Post the changes you notice after installing Vista SP2

[hclarkjr]

to enable test mode go the advanced setup tree, then select updates, advanced update setup and select enable test mode at the bottom

 

[JMH]

If SP2 drops older restore points, would that have any effect on backups? Anyone tested? Time to format the external HDD and start from zero?

Yes that's an interesting thought.
Best practice - always back up on an external hard drive, on a regular basis.

 

[beauparc]

Downloaded from Windows update site. Installed it and have noticed very little difference. Boots slightly slower, shutsdown quicker.

Had to reload all the Realtek sound drivers.

 

[3Jane]

Much reduced ram usage on my system.

 

[daw1cb]

that is wierd i have used both utorrent and am currently using bitspirit with no trouble at all

Do you have a download limit set? What I have found is that without a limit set and the removal of TCPIP half-max connections limit found in sp2 that on a lower memory system i.e. vista w/2gb memory then if your internet has the bandwidth capabilities torrent clients can slowly consume all of your system resources eventually causing explorer to crash. In my case it was capable of crashing my system within 10 mins. Putting a 500kb down limit on utorrent has resolved the issue.

 

[dinesh]

Increased file copying speed. Decreased boot up time. Applications open up faster and perform better. No lock ups. Overall 8 out of 10.

 

[pacinitaly]

I still don't get the offer from WU to install SP2
I still can't update my .NET or office live add in
I d/l'd SP2 from M$ but I will not install until offered via WU

 

[rive0108]

It will not offer untill all important updates are installed. The go back and it will be available.

I would install all the important and recommended updates (optional ones I would not worry about), otherwise you will not get the SP2 install option.

If after installling all important/recommended updates, you still do not see it, it may be a result of hardware incompatability.

 

[pacinitaly]

thank you very much
I can't update the .NET thing and I don't want to do a reinstall (8-11hrs)
so I'll wait to get the new laptop w/ windows 7
I'm waiting on another 2.5" HDD to do an install from what gateway sent me then maybe try to install updates and SP2

 

[pacinitaly]

I allowed the most recent updated to install then the SP2 update showed up

go figure

 

[moosh101]

Uninstalled Service Pack 2 - Here's why:

1. Big problem with the Windows Sidebar. Gadgets loose their place and appear in random positions within the sidebar upon every boot.

2. Slow Boot. The boot process seemed slower than usual. Pre-SP2 boot was very quick, while SP2 seemed to remain on the Login page for an extended time.

3. Excessive HDD activity. After installing SP2 the HDD seemed much more active, even though the Windows Indexing and Windows Search features had been disabled.

4. No apparent benefits. I connect to the internet using a wireless modem, and while SP2 includes wireless networking improvements these seemed minor. These minor improvements do not seem worth the upgrade and the related bugs the upgrade causes.

I have now removed SP2 and back with SP1. The system is working again as well as it always has. I cannot recommend this update.

 

[hclarkjr]

Uninstalled Service Pack 2 - Here's why:

1. Big problem with the Windows Sidebar. Gadgets loose their place and appear in random positions within the sidebar upon every boot.

2. Slow Boot. The boot process seemed slower than usual. Pre-SP2 boot was very quick, while SP2 seemed to remain on the Login page for an extended time.

3. Excessive HDD activity. After installing SP2 the HDD seemed much more active, even though the Windows Indexing and Windows Search features had been disabled.

4. No apparent benefits. I connect to the internet using a wireless modem, and while SP2 includes wireless networking improvements these seemed minor. These minor improvements do not seem worth the upgrade and the related bugs the upgrade causes.

I have now removed SP2 and back with SP1. The system is working again as well as it always has. I cannot recommend this update.

my boot times are about the same as with service pack 1. have you run disk defrag since installing SP2? have you run the cleanup tool to remove the install files from SP2?

 

[cwl7454]

Download from MS took 17min; create restore point - just over 1 minute; install started for about 5 minutes then required restart.
Reboot with 3 stages took I don't know as I went to do something else, but experienced none of the problems other people seem to be having, but then again, all previous updates were installed at time of availibility.

After install CPU was showing extremely high usage, but after awhile it settled down and is actually using less, also using less Ram, was averaging around 3.3GB Ram, down to 2.8GB thru normal usage.
Haven't timed anything but seems to open the programs a little faster.


The one problem I seem to be now having is opening websites from a google search page. Will require further research.

 

[pdsnickles]

Utorrent causes vista sp2 to loop fail repeatedly. Crashes explorer.

Explorer restarts.
Explorer crashes.
Repeats until reboot.

I am having no problem with UTorrent and my Vista Home Premium 64 bit after (or before) SP2. Try re-installing UTorrent from the home site?

 

[pdsnickles]

that is wierd i have used both utorrent and am currently using bitspirit with no trouble at all

Do you have a download limit set? What I have found is that without a limit set and the removal of TCPIP half-max connections limit found in sp2 that on a lower memory system i.e. vista w/2gb memory then if your internet has the bandwidth capabilities torrent clients can slowly consume all of your system resources eventually causing explorer to crash. In my case it was capable of crashing my system within 10 mins. Putting a 500kb down limit on utorrent has resolved the issue.

I've been using UTorrent with no download limit set and have experienced zero problems with my Vista Home Premium 64bit.

 

[pdsnickles]

One problem and one fix, though I am *not 100% sure* that either of these are because of SP2.
1) Before I was having problems "safely removing" USB drives. So far, I've removed 2 and both times I did NOT get the "cannot safely remove because a file is open" error, so it SEEMS to be fixed.
2) Before I was having problems with Vista not remembering the folder settings I wanted (Details view, showing bit rate and date modified). I tried all the fixes in the tutorial here and others as well and nothing worked. That was fixed... BUT, a new problem related to folders has emerged: Vista now does not remember to open folders full screen. I've tried opening them full screen by clicking the right corner box, then x'ing them closed, AND I tried x'ing them closed while holding Control, and neither of these things make Vista remember to open them full screen. It may remember for awhile but then when I restart the computer it forgets them all over again.

 

[hclarkjr]

One problem and one fix, though I am *not 100% sure* that either of these are because of SP2.
1) Before I was having problems "safely removing" USB drives. So far, I've removed 2 and both times I did NOT get the "cannot safely remove because a file is open" error, so it SEEMS to be fixed.
2) Before I was having problems with Vista not remembering the folder settings I wanted (Details view, showing bit rate and date modified). I tried all the fixes in the tutorial here and others as well and nothing worked. That was fixed... BUT, a new problem related to folders has emerged: Vista now does not remember to open folders full screen. I've tried opening them full screen by clicking the right corner box, then x'ing them closed, AND I tried x'ing them closed while holding Control, and neither of these things make Vista remember to open them full screen. It may remember for awhile but then when I restart the computer it forgets them all over again.

have you tried this - Annoyances.org - Default Folder Template Patch

 

[pdsnickles]

have you tried this - Annoyances.org - Default Folder Template Patch

I saw this earlier in the thread. I used the Tutorial on Folder View posted by Brink on this site before and that did not solve my Details view problem but the SP2 seems to have solved it. So now I am reluctant to try something that might screw up the working Details views that I have now... Could this possibly screw that up? If it did would a System Restore fix it back?

 

[hclarkjr]

if you look at that site i linked it has a resetexplorer.exe, explorere would then recreate everything from scatch. i don't think it would mess what you have working now though but i can not guarrantee that i am using it even with SP2 as i have come to trust it. i used it when i was running SP1 and got annoyed by that bug and found that site to fix it.

 

[Spine]

it's been a week since i installed SP2..no hassle encountered so far. I did not expect any great performance boost since this is a roll up. I did experienced faster IE 8 display though.