Vista SP1 RC Leaves XP SP2 in the Dust, but What About XP SP3?
Although Microsoft has indicated a strong disapproval of benchmarking tests involving development milestones of Windows Vista Service Pack 1, the temptation is simply too big to ignore.
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17.1.2008 Microsoft Makes Its Own Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2, Leaves XP SP3 Out
Ever since the advent of Window Vista, at the end of November 2006 for businesses and in January 2007 for the general public, Microsoft has virtually invited the comparison between the two operating systems.
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8.5.2008 Vista SP2 and XP SP3 Get Windows 7s AutoPlay-AutoRun
Even before the release of Windows 7 Release Candidate Build 7100 Microsoft announced that it would take extreme measures in order to increase end user protection and amputate the AutoPlay/AutoRun feature of the operating system.
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26.8.2009 Vista SP2 and XP SP3 June 2009 Patches ISO Image Available
This months release addresses 31 total vulnerabilities with 15 rated as 1 on our Exploitability Index, meaning there is a high likelihood that reliable exploit code may be developed in the next 30 days, stated Jerry Bryant, Sr. security program manager lead.
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12.6.2009 Connect Windows 7 with XP SP3 Vista SP2 via Remote Desktop Connection 7.0
Microsoft is gearing up to release a tool that will permit users of Windows Vista and Windows XP computers to connect to Windows 7 machines, and to take advantage of features that only the latest version of the Windows client brings to the table.
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12.9.2009 Vista SP2 and XP SP3 Patch Security Release ISO Image Available
A DVD5 ISO image file containing all the security bulletins made available on November 10th, 2009 for all supported Windows platforms, is now up for grabs via the Microsoft Download Center.
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13.11.2009 Download Windows 7 Remote Desktop Connection 7.0 for XP SP3 and Vista SP1 and SP2
While Windows 7 technologies are, as a general rule, available exclusively with the latest iteration of the Windows client from Microsoft, there also are exceptions.
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4.11.2009 Windows 7 20 Features to Make Users Forget Vista SP1/SP2 and XP SP3
Microsoft is currently moving onward with the development of Windows 7, having passed Milestone 3 with the operating system.
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15.11.2008 Windows XP SP3 Brings the Death of SP2 - July 13, 2010
The advent of Windows XP Service Pack 3 has brought with it the proverbial "beginning of the end" for its predecessor, Service Pack 2.
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19.5.2008 Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2 - Benchmarked
Some people are concerned that in order to get an accurate measurement of boot time the system needs to be booted many times. Let me assure you that the systems here under testing were rebooted more times than most normal PCs are over the course of several months.]
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18.2.2008 More Free Windows to Keep Vista and XP SP2 Company
Without indicating a strong affinity for the open source business model Microsoft is rather generous with its operating systems.
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1.4.2008 XP Availability Extended Despite Vista SP2 and Windows 7
While it is cooking Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista and Windows 7, Microsoft has also managed to further extend the availability of Windows XP. With the 32-bit version of Vista's precursor at Service Pack 3, and at SP2 for the 64-bit flavor, Windows XP will now live until June 2009.
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22.12.2008 Microsoft: Vista SP1 Will Bring Nothing Not a Repeat of XP SP2
The motto for the first service pack for Windows Vista should be if you wait for very little, or even nothing at all, then you won't be disappointed.
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31.8.2007 Microsoft Still Shooting at XP SP2 with the Vista Gun No Kill
Even with the general availability of Vista SP1 and XP SP3, Microsoft is still stuck gunning for Windows XP SP2 with the Windows Vista RTM "arsenal".
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15.5.2008 Vista SP1 RC1 Flies Past Vista RTM and Windows XP SP2
Despite the fact that Microsoft has expressed its official position regarding testing Windows Vista Service Pack 1 ahead of its finalization, there is simply too much of a hunger for the service pack.
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27.12.2007 Free Windows Vista and XP SP2 Downloads Updated and up for Grabs
This week, Microsoft has updated the set of offerings which permit end users to access free copies of Windows Vista and Windows XP SP2.
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21.3.2008 It's Time to Face the Ugly Truth, SP3 or No SP3, the Clock Is Ticking for Windows XP
As 2008 has kicked in, it's now time to face the ugly truth. The clock is ticking for Windows XP. And while Microsoft may view this as a natural stage in the evolution of a product introduced all the way in 2001, a healthy proportion of end-users and businesses will fail to see eye to eye with the company on this one.
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5.1.2008 Capture Windows 7 and Vista SP2 Images with ConfigMgr 2007 SP2 Beta
Capturing Windows 7 and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 images, but also client assessment, updating and deployment are tasks that can be performed with System Center Configuration Manager 2007.
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15.6.2009 Windows Vista SP2 and Server 2008 SP2 download
Microsoft has released a standalone installer for Windows Vista SP2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2 today.
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27.5.2009 Should You Upgrade from Vista to XP SP3?
Windows Vista was released to manufacturing and to businesses in November 2006, and the operating system hit the shelves only at the end of January 2007.
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27.12.2007 It All Comes Down to Going Either for XP SP3 or for Vista SP1
Starting with May 6, 2008, the question is no longer about Windows Vista RTM vs. Windows XP SP2, but rather about Vista SP1 or XP SP3.
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9.5.2008 Vista SP1 or XP SP3?
Windows users are at a juncture in terms of operating system choices at this point in time, caught between Windows Vista SP1, Windows XP SP3 and Windows 7.
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24.6.2008 New Features Discovered in XP SP3: Is It Better Than Vista
New Features Discovered in Windows XP SP3: Is It Better Than Vista? The principal reason given for the tremendous under-the-hood changes to Windows unveiled early this year in Vista was the need to overhaul the security model. Thanks to odeeee for this post.
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11.10.2007 New Features Discovered in XP SP3: Is It Better Than Vista
New Features Discovered in Windows XP SP3: Is It Better Than Vista? The principal reason given for the tremendous under-the-hood changes to Windows unveiled early this year in Vista was the need to overhaul the security model.
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14.10.2007 Are XP SP3 and Windows 7 Getting in the Way of Vista SP1?
Are Windows XP Service Pack 3 and Windows 7 getting in the way of Windows Vista and Vista Service Pack 1? Well, Microsoft's position is exactly this.
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21.1.2008 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.
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26.4.2008 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? Cest possible?
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28.4.2008 Don't slipstream XP sp3 on Windows Vista!
So I build a new Windows XP ISO with SP3 integrated, this is a Volume License editions (VOL) which only accepts Volume License Keys (VLK).
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6.5.2008 Download Free Windows Vista and Windows XP SP2 Straight from Microsoft
Via the Internet Explorer Application Compatibility VPC Image. That's right! Microsoft is offering access to free downloads of Windows Vista and Windows XP SP2.
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6.3.2008 Windows Vista SP1 outperforms Windows XP SP2 in file copy
"Its interesting that people seem to think that Vista under performs in every area of the system which is quite an incorrect perception.
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27.5.2008Firms need to plan for XP Service Pack 3
Organisations that expect to be running Windows XP in mid-2010 should plan to test and deploy XP SP3, Gartner has advised.
Microsoft is planning to release Windows Vista Service Pack (SP) and Windows XP SP3 will be available in the first half of 2008.
According to Gartner, deploying Windows XP SP3 should be significantly easier than testing and deploying SP2, which many users considered a major
change of the operating system.
Annette Jump, a research director at Gartner, said, "We will probably see a mixture of Vista and
XP SP3 deployments in 2008. Jump believed some businesses would deploy Vista and some could stick with XP, in which case, they would be looking at
installing the SP3 service pack.
winbeta.org -
01.12.2007New Features Discovered in Windows XP SP3: Is It Better Than Vista?
The principal reason given for the tremendous under-the-hood changes to Windows unveiled early this year in Vista was the need to overhaul the
security model. Now it seems many of those changes are also coming to XP in SP3...
betanews.com -
10.10.2007Wanted: New information on XP SP3
If Microsoft officials don't
want you to know about Vista
Service Pack (SP) 1, you can
be darn well sure they really
don't want to talk about
Windows XP Service Pack (SP)
3. But customers definitely
want to discuss it.
XP users who still
aren’t crazy about the
idea of moving to Vista are
quite interested in the status
of the long-promised update to
Windows XP. (Microsoft
released the most recent XP
update, XP SP2, way back in
the summer of 2004.) I get
queries from readers weekly
about when XP SP3 will hit and
what it will likely include.
There was a flap
earlier this year regarding
Microsoft
possibly changing the due date
for XP SP3. Microsoft
officials have been saying for
the past few months that the
company would not provide the
final XP SP3 until some time
in the first half of 2008. In
late May, however, there was
a
mention in a Microsoft press
release that XP SP3 would ship
"some time later this
year." Microsoft's
official response was that the
2007 date was a typo. (Yeah,
tha
t "typo" defense again.)
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19.07.2007Updated Internet Explorer Application Compatibility VPC Images Available
VPC Hard Disk Image for testing websites with different IE versions on Windows XP SP2, Windows XP SP3 and Windows Vista.
This
download page contains four separate VPC images, depending on what you want to test.
- IE6-XPSP3_VPC.exe contains a Windows
XP SP3 with IE6 VHD file
- IE7-XPSP2_VPC.exe contains a Windows XP SP2 with IE7 VHD file
- IE8B2-XPSP3_VPC.exe
contains a Windows XP SP3 with IE8 Beta 2 VHD file
- IE7-VIS1.exe+IE7-VIS2.rar+IE7-VIS3.rar contain a Vista Image with IE7 VHD
file.
Note: For The Vista image, you will need all three files, downloaded and in the same directory, then simply run
IE7-VIS1.exe.
This VPC image will expire in January, 2009.
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29.08.2008Rumor: Vista SP1 coming February 18, XP SP3 on March 23
French tech website
PC INpact is reporting that
it got its grubby little hands on the exact release dates of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 as well as Windows XP Service Pack 3. According to a source,
Vista SP1 is to be released on the night of February 18 while XP SP3 will be released on the night of March 23.
Although Microsoft has not
given a tight timeframe for when to expect XP SP3, it did state earlier that Vista SP1 will be available in mid-March. The screenshots should be
therefore taken with a grain of salt. It is possible that these memos were sent out before Microsoft delayed Vista to mid-March. Could it be that the
Vista date is wrong but the XP one is correct?
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
07.02.2008Is Microsoft Playing Games With XP SP3?
Call it a Hamlet moment for the PC industry, filled with political intrigue and machinations worthy of the great Shakespeare play: to wait for XP SP3
or move to Vista now that Microsoft has released Vista SP1? Or in other words: "To XP, or not to XP?" That is the question.
It's a
question that is burning up the blogosphere with some speculating that Microsoft has delayed XP SP3, a long awaited release that could boost the
performance of XP, to get more users to adopt Vista, a potential cash cow for Microsoft and PC makers given the operating system's robust hardware
refresh requirements.
With many in the blogosphere speculating that Microsoft could release the final version of XP SP3 this week,
Microsoft late Tuesday snuffed out all hope that users would see the service pack, originally slated for release in 2006, any time soon.
Read full story.....
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26.03.2008Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2 - Benchmarked
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes: Over the past few days I posted two sets of benchmarks comparing Windows Vista RTM with Vista SP1 (first post
here, second
here). These posts generated a lot of feedback, and from reading this feedback it’s clear
that what many people are really interested in is not the performance differences between Vista RTM and Vista SP1, but between Vista SP1 and XP
SP2.
A few days ago I posted in reply to several TalkBack comments that I wouldn’t carry out these tests until XP SP3 is
released. There didn’t seem any point. That didn’t satisfy the crowds who wanted to see Vista SP1 and XP SP2 go head to head. So, to
cut a long story short, the pestering continued and I eventually gave in. So what follows are the fruits of nearly two whole days of work at the PC
Doc HQ (the test was hampered by the death of a motherboard, something which rendered hours of work obsolete).
How does Windows
Vista SP1 compare to Windows XP SP2? Read on …
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15.02.2008Despite rumors, Windows XP SP3 still not quite ready
With Windows Vista Service Pack 1 out the door, Microsoft was largely expected to release Windows XP SP3 last week or this week. It didn't, instead
making public a refresh build of SP3 Release Candidate 2...
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26.03.2008XP SP2 vs. Vista RTM vs. Vista SP1: Gaming benchmark
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes: Here are the benchmark results that many of you have been waiting for - a look at how well ten popular games work on XP SP2,
Vista RTM and Vista SP1.
Its been nearly a year since I took a look at the state of gaming under the Vista OS. The last time I
compared XP SP2 to Vista, I was disappointed with Microsofts new OS as a gaming platform because I could get far more bang for my bucks out of XP than
I could out of the new OS. Partly I put this down to immature drivers, but on the whole I was convinced that at the core of the problem was Vista.
So, is Vista worth bothering with as a gaming platform?
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28.02.2008Don't slipstream XP SP3 on Windows Vista!
This just in from Bink, seems he had a pretty interesting weekend attempting to Slipstream XP SP3.
"So I build a new Windows XP ISO with
SP3 integrated, this is a Volume License editions (VOL) which only accepts Volume License Keys (VLK). When I want to install it on a clean machine, I
noticed that setup prompts for a product key and it does not allow me to continue, which should be a new feature in XP sp3. OK so I fill in the VLK
but it does not accept it, I try another one from a customer of mine, does not work either. Angry
I found out that the problem is when you
do the XP Sp3 slipstream process on a WIndows Vista machine, the API gives a different response and screws up the PID process. This is a bug and
Microsoft knew about this in December, still the bug remained and made it all the way to RTM, nice work Microsoft.
So XP SP slipstream only
on XP or 2003 machines!!!"
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05.05.2008Windows Vista SP1 outperforms Windows XP SP2 in file copy.
"Its interesting that people seem to think that Vista under performs in every area of the system which is quite an incorrect perception. In this demo
I show how Vista outperforms Windows XP and I show the under the covers process traces of just how it achieves it."
"Demo environment
consists of two images. One Vista SP1 and the other Windows XP SP2 both on the same HDD IO and communicating across my home wireless network to a
Windows Server 2008 box on my main LAN. Once the two images get going latency gets introduced and things start to slow down....except Vista doesnt
slow down." Watch and see at
Edge TechNet.
Read full story.....
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27.05.2008XP SP3: TechNet and MSDN subscribers to get beta in two weeks
Microsoft provided an update on the timing for Windows XP Service Pack (SP) 3 on August 29.
Company officials said on Wednesday
that the Windows team plans to deliver a near-public beta of XP SP3 (its going to all TechNet and Microsoft Developer Network subscribers) by
mid-September.
The final version of XP SP3 is slated to hit some time in the first half of calendar 2008, officials said. (Thats
the same date the Softies have been promising officially for a while now. Microsoft wont be any more specific on XP SP3 timing.)
Company officials did not release a feature set for XP SP3 on August 29. The only new piece of information available was the public-beta due
date.
Microsoft made available to a set of private testers a preview of XP SP3 earlier in August. I saw an alleged fix list at
that time: It consisted of nearly 1,000 items.
The last time Microsoft provided a cumulative update to Windows XP was in 2004,
when it released XP SP2.
winbeta.org -
29.08.2007Windows Vista SP1 and Windows XP SP3: Official Release Dates
A French website,
PC Inpact, has posted
the official Microsoft product change request forms for Vista SP1 and Windows XP SP3. So just when do our friends from France say Microsoft is
planning on releasing our little Service Pack friends? Well, according to them, we will be seeing Vista SP1 a little earlier than previously
anticipated:
Windows Vista SP1: February 18th or 19th
Windows XP SP3: March 23rd or 24th
winbeta.org -
06.02.2008MS08-030 Re-released for Windows XP SP2 and SP3
Christopher Budd: I wanted to let folks know that weve just re-released
MS08-030. This is to let you know theres a new version of this
security update available for Windows XP SP2 and SP3 customers and to encourage them to deploy these new updates. There are no new updates for the
other versions of Windows discussed in the bulletin.
After we released
MS08-030 we learned that the security updates for Windows XP SP2 and
SP3 might not have been fully protecting against the issues discussed in that bulletin. As soon as we learned of that possibility, we mobilized our
Software Security Incident Response Process (SSIRP) to
investigate the issue.
Our investigation found that while the other security updates were providing protections for the issues
discussed in the bulletin, the Windows XP SP2 and SP3 updates were not.
winbeta.org -
19.06.2008Microsoft delays Windows Vista SP2 by a month
Tech ARP reports that Windows Vista SP2 might be delayed until March. Microsoft will deliver a Release Candidate of Windows Vista Service Pack 2 in
March and not in February. Also, Microsoft will send the service pack build to OEM and retailers only in the second quarter of 2009 and not in April.
Below are the scheduled dates as predicted by TechARP: Image Courtesy: Tech ARP The time delay between RTM and Public Versions release is hard to
predict as there was a delay of 2 weeks between Windows XP SP3's RTM and Public Versions and 6 weeks delay in case of Windows Vista SP1.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
22.01.2009Microsoft patched critical Windows bug in XP SP3 early
The appearance and disappearance of a Windows XP installation snafu indicates that Microsoft patched a critical vulnerability in XP's
still-unfinished Service Pack 3 (SP3) weeks before it fixed any other version of Windows. The glitch, which sent some PCs into an endless round of
reboots, was strangely similar to one faced by Vista users in February. Attackers have already tried to exploit that bug, which was patched last
Tuesday -- as it turned out, two weeks after the newest build of Windows XP SP3 was released with the flaw fixed.
According to reports from
multiple users on a Microsoft support newsgroup, PCs began rebooting immediately after they had been updated to SP3. "I have just updated my pc from
xp sp2 to sp3," said a user identified as "yaojinglin" in a message to a SP3 support forum last Thursday. "The installation was successful, but
when I reboot my pc after the installation finished, my pc started to reboot again and again."
On the XP SP3 support threads, a Microsoft
representative named Shashank Bansal stepped into the rebooting discussion, which was beginning to seem as endless as the rebooting itself. Bansal
asked for more information, then offered an explanation: "This issue happens with 3311 build of XP SP3. It happens because KB948590 stops
installation of SP3 version of gdi32.dll on the system due to file-version differences."
neowin.net -
15.04.2008Windows XP SP3 Release Candidate Goes To MSDN
Microsoft made available on December 3 for download the near-final Release Candidate (RC) of Windows XP Service Pack (SP) 3.
The
RC is available to all Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) and TechNet subscribers. This isn't yet a generally available, "public" RC of XP SP3;
that is still coming at some future date that Microsoft hasn't disclosed.
Microsoft provided an RC "preview" of XP SP3 to
15,000 testers in mid-November.
Microsoft is still on track to ship the final XP SP3 in the first half of calendar 2008. XP SP3
is a rollup of all previously released XP updates, according to Microsoft, "including security updates, out-of-band releases, and hotfixes."
Lately, Microsoft has been releasing XP SP3 and Vista SP1 builds in lockstep. (The same 15,000 testers that got XP SP3 RC preview also
got the Vista SP1 RC preview.) Given that Microsoft told its own employees to expect the company to make the RC of Vista SP1 more broadly available
some time this week, it seems logical that the Vista SP1 RC is right around the corner, too.
jcxp.net -
05.12.2007Windows XP SP3 Specifics Revealed
If you have recently found yourself yelling “Down with Vista! Where’s my XP SP3?”, you’ll be happy to know Microsoft
hasn’t forgotten users of its currently most popular OS. Over the last few weeks, the software giant has provided XP downgrades for unhappy
Vista customers, announced that Windows XP sales would be extended to June 30, 2008, released a new build of Internet Explorer 7.0 for Windows XP that
doesnt require product activation, and released a Service Pack 3 beta to a select group of testers. Vista may be the next big thing, but the gap
between the two operating systems has created more problems than Microsoft would have hoped for. Thankfully, the company has decided against pushing
Vista at all costs and (hold your breath MS haters) is listening to its customers.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
10.10.2007Windows XP SP3 Not Until Late
2007
According to an update on
Microsoft's support lifecycle
Web site, the next service
pack for Windows XP isn't due
out until the second half of
2007 -- one full year after
Windows Vista launches. XP SP3
will likely serve as a
cumulative update for what
will soon become Microsoft's
legacy operating system...
betanews.com -
18.01.2006Expiration dates for Vista SP1 and XP SP3 blocks announced
If you're an IT professional and currently using Microsoft's Service Pack Blocker, the software giant recently announced that the current
blocks for Vista SP1 and XP SP3 are going to expire in a few months. The Service Pack Blocker Tool only temporarily prevents Windows from the
installation of a Service Pack via Windows Update, and the block is only effective for one year after the Service pack is released to the market via
Windows Update. Effective April 28th, 2009, Windows Vista SP1 will no longer be blocked by the tool and will be delivered via Windows Update. The
same goes for Windows XP SP3, but the block will be lifted on May 19th, 2009.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
30.01.2009
