Back on May 26th, we announced Windows Vista SP2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2 hit the RTW milestone. The first wave of languages (English, German, French, Spanish, and Japanese) was made available on Windows Update at that time. Today, we are releasing the remaining languages for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 SP2 to Windows Update.

For more information, including languages, on Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 SP2 click here.

If you have Windows Update configured to download updates automatically, Windows Update will notify you when Windows Vista SP2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2 is ready to be installed.

Today we are announcing the Release to Manufacturing (RTM) of Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. SP2 represents the latest step in Microsoft’s commitment to continuous improvement. It includes all updates that have been delivered since SP1, as well as support for new types of hardware and emerging hardware standards. 

As we have mentioned before, here are some of the key benefits of Windows Vista SP2:

• Windows Search 4.0 for faster and improved relevancy in searches
• Bluetooth 2.1 Feature Pack supporting the most recent specification for Bluetooth Technology
• Ability to record data on to Blu-Ray media natively in Windows Vista
• Adds Windows Connect Now (WCN) to simplify Wi-Fi Configuration
• Windows Vista SP2 enables the exFAT file system to support UTC timestamps, which allows correct file synchronization across time zones.

And since it comes with a single installer for both Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, SP2 will be easy for IT Pros to manage, deploy, and support. For a complete overview of the changes introduced in SP2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, check out the notable changes document on TechNet.

Business customers with Windows Vista will find that the transition from Windows Vista to Windows 7 will be significantly more straightforward due to the high degree of compatibility between Windows Vista and Windows 7. If your Windows Vista SP1 deployment is already underway we recommend you continue with SP1 as planned. Then you can deploy SP2 using your systems management infrastructure.  If you are in the early stages of deployment or still planning Windows Vista deployment our best advice is that you plan on testing and deploying Windows Vista SP2. For more, I suggest reading this blog post from Gavriella Schuster in regards to guidance on Windows deployments.

We expect Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 SP2 to be publicly available in Q2 2009.

As a quick reminder, Windows Vista SP1 Service Pack Blocker Tool is being removed today, as we announced back in January. For customers who previously had the blocker tool in place, Windows Vista SP1 will now be offered to them via Windows Update.

Last week we announced the Release Candidate (RC) for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2. We initially made it available for TechNet and MSDN subscribers. Today, we’re making it available to anyone interested in testing SP2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 prior to final release.

You can download the Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 RC from our Customer Preview Program site or install through Windows Update using our Windows Update Experience Kit.

If you have the SP2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Beta installed, you will need to uninstall that first before installing the RC. 

You can also check out the SP2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 RC notable changes here. And you can submit feedback on SP2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 here on the TechNet Forums.

This week we are announcing that Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 has hit an important milestone in development: Release Candidate (RC). 

Starting today, the RC of SP2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 will be available to TechNet and MSDN subscribers to test prior to final release. In the very near future, we will be making the RC broadly available for anyone to download and test. You can expect another blog post from me when that happens.

SP2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 include updates that have been delivered since the release of SP1, as well as support for new types of hardware and emerging standards. As we’ve described since we first talked about SP2, we’ve taken your feedback into account when developing SP2. Specifically, we expect SP2 to continue the security benefits of both products and simplify deployment for our customers.

For an outline of changes in SP2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, check out the notable changes document.

We are planning to release SP2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 in the second quarter of 2009.

Hi, Mike Nash here. In late October I announced the Beta  of Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 - beginning with a small group of Technology Adoption Program customers. This week we're opening up the beta to a broader audience. Starting today, MSDN and TechNet subscribers will have access to the Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 Beta to begin testing.   

Beginning Thursday Dec. 4^th, we will be making the Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 Beta available to everyone through a Customer Preview Program (CPP). The CPP will launch on TechNet and be available to anyone interested in trying out this service pack. The CPP is intended for technology enthusiasts, developers, and IT Pros who would like to test Service Pack 2 in their environments and with their applications prior to final release. For most customers, our best advice would be to wait until the final release prior to installing this service pack.

For those of you who choose to test this service pack, we encourage you to install the beta as soon as you can; your feedback will help us to ship a solid and stable service pack for Windows Vista.

Windows Vista SP2 builds on the solid foundation of Windows Vista SP1, and represents our ongoing commitment to Windows Vista today. Windows Vista SP2 includes all of the updates that have been delivered since the release of Windows Vista SP1, and incorporates improvements discovered through automated feedback from the Customer Experience Improvement Program (where users voluntarily opt-in to sending Microsoft error reports from their systems).  In addition to these updates, SP2 also includes support for new types of hardware and emerging standards that will grow in importance in the coming months. For specific changes in Windows Vista SP2 - see my previous post on Windows Vista SP2 or check out the notable changes document.

Your feedback from testing will help us deliver the highest quality release possible. As of today, we are tracking to ship Windows Vista SP2 in the first half of 2009.

It looks like the beta version of Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista will be released in the next few weeks to obliging volunteers and manufacturers. It’s not going to be on the same scale as the infamous Service Pack 2 for Windows XP, which included some major security upgrades and replaced large chunks of the operating system, but it is still fairly large, at a little over 45Mb, it covers quite a lot of ground and we are assured, will fix a few niggling problems.

What we know so far is that it will include support for a new file format called ExFAT, which is designed for use with flash memory devices. There will also be support for SD Advanced DMA, for faster file transfer and reduced CPU workload. (more…)

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