I'm being reminded every day to install the Vista Service Pack. What are the advantages, as I am quite happy with my system as it is?
Barbara Fuller
Vista's Service Pack 1 makes no visible difference to your system (or not one I noticed), and may not make any practical difference, though your PC should run slightly faster. The main problem SP1 dealt with was slow file copying. Otherwise, there are lots of minor tweaks that improve hardware and software compatibility, networking, and reliability. Many are for laptops -- such as support for n-level Wi-Fi, faster resume from sleep, and better battery life -- rather than desktops. Some changes have been made to make the core operating system the same as the one used for Windows Server 2008. Some have been made to satisfy the US Justice Department. Many of the changes will already have been made if you have Windows Update turned on, as you should. For a comprehensive list, see: Notable Changes in Windows Vista Service Pack 1.
In general, it's best to install Service Packs, because all new Vista PCs will ship with SP1, and all future enhancements and all new versions of software will be tested against SP1. Since there are well over 100m PCs running Vista, some people are bound to have problems. However, the risk is fairly low, and SP1 (KB936330) can be uninstalled if necessary: see support.microsoft.com/kb/948537.
