Update: I posted a small guide of how to solve problems with Service Sack 1 for Windows Vista
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Vista SP1 is officially only available for enterprise customers, but the reports about problems caused by this service pack are piling up. This post contains a list of all SP1 issues I am aware of.
I have discussed some of them before, but I thought it might be a good idea to create a list of all known Vista SP1 issues to keep track of them. I will update this post whenever I encounter new ones.
Device driver problems
This issue was the reason why Microsoft postponed the general release of SP1 to mid-march. It seems not to be a big problem for tech savvy Vista users. This article (KB 948187) has more.
Programs that have problems with Vista SP1
I mentioned before that Vista SP1 doesn't solve compatibility problems, but it causes new ones. This article (KB935796) lists all known programs that don't work properly with Vista SP1. I suggest you check them out before you install this service pack. Please, let us know if you experienced troubles with other apps that are not in this list.
The endless reboot issue
This problem of Vista SP1 is causing a lot of stir. A pre-requisite update (KB937287) triggers endless reboots on some machines. Microsoft suspended the automatic distribution of this update. I installed this update before, but I didn't experience this problem. I just checked Windows Update and it was available again. Before that, I was able to install Vista SP1 without this patch anyway. So it seems like this issue is not as bad as it seemed at first. KB949358 has details on how to solve this problem if you are affected.
The sleep mode problem
Milo reports that some systems with SP1 crash when attempting to wake up their PC from sleep mode. I have experienced the same problem on some Vista machine without SP1. A BIOS update might be of help in such cases. However, I don't know if the problem described by Milo is a new one. He thinks that it might be related to the reboot issue. However, I think it must be something different because the reboot problem isn't about sleep mode.
The Windows Mobile Device Center issue
There are reports that Vista x64 SP1 has been released accidentally to Windows Update. ITWire received emails from users who experienced problems after installing SP1. One is that the memory and performance rating is not displayed anymore, and the other one is about the Windows Mobile Device Center. Based on the screenshot they published, the latter one looks familiar to me. I got the same meaningless error message sometimes when I connected my Windows Mobile 6 device to different desktops running the Windows Mobile Device Center. The only solution I found was to reset Windows Mobile. I don't know if this is really the same problem, but it could be that SP1 causes an authentication problem which probably was the reason for the error message in my case.
GPMC (Group Policy Management Console) will be uninstalled
If you manage Group Polices for Vista machines in your PC, then I wouldn't install SP1 because GPMC will be removed after the installation. Microsoft plans to release a new version, but as far as I know, this is not yet the case.
The sound problem
The German Windows Vista blog and Aaron discovered a problem with the sound system. It seems that this is related to the driver problem discussed above. However, Microsoft dedicated a particular article (KB948481) to it.
Even though some media are making a big deal out of this SP1 issues, I don't think that they are really serious so far. Of course, those who are affected might have a different view about it. But do you remember about the troubles that service pack 2 for Windows XP caused? Well, XP is everybody's darling now.
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Are you aware of other Vista SP1 problems? Please, let us know.
Regarding Vista Laptop going into the black screen upon resume from sleep or suspend or hibernate, I describe a solution on this website:
http://annoyances-resolved.blogspot.com/2009/08/laptop-wont-resume-from-sleep.html
In my case the Vista hibernate file was unaccessible.
Recently added an HP dvd1260i device to my desktop with evga 730i motherboard. Applying the Windows Vista x64 SP1 update left the computer in a non-booting state until I removed the DVD drive.
I am using Vista Ultimate for about 3 years now which was installed ( to be honest) from a cd which was NOT genuine. It worked quite satisfatorily. Within course of time I downloaded and installed SP1 and then SP2 from autoupdate. Soon I got a pop from MS that I should verify that its genuine. Naturally my attempts failed. I had to reinstall Vista from same CD as upgrade.
Everything was back to normal and showing it “Windows activated as Genuine Windows”.
Then the auto update downloaded SP1 again. This time I cancelled the installation to avoid verification of genuine windows. I am planning to disable auto update. Hope it works.
I have trouble sending e-mails, attachements and other e-mail difficulties. Can you help me?
On Saturday night Windows Updates installed Vista Service Package 1. When the computer restarted it appeared to be doing some sort of scan, the next thing I know a blue screen with loads of writing appeared & I cant’t get past it. Iv tried everything & nothing works.
This happened about 3 weeks ago when it was installed but I thought it was my hard drive that had broken, so I spent £70 on a new one for it to happen again.
What can I do to fix this, if anything.
hi, may I add SonicWALL Global VPN Client (Deterministic Network Enhancer) to the list of programs that stopped working when SP1 is installed. The program was working fine before I installed SP1 on my Vista laptop and after installing SP1, I had to uninstall SonicWall because it’s driver won’t let me connect to the internet. SP1 had some compatibility issue with it.
Btw, I’m also experiencing the Windows Explorer hang-up problem and the Wake-up from Sleep mode crash, even before I updated to SP1. I still cannot find any solution to these
Have tried to install sp1 3 times, each time when I close the lid on my laptop it will not wake. I have reformatted my hardrive 3 times, lost everything, and sp1 is necessary for win7 upgrade. Wow I love windows! ?
Good thing microsoft doesn’t make airplanes.
I’m a bit behind on the times with doing my install with SP1 – I cannot stand vista, and I had heard of problems with the install. Sure enough, I’ve just installed it and now I cannot access the internet – at all. I’m hardlined into my router, so it’s not a wireless issue. Any suggestions?
I installed Vista home premium service pack 1 yesterday, and it installed correctly. However, I restarted my computer and ever since the windows has been tying to resolve the problem, but it always fails. I try to restore it to my old settings, however the earliest date is the date of the installation of Windows SP1 and the computer still keeps on doing this.
Any suggestions on what to do???