Microsoft makes Vista SP1 release candidate public

Microsoft has made the latest version of Vista's Service Pack 1 release candidate available for download to the general public, after initially restricting it to 15,000 beta testers when it debuted last week.

According to a blog by Mary Jo Foley on ZDNet.co.uk sister site ZDNet.com, a Microsoft spokesperson said the build contained "a number of bugs that testers encountered in previous pre-release versions of SP1 [Service Pack 1]".

SP1 RC Refresh, as the update is known, requires previous versions of SP1 to be uninstalled before it can be replaced with Refresh, which may entail waiting for the computer to "reboot multiple times", according to Microsoft.

After multiple rebooting, a period of an hour is required to allow the installer service to "clean up and complete the uninstall" to prevent possible installation errors.

Users with Vista RTM need to install two to three updates, depending on their version of Vista, before they can welcome SP1 onto their computer.

Refresh is time-limited, with the deadline for uninstall being 30 June, 2008. According to Foley, Microsoft still aims to have the official version of SP1 available within the first quarter of 2008.

On its website, Microsoft warned that it "does not recommend installing this software on primary or mission-critical systems".