Show

Vista SP2 build 16489 released to testers

Tom Warren
24 October 2008 - 18:18
62 Comments
Liked this (5)

Microsoft has released an early beta build of Vista SP2 to testers according to those familiar with the beta program.

In a posting to The Hotfix forums, members have claimed that Microsoft have released a batch file which enables the SP2 download from Windows Update. The download weighs in at over 290MB and references the support article placeholder put online 2 weeks ago.

Microsoft recently wrote to potential testers to offer them the SP2 build within 4 weeks and it appears the company may have released this earlier than expected.

It's expected that SP2 will include Windows Search 4, along with Bluetooth wireless support (including latest BT 2.1 fixes), support for the new VIA 64-bit CPU and additional application compatibility updates.

Early feedback from testers noted "Vista feels faster now!" and "it feels good so far...stable and all".

Update: This build is not currently released broadly to all testers and may have leaked out from a small set of testers or internally from Microsoft.

Update 2: According to a Microsoft source, the package on Windows Update today are pre-beta bits, not the actual beta that has undergone more testing. It was added to ensure the windows update process was setup correctly.

Comments (62)

  1. s3n4te - 24 October 2008 - 12:56

    Omg I want!

  2. kiddingguy - 24 October 2008 - 13:14

    Me too.
    Always nice to have the latest and greatest updates.

  3. Raa - 25 October 2008 - 00:31

    Same! It'll be good to finally have Vista's myriad of problems sorted out.

    Okay, that was a bit harsh, but yeah, it's going to be good either way. Maybe.

  4. Calum - 25 October 2008 - 00:50

    Raa said,
    Same! It'll be good to finally have Vista's myriad of problems sorted out.

    Okay, that was a bit harsh, but yeah, it's going to be good either way. Maybe.


    And what problems does Vista have then? I've not come across any since I've been using it (Feb 2007). It's worked better than Windows XP for me. The only problems I had is with it not remembering folder views, but XP does that too.

  5. cekicen - 25 October 2008 - 04:26

    you are center of the earth mighty cJr. if you haven't got a problem, nobody have.

  6. mrmckeb - 25 October 2008 - 05:07

    cekicen said,
    you are center of the earth mighty cJr. if you haven't got a problem, nobody have.

    Don't be rude. +cJr. is stating sure there are bugs, but +Raa's comment about a "myriad of problems" is unjustifed. It works fine.

  7. kupang - 27 October 2008 - 06:20

    what a totally misleading topic title.. !! sheesh!!!

  8. badblood - 24 October 2008 - 12:58

    Wow, they are on the ball with this one. Let's hope it lives up the the early feedback and speeds up Vista and keeps it stable. I wonder will it fix the NIC initialisation issue, as I hate waiting 5 mins after boot for my network to spring to life.

  9. Zonk - 24 October 2008 - 15:12

    badblood said,
    Wow, they are on the ball with this one. Let's hope it lives up the the early feedback and speeds up Vista and keeps it stable. I wonder will it fix the NIC initialisation issue, as I hate waiting 5 mins after boot for my network to spring to life.


    +1

  10. Ci7 - 24 October 2008 - 13:12

    hehe were is the yesterday guy who said i photoshoped it }:)

  11. Stoic33 - 24 October 2008 - 13:25

    moved to correct thread.

  12. +TCLN Ryster - 24 October 2008 - 13:29

    Think you're in the wrong thread mate. This is for Vista SP2, not Win 7.

  13. GreyWolf - 24 October 2008 - 14:50

    Ultimate users got what they paid for: all the features of Vista. If you bought it for the candy sprinkles (Ultimate Extras) that's your fault.

  14. +Chrono951 - 24 October 2008 - 16:41

    I personally bought Ultimate for its Complete PC Backup, which works extremely well in my opinion.

  15. yakumo - 27 October 2008 - 11:16

    GreyWolfSC said,
    Ultimate users got what they paid for: all the features of Vista. If you bought it for the candy sprinkles (Ultimate Extras) that's your fault.

    That is why I got ultimate, but only as it came cheaply with a new machine, but honestly who are you to dictate the reasoning behind why anybody buys anything.

    Many home users with no need for most of the functions of ultimate or the business editions, or even much of the media stuff went for Ultimate for the 'Extras', and two years on even with the release of Tinker, they have proved to be not much more than a con to date.

  16. :: Lyon :: - 24 October 2008 - 13:30

    I'm sure it won't be long before it leaks everywhere on torrent sites (if not already!)

  17. vetSHoTTa35 - 24 October 2008 - 13:40

    hehe, well it's on torrents sites but you don't even really need it. It's just a registry thing like last time (not the same one obviously)

  18. scozzie - 24 October 2008 - 13:31

    Actually, it has NOT been released to testers...this was a leak, not an official release. I'm in the beta and can assure you this has been confirmed a leak by MS. It was put in place for internal testing only and was leaked....

    As you can see, this is a pre-beta version. Beta testers will be given a beta build.

  19. GP007 - 24 October 2008 - 21:09

    I wouldn't wanna install pre-beta builds of SP's personally. Even beta testing SPs on my main system would be iffy. Now if you have a spare install just for this that's fine then.

  20. non.sequitur2 - 25 October 2008 - 01:23

    GP007 said,
    I wouldn't wanna install pre-beta builds of SP's personally. Even beta testing SPs on my main system would be iffy. Now if you have a spare install just for this that's fine then.

    Or a virtual pc or vmware image.

Please Log In or Register to post a comment.