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Vista service pack 1

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XP SP3 and Vista SP1: DirectX 9 and DirectX 10 Patches Updated

Two security bulletins, from December 2007 and from June 2008 respectively, affecting the DirectX components of a wide range of Windows operating systems including Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows XP service Pack 3, have been updated.

According to Microsoft, the modifications were designed to simply add DirectX 9.0a on the list of impacted DirectX versions. The pair of patches are set up to resolve no less than four security vulnerabilities and both security bulletins are labeled with the maximum severity rating from Microsoft: Critical.

Released initially on December 11, 2007, Security Bulletin MS07-064 plugs security holes in DirectX 7.0, 8.1, 9.0 and 10.0 running on Windows 2000, Windows XP SP2, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Vista RTM. One of the security issues is related to a DirectX Code Execution Vulnerability Parsing SAMI Files while the remaining one deals with a DirectX Code Execution Vulnerability Parsing WAV and AVI Files.

"This critical security update resolves two privately reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft DirectX. These vulnerabilities could allow code execution if a user opened a specially crafted file used for streaming media in DirectX. If a user is logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take complete control of an affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights," Microsoft informed.

As far as Security Bulletin MS08-033 is concerned, Microsoft also patched vulnerabilities in all the DirectX and Windows versions mentioned above, but also in XP SP3, Windows Vista SP1, and Windows Server 2008. The company resolved a MJPEG Decoder Vulnerability and a Format Parsing Vulnerability. "This security update resolves two privately reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft DirectX that could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted media file," the Redmond giant stated.

Written by Madhukar on July 19th, 2008 with no comments.
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XP SP3 vs. Vista SP1 - Which is fastest?

In the TalkBack section on my post looking at SP3 benchmarks, _deitrich asked a really good question: Adrian, how about a comparison of XP SP3 vs Vista SP1? Oui? C’est possible?

Good question! Fortunately I’ve already done a fair bit of the groundwork in that I used the Phenom 9700 system I have for benchmarking both XP SP3 and Vista SP1.

I benchmarked both operating systems using PassMark PerformanceTest 6.1 and bringing together the results from both tests allows me to answer _deitrich’s question.

Note: The hardware configuration of the Phenom 9700 remained unchanged between the two tests and similar optimizations steps were carried out for each OS.

XP Professional:

* XP RTM
PassMark rating: 1001.4
* XP SP2
PassMark rating: 891
* XP SP3
PassMark rating: 990.8

Vista 32-bit:

* Vista RTM
PassMark rating: 1002.4
* Vista SP1
PassMark rating: 972.3

Vista 64-bit:

* Vista RTM
PassMark rating: 1183.1
* Vista SP1
PassMark rating: 1128.8

Written by Madhukar on April 29th, 2008 with no comments.
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The Vista SP1 vs. XP SP3 part 2

The Windows Vista vs. Windows XP face-off is far from over. Not only that, but the smackdown of the two operating systems is about to enter into its next stage of evolution with Microsoft launching the latest service packs for both platforms.

Vista Service Pack 1 was released to manufacturing on February 4, 2008, and XP SP3 RTM'd on April 21. At this point in time Vista RTM end users have full access to the 36 language versions of SP1 via Windows Update, Microsoft Update, the Download Center, and through Automatic updates. XP SP3 is currently available just to MSDN and TechNet subscribers, but will start being offered for download on WU and the Download Center come April 29, with AU distribution scheduled for June10.

SP1 and SP3 will undoubtedly bring a new facet to the Windows client already fragile equilibrium, with the market divided between Windows XP and Windows Vista. And instead of the inhouse competition between the two products ending with the SP1 and SP3 milestones, Microsoft has manged noting more than to perpetuate the Vista/XP operating system measuring contest. The first signs of the new fuel being poured into the inherent XP SP3 and Vista SP1 comparison, came as early as the end of 2007 when the service packs were still in Beta, with the general tendency to crucify Vista SP1 and put XP SP3 up on a pedestal.

The Redmond company felt the negative impact of splitting the market between the two products in the financial results of the last quarter, ending on March 31, 2008. Windows client revenue dropped to $4 billion from $5.2 billion in the same quarter of the past year, with operating income also down to $3 billion from $4.2 billion in Q3 2007. Vista managed to hit a total of 140 million sold licenses worldwide at the end of March, eroding the market dominance of XP, but not to the level where its predecessor would see its lion share crumbling entirely.

"Windows Vista delivers richer, safer user experience" is a statement coming straight from Microsoft. "Stylish, versatile Windows Vista powers a new wave of eye-catching PCs, with Service Pack 1 making consumers’ digital experiences more reliable and secure than ever," the Redmond company added. And yet the love for Windows Vista was inconsistent to say the least throughout 2007, and it is bound that will continue to be so even with SP1.

"Personal computing has undergone a dramatic transformation over the past six years," Microsoft added. And yet, the vast majority of end users, 73.59% according to statistics from Net Applications, are still focused on XP, an operating system made available at the end of 2001, and already over 6 years old. In Microsoft's perspective, Vista is tailored to perfection to blogging, social networking, digital photography, personal and work-related productivity, multimedia, wireless and additional activities and digital lifestyle scenarios.

Written by Madhukar on April 27th, 2008 with 1 comment.
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Download Windows Vista SP1 RTM Standalone DVD ISO

Over two months since Windows Vista SP1 was released to manufacturing on February 4, 2008, and almost a month since it became available to the general public on March 18, the first service pack for the latest Windows client is once again available for download.

This is of course Vista SP1 Wave 1 of downloads, following Wave 0 which contained a package of the service pack in only five languages, namely English, Spanish, German, French and Japanese. Now Microsoft has made available the Windows Vista Service Pack 1 All Language Standalone DVD ISO.

"Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) is an update to Windows Vista that addresses feedback from our customers. In addition to previously released updates, SP1 will contain changes focused on addressing specific reliability, performance, and compatibility issues; supporting new types of hardware; and adding support for several emerging standards. SP1 also will continue to make it easier for IT administrators to deploy and manage Windows Vista. Windows Vista Service Pack 1 All Language Standalone version can be installed on any language version," Microsoft explained.

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 All Language Standalone DVD ISO download contains the entire lineup of x86 and x64 versions of the service pack. 6001.18000.080118-1840_iso_client_sp_wave1-FRMCSP1_DVD.iso is a 1418.1 MB download, and Microsoft stressed that end users that are updating just one edition of Vista RTM should turn to Windows Update, rather than use the ISO image of SP1.

In this context, Microsoft has lived up to its promise, to release to manufacturing the remaining language versions of Vista SP1 by mid-April. This month will also bring to the table the debut of Vista SP1's delivery through Automatic Updates. And although Microsoft has only pointed to mid-April without revealing a specific date, the all languages Vista SP1 RTM ISO is proof enough that AU distribution is just around the corner.

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 All Language Standalone DVD ISO is available for download here.

Written by Madhukar on April 18th, 2008 with no comments.
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Vista SP1 up to 86% faster

Is Vista SP1 really the shot in the arm your Vista system needs? We've spent many hours strapped to our benchmarking system in a caffeine and pizza fuelled haze to uncover these very interesting results.

We tested Vista:

* as it comes out of the box (RTM -- or "release to manufacturing")

* as it comes out of the box, with all Windows Update patches applied ("RTM patched)

* with the final SP1 service pack applied

Testing Setup

Although Vista SP1 has many documented improvements, we aimed to test a particular scenario which has proved to be a major problem for pre-SP1 users: file copy speed, particularly over a network.

Our scenario was a home user running Vista Home Premium on a fast, low-latency network with decent PC hardware. All file copy tests were initiated from the main machine.

Our test machines were:

* Main machine - an Acer Veriton 7900 Pro (Intel Core 2 Duo 6700/4GB RAM/ATI RADEON X1950/2xSATA-II HDD) running Windows Vista Home Premium

* A second machine running Windows Vista Home Premium (connected via gigabit Ethernet for file copy tests)

* A third machine running a fully-patched Windows XP SP2 installation (connected via a dedicated gigabit network to two remote systems).

Each system used the latest available vendor (non-Microsoft) drivers and the November release of DirectX. No modifications were made to the operating system, so as to represent as closely as possible the configuration of an OEM machine.

We uses two test file batches – the first was a single 2.5 GB ISO, and the second was 2.5GB of small files (over 300 MP3s). Each file batch was copied to a remote destination (write), and then written back across the wire to the test system (read/write).

The file copy destinations were:

* the second hard drive in the main testing system

* a SanDisk Cruzer Micro 8GB USB flash drive

* the remote Vista system

* the remote XP system.

File copies were timed from the time “Copy” was clicked to the time the copy shell disappeared.

We also ran PCMark Vantage across the test systems to get an overall impression of system performance.

The aim of the tests was to see how changes in the test machine’s patch level affected performance.

We therefore ran the tests three times – once with Vista Home Premium RTM, once with all the available patches applied from Windows Update, and once with SP1 RTM applied.

The secondary Vista system was also patched to maintain consistency between it and the test machine.

The XP system was unchanged throughout the tests, running fully patched XP SP2.

Hard drives on all the three systems were defragmented before each file copy test.

Written by Madhukar on March 9th, 2008 with 1 comment.
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Windows Vista SP1 Released to Manufacturing! But You Can’t Have It!

This is it! Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is no longer in development, as Microsoft has released it to manufacturing yesterday, February 4, 2008.

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) was released to manufacturing today and will start being available to customers in March, starting with Microsoft Volume Licensing customers. Windows Server 2008 was also released to manufacturing today and will be available for purchase to new customers on March 1. Microsoft Volume Licensing customers with active Microsoft Software Assurance coverage or an Enterprise Agreement will be able to download the server software toward the end of February as part of the joint Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008 “Heroes Happen Here” launch event.

Where?

windowsvistablog.com/blogs

blogs.technet.com/windowsserver

microsoft.com/presspass

How: Windows Vista SP1 includes quality improvements that help enhance reliability, security and performance. Windows Server 2008 builds on the success and strengths of past server solutions and helps give organizations a solid foundation for their information technology (IT) infrastructure. Organizations using Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 together can see a number of improvements for IT professionals, including benefits in security and manageability, overall system performance, and streamlined planning and deployment.

As Windows Server 2008 RTMs, Customers and Partners Adopting with Help of New Tools, Training

Here’s the timing for SP1 availability for current Windows Vista users:

* In mid-March, we will release Windows Vista SP1 to Windows Update (in English, French, Spanish, German and Japanese) and to the download center on microsoft.com. Customers who visit Windows Update can choose to install Service Pack 1. If Windows Update determines that the system has one of the drivers we know to be problematic, then Windows Update will not offer SP1. Since we know that some customers may want to update to SP1 anyhow, the download center will allow anyone who wants to install SP1 to do so.
* In mid-April, we will begin delivering Windows Vista SP1 to Windows Vista customers who have chosen to have updates downloaded automatically. That said, any system that Windows Update determines has a driver known to not update successfully will not get SP1 automatically. As updates for these drivers become available, they will be installed automatically by Windows Update, which will unblock these systems from getting Service Pack 1. The result is that more and more systems will automatically get SP1, but only when we are confident they will have a good experience.
* The remaining languages will RTM in April.

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