Why SP1 may not be available for you and how to get it

Brink

Brink

Staff member
mvp
Hello everyone,

If the final Vista SP1 did not show up for you in your Windows Update in the Control Panel (Classic View), then this may help explain why and how to get it to.

Why you may not have SP1 in Windows Update:
Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is not available for installation from Windows Update and is not offered by Automatic Updates





Note   Note
What 32-bit or 64-bit Vista do I have?
  • Open the Control Panel (Classic View) and click the System icon, or right click Computer in the Start Menu and click on Properties. You will see the bit version under the System type section.

SP1 Release Notes:

Hope this helps,
Shawn
 
Last edited:

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Re: Why SP1 may not be available for you

Thanks, Brink. Its good to have that in one place. The frustrating thing for me is that none of that applies to my laptop at all (Home Premium) but it still does not show up in Windows Update. Grr. On my desktop i realized i had allowed the language packs (all of them) to be installed back in the fall and i'm in the process of uninstalling them before i expect to see SP1 there (Vista Ultimate). Oh well, i guess i'll keep clicking "check for updates" periodically...
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 745
I read this KB bulletin a hundred times and I still cannot figure out why Win Updates does not offer SP1 when I check of updates. I mean I went through it with a fine tooth combe and didn't see any reason why it isn't offered (got new bios, new drivers, new evryting just to meet the requirements... still nothing).

I wish MS Update could give out a small diagnotic message indicating why it isn't being offered when it runs. I guess it would be too much to ask MS to do that for major releases like SP!
 

My Computer

System One

Hi Ronpou,

Welcome to Vista Forums. :party:

I'm not sure why you are not recieving it through Windows Update yet.
Have you tried downloading and using the standalone SP1 installers yet?


You might see if you can find out why in this link. It is the Microsoft Vista SP1 forum.

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) - TechNet Forums

Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Hi Samboread,

Welcome to Vista Forums. :party:

Have you already tried installing the 32 bit (x86) standalone download to see if it will work for you?

Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
I believe all my drivers are up to date. I do however, have an unofficial driver for my nVidia GeForce 8700M GT from LaptopVideo2Go. Would using an unofficial driver prevent SP1 from being available via the automatic updater?

Do all my hardware drivers need to be up-to-date to get the service pack, or just the critical ones like video, sound, etc.?

Is it best to use the updated drivers provided by Windows Update, or to download from the original manufacturer's site? I've read horror stories about some bad drivers being downloaded through the MS updater.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satellite X205-S7483
    CPU
    Intel Centrino Core2 Duo 1.7 GHz
    Motherboard
    Toshiba ISRAA 1.0
    Memory
    2 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GeForce 8700M GT 256 MB
    Sound Card
    RealTek HD Audio
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    x2 120 GB
    Keyboard
    Logitech USB
    Mouse
    Logitech Trackman Marble Wheel USB
    Internet Speed
    Millenicom 3G Mobile Broadband @ 1 mbps
    Other Info
    Avast Antivirus Home Edition 4.8.1335, Firefox 3.0.11
Hi OmegaWolf,

Having unsigned or unofficial drivers could prevent the SP1 from showing up in Windows Update. While you should always have the latest driver version, I believe that as long as it's not to out of date and is signed, then it should be fine. You might try the standalone version of the SP1 to see if it will install for you. There have been a lot less problems reported with using that version than through Windows Update.

I always found it best to get the drivers from the original manufacturer's site for the correct and latest versions.

Hope this helps,
Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Get this for serously messed up.

Operating with:
ASUS M2N-E Sli board with Nvidia chipset + Drivers
AMD Black edition 3.2G dual core 64Bit processor
3BG Ram
BFG 8800GTX OC Graphics
Vista Ultimate X64
500GB WD Hard Drive
Plus more info if you need it.

I have been pulling my hair out with Vista and I'm starting to wish I didnt waste my cash on it.

I have updated vista with every update I can possibly do, those that have failed I have downloaded individually and each time Vista tells me the update does not apply to my machine. Fair enough I suppose.

Now, I'm trying to install SP1 through win update, every time I try, it gets all the way to the end stage 1 and 2 complete fully, stage 3 reads 100% complete and then it decides what SP1 didnt install correctly and therefore it reverts the entire system back to how it was with no explaination what so ever. No error messages no nothing.

Anyone had this happen to them?

I have used both Win update and Standalone SP1 updates.
 

My Computer

System One

Turn off UAC and try it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    pair of Intel E5430 quad core 2.66 GHz Xeons
    Motherboard
    Supermicro X7DWA-N server board
    Memory
    16GB DDR667
    Graphics Card(s)
    eVGA 8800 GTS 640 MB video card
    Hard Drives
    SAS RAID
User Account Control
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    pair of Intel E5430 quad core 2.66 GHz Xeons
    Motherboard
    Supermicro X7DWA-N server board
    Memory
    16GB DDR667
    Graphics Card(s)
    eVGA 8800 GTS 640 MB video card
    Hard Drives
    SAS RAID
Well, I disabled UAC and the update did something different, around 46% of part 3 it restarted the machine in to DOS and then did a File check, then it carried on to 100% of part 3 and said exactly the same thing as before.
" Service pack did not install. Reverting changes. Do not turn off your computer"

Nothing works!
I'm really begining to wish I'd never bought it
 

My Computer

System One

I forgot to mention that the only 2 programs I have on the machine is Norton 360 and Call of duty 4, I didn't install anything else after the last time I re-installed Vista.

2 Programs and even call of duty 4 does not work properly!
 

My Computer

System One

Strip the computer down to barebones. One stick of ram, one CPU/HSF, video card, hard drive, DVD-ROM. Remove all other adapters and disable everything onboard you don't need.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    pair of Intel E5430 quad core 2.66 GHz Xeons
    Motherboard
    Supermicro X7DWA-N server board
    Memory
    16GB DDR667
    Graphics Card(s)
    eVGA 8800 GTS 640 MB video card
    Hard Drives
    SAS RAID
right ok, sop let me get this stright, Microsoft cannot make an operating system that works, even after all these years, they cannot make a service pack that works. Its their software fighting against their software.

I have wasted 6 days of my life trying to fox my pc so I can actually use it without crashing and now I have to take everything out just to install a service pack.

I don't think you realise just how angry I am at my Vista machine, If I take anything out i can pretty much gaurentee its not going to work nothing else has!

I apologise for my negative attitude but at the end of the day, this should be down to Microsoft to fix not the user.

All that said, I'll try it when I finally calm down!
 

My Computer

System One

No, sorry, but you have it *completely* wrong.

SP1 has issues with poorly written ***drivers*** and software. It is not the OSs fault - Vista was in development for well over 2 years - blame your driver and software developers.

Blaming M$ and Vista and SP1 is a poor attempt at scapegoating. Don't fall into that trap. I have installed Vista around 40 times now on many different machines from sub standard machines to my current beast to iMacs under parallels and Boot Camp - and the only time I have issues with SP1 was because of a stupid driver installed on my machine that was preventing SP1s installation.

Now you have it right.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro X64 Insider Preview (Skip Ahead) latest build
    Manufacturer/Model
    The Beast Model V (homebrew)
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 965 EE @ 3.6 GHz
    Motherboard
    eVGA X58 Classified 3 (141-GT-E770-A1)
    Memory
    3 * Mushkin 998981 Redline Enhanced triple channel DDR3 4 GB CL7 DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3-12800)
    Graphics Card(s)
    eVGA GeForce GTX 970 SSC ACX 2.0 (04G-P4-3979-KB)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio (onboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 * Lenovo LT2323pwA Widescreeen
    Screen Resolution
    2 * 1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SanDisk Ultra SDSSDHII-960G-G25 960 GB SATA III SSD (System)
    Crucial MX100 CT256MX100SSD1 256GB SATA III SSD (User Tree)
    2 * Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA II Mech. HD
    Seagate ST1500DL001-9VT15L Barracuda 7200.12 1.5 TB S
    PSU
    Thermaltake Black Widow TX TR2 850W 80+ Bronze Semi-Mod ATX
    Case
    ThermalTake Level 10 GT (Black)
    Cooling
    Corsair H100 (CPU, dual 140 mm fans on radiator) + Air (2 *
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15 (gen 2)
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master (shared)
    Internet Speed
    AT&T Lightspeed Gigabit duplex
  • Operating System
    Sabayon Linux (current, weekly updates, 5.1.x kernel)
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkPad E545
    CPU
    AMD A6-5350M APU
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Radeon HD (Embedded)
    Sound Card
    Conextant 20671 SmartAudio HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Lenovo 15" Matte
    Screen Resolution
    1680 * 1050
    Hard Drives
    INTEL Cherryvill 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SSD
    PSU
    Lenovo
    Case
    Lenovo
    Cooling
    Lenovo
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master (shared) | Synaptics TouchPad
    Keyboard
    Lenovo
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex
Johngalt,
I will not argue with you, not because you're right, but because I don't see how arguing will solve my issues with vista.
Incidently, all my drivers are signed by Microsoft, so if its poorly written drivers then its Microsofts fault.

I have wasted 6 days trying to get this thing installed. The only reason I want SP1 is to hopefully make this system more stable because as it stands, its constantly crashing. I was hoping that SP1 would solve most of my crash issues but as you well know SP1 will not install on this machine..... I have to uninstall everything now and try again, I can seee this ending up with me removing my hard drive, taking it apart nd writing the data blocks myself!
 

My Computer

System One

I tell ya what I'll buy your copy of Vista Ultimate 64bit for a $100 then you can go and buy a copy of XP I'd give ya mine but I've already givin' it away :p
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    RJ's Toyz/HOTROD
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Extreme Q9650 @ 3.8GHz
    Motherboard
    DFI LanParty UT P45-T2RS
    Memory
    G.SKILL 8GB (4 x 2GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    VisionTek Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB w/AC Accelero XTREME cooler
    Sound Card
    Sound Blaster Audidy2 ZS w/ Fatal1ty I/O panel
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" and 22" Acer LCDs
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 / 1680 x 1050
    Hard Drives
    2TB (2 X 1TB) SATA Seagate Barracudas
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 1200W
    Case
    Cooler Master HAF932
    Cooling
    VIGOR GAMING CLT-M2I 92mm TE CPU Cooler
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15 Gamer
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 @28grams
    Internet Speed
    very very very slow
    Other Info
    3DMARK06 = 23114
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top