Update: Windows 7 Service Pack 1 Coming Soon

Windows 7 has been out now for a few months now, so its pretty much a certainty that Microsoft are busily working on a the first Service Pack.

There are now two indications that this its going to be released to beta soon:

1. Then Microsoft Hot fix request page did list Windows 7 “SP1” and Windows Vista “sp3” when when requesting the patch for KB974090.

Note: This page has since been taken down however below is a screen shot when it was online.

2. Rafael Rivera from Within Windows has noticed that via previous updates Windows 7 now performs a beta “candidacy check” for Service Pack 1 (see below).

This means that Microsoft are prepping the deployment pipeline which should hopefully mean the gap between RTM and the first service pack wont be as long as it was for Windows Vista. Vista Service Pack 1 had to wait for Windows Server 2008 to come out as both the Service Pack and 2008 were built on the same code base. This means that Microsoft had to release a performance and compatibility pack in the interim to keep people happy.

Note: This also meant that when Windows Server 2008 was released that it reported itself as already having service pack 1 installed.

Update 1: So what new feautres (if any) might we see in Windows 7 Service Pack 1 well ZDNET are says “USB 3.0 is likely to be at the top of what is, admittedly, a short list” and Infoworld speculates that “enhancements to the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi stacks will be slipstreamed in”.

Getting the service pack out quickly would also convince a lot of companies who still take the “not until the first service pack” attitude that its now ok to start looking at Windows 7 sooner rather than later.

Update 2: ITChuiko says  “According to sources at Microsoft, a preliminary version of SP1 will be in June 2010 and will be accessible only to testers, whereas the final version is expected by September 2010.”

Hopefully this will mean a return to the days when Microsoft Pumped out service pack really quickly (9 to 12 months). Microsoft did make Service Pack 1 for Windows 2000 during the time between RTM and General Availability which meant they could have the service pack in less than 6 months after release. Given the timing of this information I would say Microsoft are moving back to that model.

Related posts:

1. Gartner: Businesses don’t need to wait until Windows 7 Service Pack 1
2. Windows 7 Service Pack 1 Build 7138 Screenshots and Details
3. Microsoft caps Windows 7 to XP downgrade program at April 2011