RUMORS SP1 Official in December Vista News Discuss RUMORS SP1 Official in December in the Windows Vista forums; Vista SP1 RC just around the corner? by Justin Mann on November 30, 2007, 11:44 AM If the frustrations with Vista are just too much for you to bear ...

[Snuffy]

Vista SP1 RC just around the corner?
by Justin Mann on November 30, 2007, 11:44 AM
If the frustrations with Vista are just too much for you to bear but you feel inclined to continue using it in the first place, a breath of fresh air may be just around the corner. While the official release date for Vista SP1 is still into next year, there are reports that a RC might be available in December. Hopefully if a RC is made available it won't be the crude tease that Microsoft “accidentally” made available earlier this month.

For all those looking forward to the bug fix rollups, if not so much the speed boost, a RC would be appreciated, as other beta tests have found no noticeable speed jump for Vista. Keep your eye out for this if you are a Vista user.

http://www.techspot.com/news/28067-v...he-corner.html

[Snuffy]

Warning - Warning - The official SP1 kills all cracks for Vista...

Microsoft to Kill the Grace Timer and OEM BIOS Windows Vista Cracks with Vista SP1

With the advent of Windows Vista, cracks also became available being designed to bypass the activation process of the operating system.

The new activation infrastructure and the Windows Genuine Advantage, set in place by the Redmond company, proved insufficient to deal with Windows Vista cracks. But no more. While cooking the first service pack for its latest Windows client, Microsoft announced that the refresh will mean that the free Vista ride would be over for users of the operating system with two specific activation workarounds implemented: the Grace Timer and OEM BIOS.

"We know that Windows Vista is a lot harder to counterfeit than Windows XP, but we also know that pirates will keep trying. We currently see two primary types of exploits pirates often use to generate counterfeit versions of Windows Vista. One is known as the OEM Bios exploit, which involves modifying system files and the BIOS of the motherboard to mimic a type of product activation performed on copies of Windows that are pre-installed by OEMs in the factory. Another is called the Grace Timer exploit. This exploit attempts to reset the 'grace time' limit between installation and activation to something like the year 2099 in some cases," revealed Mike Sievert, Corporate Vice President, Windows Product Marketing.

Windows Vista Service Pack means that both cracks will be rendered useless, although Microsoft is anything but prompt when it comes to respond to Vista cracks. The Redmond company confirmed the existence of the 'timer crack' or '2099 crack' via Alex Kochis, Senior Product Manager for Windows Genuine Advantage, since January 2nd, 2007. The OEM Vista activation crack has been brought into focus in the early April of this year. But, the two Vista cracks will only be addressed in Vista SP1, all the way into 2008. "We're going to disable, again in the service pack, two types of popular activation exploits that are in wide use today. They are the Grace Timer and OEM BIOS exploits," Kochis stated.

"Implementing exploits involves extreme alterations to key system components and can seriously affect system stability. So we are taking action. SP1 will include updates that will target those exploits and disable them," Sievert added.

WARNING - WARNING - WARNING

[Snuffy]

Announcing Windows Vista SP1 Release Candidate (RC)
Today, December 05, 2007, 11:16:08 PM
Nick White: Today we're making available the release candidate (RC) of Windows Vista SP1 via Microsoft Connect, and tomorrow subscribers to TechNet and MDSN will have access to those RC bits too. In addition, the RC will be available to the public next week via Microsoft's Download Center. The release candidate phase of beta software is typically the final phase before the RTM (release-to-manufacturing) of a product and indicates that the code has attained a significant level of performance and stability.

Let me call out several changes made since the Beta release of Service Pack 1 -- many of which came about as a result of direct feedback from our Beta-testing community (thank you!)...



View Full Article: Windows Vista Team Blog

[JoshW02@hotmail.co.uk]

Snuffy: Public yes!! One question "if" I get my new laptop at Xmas assuming the public RC is still out should it be easy to upgrade to the final SP1? PS I have a conflicting report about the kill swiches in Vista SP1 so to speak. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7126902.stm

[JoshW02@hotmail.co.uk]

http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/winvista_sp1_wga.asp

[Snuffy]

@echo off

reg delete HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\WindowsUpdate\VistaSp1 /f > NUL 2>&1
reg delete HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\ Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\VistaSP1 /f > NUL 2>&1

reg add HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\WindowsUpdate\VistaSp1 /v Beta1 /t REG_SZ /d 536ee5c2-e79d-420d-a589-c8ab115f35c3 /f
IF NOT %errorlevel% == 0 ( goto ERROR)

:SUCCESS
@echo.
echo ================================================== =========
echo Windows Vista SP1 registry key has been set successfully.
echo Please check for updates in Windows Update.
echo ================================================== =========
@echo.
goto END

:ERROR
@echo.
echo ================================================== =========
echo FAILED to set Windows Vista SP1 registry keys.
echo Please run this script by right clicking and selecting
echo "Run as Administrator".
echo ================================================== =========
@echo.
goto END

:END
pause

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

save as SP1.668.cmd

enjoy

[JoshW02@hotmail.co.uk]

Snuffy did you see my posts.

[Snuffy]

SP1 will shortly be available on the official Microsoft Connection site. just like any other upgrade.

If it kills your version then I guess it kills you. If your version does not die, then your version is OK. Rumors are rumors and some get killed and some live, you have to try to know.
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latest info.

But after upgrading a few machines here and doing some tests, I changed my mind. If Microsoft’s decision to ditch the WGA kill switch in SP1 didn’t convince you, would you be interested in a 300% increase in tripling your network file transfer speeds?

It seems that the Beta version has KILL Active... and RC1 Kill is Inactive.
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Take a change if your illegal. wait till next week if your scared... untill you DL and install who knows... I'm OK. so far.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=336

[Snuffy]

Pirated copies of Windows Vista Service Pack 1, detected as non-genuine after failing the Windows Genuine Advantage validation, will deliver the same behavior as pirated copies of Windows XP. Namely, the users will be served "clear and recurring notices", informing them of the fact that Vista SP1 is non-genuine, but without any loss of access to features or of the functionality of the operating system. Net Applications credits Vista with over 9% of the operating system market, while Microsoft is boasting about having shipped in excess of 88 million copies of the platform to its channel partner. But, how desperate can Microsoft be to grow Vista's market share, if it will let its antipiracy guard down? And while we are on the same note... How can the Redmond company call the moving back to the "relaxed" antipiracy model of Windows XP, from that more strict in Vista, an evolution?

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Does-...ed-72961.shtml

[Snuffy]

All users, especially those never install Vista SP1 Beta or RC1 Preview via Windows Update, will likley have to install 3 important prerequisites updates/hotfixes before Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is offered, as they’ve been updated. The 3 updates is Update for Windows Vista (KB935509) - v1.008, Update for Windows Vista (KB938371) - v1.028, and Update for Windows vista (KB937287) - Build 6001.17052 (x86 or x64). After restarting computer (important step, although system doesn’t prompt you to reboot), check for updates again in WU or Microsoft Update (MU), and you will see 1 important update available with size from 51.0 MB to 539.2 MB, which is Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Release Candidate 1 - Build 6001.17052 (x86 or x64).
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Windows Vista SP1 RC 1 Build 6001.17052 (v.668)
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