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I'm getting calls. Lots of calls. From friends and colleagues who have downloaded and tried to installed Vista Service Pack 1 this week.
Microsoft's problems with SP1 are on a scale of BAA's problems with Heathrow Terminal 5, but on a worldwide scale. Like BAA they've had months to iron out any problems, yet it singularly failed to do so.
The known problems list makes for eye-popping reading. If you have a pre-release version of Vista - as many do, after being encouraged by Microsoft - SP1 won't install.
If there is a Registry inconsistency it won't install. But wasn't Vista touted as automatically working around Registry problems when it was first released?
It's ironic to note that Microsoft originally delayed Vista SP1 due to worries about security and compatibility issues, but it seems their troubles are far from over.
Microsoft claims to be offering free support to anyone having difficulty installing the update, but my friends and colleagues report telephone wait times of 30 minutes or more before giving up.
SP1 also has severe problems when exiting sleep mode. Most users (including myself) have to reboot their laptops, I've found.
There are also severe issues with the KB935509 update, which is a pre-requisite for SP1 and which can send PCs into an endless reboot cycle if the user has had the audacity to run multiple operating systems (Linux/Vista, XP/Vista etc.).
The update, it seems, requires access to the Master Boot Record and the System Boot loader, which aren't always available on a multi-OS machine.
Microsoft has known about the problems with this update for some time and has suspended its automatic distribution.
So why make it a pre-requisite for SP1? The list goes on and on and on.
Thanks a lot Microsoft. Thanks a lot.
