsofts latest updates are designed to make ANY Microsoft process FIRST priority.
So while it keeps running its little searchindexer/filter, it suspends the processes of other programs in order to allocate ALL or MOST about 90% of your CPU's processing power to process WINDOWS processes. Anything NON-Microsoft is basically put in the backburner. I will be putting a video soon about this mess. It took me 2 hours yesterday to install about 10 fonts, and an additional 3 hours to type 2 sentences in Photoshop for a business card project.
I had to restart my computer over 30 times in 5 hours, and the last time it took my computer 30 or 40 minutes to start up.
Ever since I have recived the first update in Windows VISTA, and this is the case everytime I Reboot the whole CPU (Recovery)
My computers performance goes from its standard pentium 4 HT 2.8ghz with 2 and a half gig ram (which works fast in XP)to A performance level so low it is comparable to certain high end Pentium 2 CPU's running Windows 95, and many mid level Pentium 3 CPU
machines.
This operating system is a consumer scam!
If you bought this OS you got robbed.
It is nonfunctional, impractical, and downright a pain in the A$$.
Microsoft must be shut down!
This is the worst functioning OS I have ever seen!
It's not filled with too many bugs,
more like an endless stream of conflicted
Boolean loops.
out of 85 user reviews
It is no better than Vista
Pros: Nothing Great to Talk About
Cons: Too Many to List
out of 85 user reviews
A great step forward.
Pros: bug fixes, exactly what I expect from a service pack
Cons: whacky install, delay in shipping ridiculous
out of 85 user reviews
its just not working out for me, after my first update vista wouldnt load because of currupted files
Pros: it looked nice while it worked
Cons: it didnt work for very long.
out of 85 user reviews
Happy convert
Pros: Perhaps usability for unexperienced computer users
Cons: A lot... performance, cost, features, security...
out of 85 user reviews
I'll wait and let it just happend
Pros: Not many to make me want to do the update
Cons: Many, Missing Code?, SLow my PC down? Not me
I've just did the SP1 update install last night on my Acer Aspire 5520. The first thing I did notice after the hour or so it took to do the update was that the laptop was that it seemed to be operating faster. I checked in the control panel that it was seeing all 4 GB of RAM that I put in the laptop when I bought it. That was the only thing I could really see for a change. An annoying item was that it reinstalled the printer I have attached to the laptop, but Vista would do that BEFORE SP1. Is it better than XP? I like it for some the sidebar and the search feature to find a program or item. But, I have an XP desktop right here next to the laptop and I don't see a big difference. I have to use XP at work, so I keep the XP desktop since I can't use Vista screen shots when teaching the students. I'm hoping the update will allow me to sync my palm device to the laptop and run Yahoo's snyc on here as well. I jumped on the Vista wagon in January to finally get "on the curve" with MS's latest offering, instead of lagging behind due to the fact that my school is just going to XP Pro when we by refurbished desktops. We can't afford to go Vista all at once. I like being able to burn a DVD straight from movie maker instead of the multistep process it is under XP. I havne't really stretched the boundaries of my Vista Laptop, yet
out of 85 user reviews
A solid improvement over RTM
Pros: Improved stability; slightly better performance
Cons: Still some unresolved stability issues
out of 85 user reviews
7 out of 10? CNET must be joking.
Pros: slick looks, more of the same great Vista, right?
Cons: It doesn't fix the underlying problem of Vista
"downloading and installing the update will take some users a few hours without any visible or tangible improvements to their systems."
...and somehow this makes the product receive a 7 out of 10? Comeon. No tangible improvements after a year and a half of fixes? How that could even be partially acceptable is beyond belief. CNET needs to lay off the drugs in their reviews because that doesn't even make sense.
out of 85 user reviews
C/Net is sucking up to MS again
Pros: It fixes some problems
Cons: It isn't worth the time and effort
out of 85 user reviews
Not as bad as previous SP's, no noticeable change.
Pros: It installed pretty hitch free on two of two machines.
Cons: Can't tell any difference.
out of 85 user reviews
Just perfect!
Pros: Great software
Cons: none that would be worth listing
out of 85 user reviews
Vista is worse than Windows ME
Pros: Most IT professionals have avoided it like the plague
Cons: Unwitting people have ordered their new PCs with Vista on it
out of 85 user reviews
Don't Do It
Pros: None.........
Cons: Too Many To List
out of 85 user reviews
Needed for many on the corporate and developer side
Pros: Under the hood modifications really help with performance
Cons: End user will not appreciate the needed changes
Overall, the end user will not appreciate the subtle changes. I would strongly suggest the upgrade and have everyone note that people decried XP.
In general, expect a lot of whining initially, reluctant acceptance in about a year, and finally...people will one day say, that Vista is great and the next new OS is crap. Such is human nature.
out of 85 user reviews
1_2_3_4_5_6_7_8_
Pros: 1_2_3_4_5_6_7_8_
Cons: 1_2_3_4_5_6_7_8_
Êàê íåâåñòà ìîëîäàÿ.
Ïóñòü ïðîñòÿò, áðàòüÿ è ñâîäíè.
Øàã çà øàãîì. Âñå óçíàþò.
È ïîñòàâÿò òåáÿ, VISTA,
Íà êîìïüþòåðû êðóòûå.
Ìû êîãäà-òî ìîëîäûå,
Òîæå áûëè, VISTA-VISTA!!!
out of 85 user reviews
So, in other words, it's still not worth the upgrade!
Pros: Vista looks pretty
Cons: Not compatable with older, proprietary software
out of 85 user reviews
It's time to become independent
Pros: Vista looks nice
Cons: Vista is not better than XP
It's a shame.
out of 85 user reviews
I hope it fixes Windows Update Error 80004002
Pros: service packs are always good
Cons: not sure if it fixes my problem
out of 85 user reviews
cool!!! great improvement overall
Pros: Faster bootup, better software and hardware compatibility
Cons: nothing negative so far
out of 85 user reviews
WOW - Brought my notebook back to life
Pros: excellent stability, battery life, file copy, bootup and many more
Cons: not available right now
out of 85 user reviews
Give me a ad. revenue break
Pros: You should consider hiring some
Cons: and less excons
out of 85 user reviews
JUST AS POINTLESS AS VISTA
Pros: Some fixes
Cons: Doesn't fix enough
out of 85 user reviews
In response to Bill Veik, I say stable is not enough
Pros: How nice for business users
Cons: What about the rest of us?
After 20 years of MS experience, I learned long ago it's easier to format, do a clean install and start from scratch than to troubleshoot Windows issues with MS. I received my Vista Basic upgrade, read up on doing a clean install, and a couple of hours later had a running Vista laptop.
The first thing I immediately noticed was that the boot time was 1.5 times slower than XP. Still I hung with it for about eight months. I loved the new Explorer interface, the photo gallery views and enhancements, and the whole look of it; however, quite a few caveats were to eventually drive me back to Windows XP.
There was a huge deficit in performance doing anything and everything with moving files over the network. Switching users seemed to take a lifetime. The constant barrage of security notices asking permission to do things I do on a daily basis drove me nuts. And finally, worst of all as far as working remotely was concerned, Internet Explorer 7 has incompatibility issues with Exchange 2003 OWA, forcing me to go in through VPN to the office just for my d*mn email.
A couple of weeks ago, I happily walked into the CEO's office and explained how I'd just upgraded my laptop to XP from Vista, how fast and efficient everything was, and he asked me to do the same with his new laptop. In talking to IT buddies around Atlanta, this is a common phenomenon, and I have yet to talk to any other admins who have not regredded upgrading there workstations at work.
MS has clearly shot themselves in the face with Vista. They should have waited and released a viable working product, or at least, reduced the price on this beta OS.
out of 85 user reviews
SP1 is a Mac Fanboy's nightmare
Pros: If nothing else, SP1 gets Mac Fanboys riled up on CNET
Cons: Can't we have this much fun everyday?
Which just proves that Mac users have low self-esteem.
Just from the perspective of seeing these lemmings make a fool of themselves makes SP1 a worthwhile release.
out of 85 user reviews
Finally gives abundant confidence to rollout Vista.
Pros: Hardware compatibility, faster file copies, faster powerup/shutdown, performance,battery life.
Cons: not available in windows update till mid march?
Also could see great improvements in file copies, powerup shutdown, delay on ctrl+Alt+del is gone..and the list seems to be never ending.
Now all the rock solid security that Vista has/had by default combined with this added stability/compatibility makes XP look like windos 2000.
That's all for now. I'm busy preparing plan to upgrade rest of my XP machines in office to Vista by March end.
out of 85 user reviews
VISTA - designed for the "back end" IT staff -- not the user
Pros: Looks Pretty
Cons: Slower, more conufsing interface, and over engineered usability interfaces
For the IT MANAGMENT people - it makes their life easier - it just shifts the time saved by these 20 people to letting the users waste more time by all the things they cannot do - and must call to the IT staff to do for them - and waste time relearning how to do THE SAME TASKS in a different way - without any real gains in efficiency in doing those tasks. There is no compelling program or OS feature that tells people "getting this new OS will make it easier to do this task now because of the OS." A good example is when MS built into Explorer the ability to see thumbnails of images. That make things easier for people to work with images - I cannot think of a SINGLE feature in VISTA that makes it easier to do a TASK.
out of 85 user reviews
not the update I was hoping for
Pros: further improves reliability
Cons: no cool new features
out of 85 user reviews
this is reguardless
Pros: it helps to take care of some problems Vista encounters time and time again
Cons: my customers are comp phobic, And this isn't going to help them
out of 85 user reviews
Vista SP1 is not out yet!
Pros: None......
Cons: It's still in RC!!
out of 85 user reviews
SP for a bad OS
Pros: A little bit faster at start up
Cons: Makes allot more unstable OS when running gamming aplications
Vista is the worse OS ever, I recommend staing with XP mar more stable and fast.
out of 85 user reviews
Sounds like Vista is right on track
Pros: Uh, can't think of any
Cons: Everything.
out of 85 user reviews
A great leap of faith
Pros: Good Visual Effects, Good Security, Smoothe, Good Integration, Good Organization
Cons: UAC is a bit annoying but useful, A little slower (depends on your rig)
It is smoothe and runs nice. The UAC has saved me but it annoying. Other than that it makes XP look like the stone age compaired to the tech age.
out of 85 user reviews
stability?
Pros: who cares about features
Cons: could you assess stability?
Your review focuses on features and performance. These are minor issues with Vista. It is the most unstable piece of crap since Windows ME and I would really like to know whether Microsoft has addressed those issues. If they haven't, I will downgrade to XP and have done with it. I have no need for an unusable laptop.
out of 85 user reviews
I'm still not impressed
Pros: My computer crashes less
Cons: Still not convinced that Vista, even with SP1, is a good product
1. Start-up time is still excruciatingly slow;
2. I still occasionally get a BSOD;
3. Programs are still rather unstable on my OS, especially Firefox and Office (they freeze up a lot, Firefox crashes on me a lot).
At the end of the day, I'm an average user. So-called "power users" may not have problems, but not everyone is going to be a "power user." I do not find myself using any of the new "features" of Vista. Accordingly, I am still at a loss as to how this product is a quantum leap forward as some people are saying, even with SP1. In my day-to-day usage, it has just caused me more headaches.
out of 85 user reviews
Appears stable
Pros: fixes behind the scene issues
Cons: will take some time to complete
WHY? This is designed to be a discussion on Vista performance vs. XP, it is designed to be a comparison between how Vista machines operate with and without the update!
I have run Vista for over one year, without issue. I am pretty convinced many of the problems and negative reviews come from people trying to upgrade.
Their preferred method of upgrading being leave their computer as is, apply Vista over the top, then b**** about the results. No cleaning/optimizing beforehand, no uninstalling of any devices/drivers that were known to be incompatible, then acting surprised at how it turned out. Silly in just gets you silly out.
These same people are the ones complaining about it having no bells and whistles, like ALL Service Packs are supposed to have them just because one of XP's did. The same people who would complain about a delay if Windows held off to try and do a better job of doing it right, yet turn around and complain if they rushed and there were problems.
out of 85 user reviews
Really did help my computer
Pros: More stable than previous edition, more software will be compatible with Vista now
Cons: Still is Vista, boot times are slower (CNET tests)
out of 85 user reviews
Helped my laptop
Pros: wakes up faster...killed some bugs
Cons: no new features
out of 85 user reviews
Good Update
Pros: Significant increase in USB/Drive/network performace
Cons: Long install
One thing that I noticed, we have 2 identical computers, 1 computer I just updated over a fully installed Vista 64 install, and did not see much in a performance gain on things like start up, and HDD performace.
The second computer was a fresh install with SP1 RC1. I went to install the 680i drivers. Which would not install for various reasons mainly the installer would crap out. But i noticed that many files were older.
So I left it out, and noticed a major performance gain.
I then went back to the fist system and uninstalled the SP/ and the Nvidia MOBO drivers.
I then reinstalled the SP, and the fist system also saw large performance gains.
NVIDIA has not updated there mobo drivers since August 2007. Although they have made many gains in there Video Driver performance with continued updates, it seams they have abandoned there sickly 680i, pushing the 780i as the interm step to the next chipset.
I personally believe many driver nighters are still struggling with drivers for many reasons.
Vista for the MS world was a wake up for many developers who got use to have wide open full security access.
out of 85 user reviews
Well isn't that special
Pros: They got a SP out for Vista
Cons: In some cases it makes it even SLOWER!
My only concern is that XP's next SP will somehow break my OS and force me to migrate to this hunk of junk.
Da Worfster
out of 85 user reviews
Vista is still slower than XP
Pros: You can usually get XP or another OS for your PC
Cons: Vista is SLOW
Since so many people complain about how slow Vista is compared to XP for gaming I was surprised this wasn't covered.
I the person who wrote this review will consider updating it or come out with a more detailed performance update.
out of 85 user reviews
very good update
Pros: making full use of ram 4 gb which is installed on my dell ,opening windows is snappier and faster, no breakdowns
Cons: no visual benifits
final words: its a great upgrade improving performance and stability of the os
