NOTE: This tutorial is pretty much uselss now because as of Mar. 18 Vista SP1 has officially been released to Windows Update. More information here.

This is a hard way to get it, but it ensures a fast download and a legitimate copy of the final release of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 earlier than the official release date. Follow these steps:

1) Go here: http://www.microsoft.com/oem/enroll.mspx

2) Create a Windows Live account if you don't already have one (if you have a Hotmail or MSN account you already have a Live ID)

3) Go here: https://partners.microsoft.com/PartnerProgram/welcome.aspx and login

4) Enroll yourself as an organization, it asks for a lot of info. Just fill in everything as you see adequate and complete the sign up procedure and you will get confirmation at the end.

5) Go to here: http://oem.microsoft.com/script/agreements...frmcsp0_dvd.img . Login if it tells you to and you get taken to a license agreement page. Accept the license agreement and your download will begin! Its a 1.13GB IMG file that contains the x86 and x64 installers for Windows Vista Service Pack 1. Burn it using Nero or some other burning app that can burn IMG files and install!

Note: Installation of Vista SP1 takes a very long time.

Guaranteed working and is the final release. Screenshot attached. The sign up process is long, but its the fastest assured way to acutally get the final RTM of Vista SP1 (not the build 17xx RC refresh stuff). I used the same method and installed SP1 and it works great

Isn't SP1 coming out later this month? I think it's WAY easier to wait just a LITTLE bit more. But those who absolutely cannot wait for anything probably already have SP1, which has been on various torrent sites and such for awhile now, and this is probably where it came from. I just don't understand this enormous urgency that most people have when it comes to new things in general. Like, they expect to have something as soon as its existence is announced to the public, I mean c'mon. Good things come to those who wait, so I plan on getting the service pack the same way I always do; when Microsoft officially releases it.

Yes, but considering that there are lots of bug fixes in SP1, why not get it a bit early? True, its been on torrent sites but many and most of the torrents I have seen are for the RC2 refresh of Vista, which is basically RTM but its build 17xx so it still has the beta label. There are a few real legit ones but they are slow, this is fast full speed download.

Its just something you could do on a weekend And besides, once its released you'll already have it

And who told you how to do this in a PM????

Seriously though, most of us have had SP1 for a while now.. get with the times.

You didn't tell me how You told me to get a torrent from TPB , I figured this genuine legitimate way out from research myself



Most?

Imagine that for Apple updates, enrrol you for getting them sheesh

OK I'm finding something weird. Here is the name of the img file:

6001.18000.080118-1840_iso_client_sp_wave0-frmcsp0_dvd.img

So as you can see, the name clearly implies that it is Windows Vista build 6001 service pack build 18000. However, now I check the version details of the files contained within that image and the version:

6.0.6001.17028

That doesn't make any sense. The image name says its 18000 and the setup version says its 17028.

EDIT: Look at this screenshot from my registry CurrentVersion key. You can see that it is registered as build 18000 and not 17028 (Look at the BuildLab and BuildLabEx values):

Click to view attachment

I'm sure it's just a lazy developer forgetting to update all the version info. If it says 18000 in the registry, then thats what it is.

You can also download it again if you want, Vista SP1 is officially out on Tuesday.

Sorry Microsoft too late.

Yeah, the download I mentioned here was the download that MS is giving out to OEM system manufacturers to integrate into their disk images that they write onto the hard drives of new computers. So it can't be a beta. But yeah I think I'll download SP1 and see what the build is.

Oh wow, the zeros and ones you got from the OEM site are SO much more legitimate than the zeros and ones I torrented months ago, ESPECIALLY since their MD5 hashes would check out to be IDENTICAL!

Come on.

So much confusion just to get a Service Pack, what I mess.

Oh yeah also, the betas have a watermark and a time limit don't they? This one doesn't...

InorganicMatter,

Yeah, well there is other stuff you can get from the OEM partner center other than SP1.

Are you providing that guarantee?

No, Microsoft is, considering its the final release that they are shipping to OEM companies

This is the same build as RC2, which means that if you got RC2 then you got the final.

I have never heard MS ever guarantee an update wouldn't cause problems.

Maybe you meant guaranteed its the final release, not necessarily guaranteed working.

Yeah but RC2 still has the beta tag on it doesn't it? And its actually 17xxx build not 18000 so its still classified by Windows as a beta even though they are both the same? Oh yeah and does it have a time bomb like the other betas, where you use it for a month or so and it stops working?

Questions, questions, I know

P.S. For anyone who is wondering, this can easily be uninstalled if you are not satisfied. Go to Control Panel >> Programs >> Uninstall a program >> click "View updates" or similar from the left >> Choose "Service Pack for Windows" and click Uninstall.

Nope, RC2 is 18000, and is reported as longhorn_rtm, no time bomb, it's the exact same build.

Cool, I thought that it was time bombed and it still had the beta label on it, I thought that the RTM that was released was just a repackage of it without the timebomb and all. Guess I was wrong

Also, does it have the watermark in the bottom right corner that has the SP1 beta info and build on it?

its coming out tomorow.... so everyone take a chill... lol

No, it doesn't.

Sorry but you are late

Only to get SP1 a couple of days early. Not worth all the effort imo...Just gonna wait until they put it up for download today.

This tutorial is useless now, SP1 has been released to Windows Update:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2277069,00.asp