Windows Vista SP2 beta now publicly available

Filed under: OS Updates, Windows, Microsoft, Beta

Windows Vista SP2 beta now publicly available

by Lee Mathews Dec 5th 2008

It's December 5, 2008 and - as promised - Microsoft has made the Vista SP2 beta publicly available. Early adopters can install it now and take advantage of improvements like 10% better power saving, reduced resource consumption in sidebar gadgets, Windows Search 4, and a long list of security and bug fixes.

According to Wired's post, you should be aware that you'll have to uninstall the beta in order to install SP2 final once it's released. Currently Microsoft is anticipating doing that some time in April 2009.

If you're looking for more details before grabbing the file, check out PC World's article Vista SP2: Six Things You Need to Know.

Downloads for both 32 and 64-bit users are available at the Microsoft Download Center. Instructions are also available here for users wanting to install SP2 through Windows Update.

So far, I'm glad I ran the update. Overall my x64 Ultimate install seems a bit more responsive than before, and I've yet to encounter any annoyances. If you've upgraded, share your thoughts in the comments!

[ via Wired ]

Tags: beta, sp2, vista, windows-vista

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Drew Green said 12:11PM on 12-05-2008

I installed last night. Haven't noticed any improvements yet, but haven't noticed any negatives either.

For anyone who is thinking about installing or already has, after the 2nd time you reboot, you will get the evaluation watermark in the lower right part of the screen. This can be taken care of by following the instructions at this site: http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/11/21/hack-to-hide-and-remove-vista-sp1-rc-preview-v258-evaluation-watermark-on-desktop/

Instructions are for SP1 but work for SP2 also.

lash9420 said 12:28PM on 12-05-2008

Is their a way to uninstall it in case something went wrong? Or would I have to restore my computer to factory settings?

Thunderbuck said 1:51PM on 12-05-2008

I know SP1 could be easily--and completely--removed from Add/Remove Programs. Can't see why SP2 should be any different.

PS: Don't ignore the warning against keeping the beta on your machine after its expiration date; your machine will start shutting itself down after 30 minutes.

Geir said 5:00PM on 12-05-2008

Beta of a service pack....isn't that like saying "here's some fixes for you, we think" --or maybe "here's some fixes for ya, unless the fixes are broken --please let us know"....

David Lindmenn said 1:55AM on 12-19-2008

Come on dude, if you're gonna post, think about what you're saying. It's a "beta", so yeah, this is exactly what they're doing. Have you any idea how important beta's are? A company can't anticipate everything, a beta allows a developer to receive invaluable feedback, in this case, from probably hundreds of thousands of Vista users. This feedback will help provide a bug free and well performing update.

No offense man, just couldn't understand your contempt for Microsoft. Without beta's the majority of software would be so incredibly unpredictable, it would be of no use to anyone.

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