Microsoft is lining up Windows Vista update packs to fix performance and reliability issues reported in the OS. And while they are not yet available to download officially from Windows Update, beta versions of the service pack downloads have been leaked and posted on some websites.
The Vista Performance and Reliability Pack and Vista Compatibility and Reliability Pack address a number of issues and add extra improvements to Windows Vista's performance, according to reports .
The Vista Performance ad Reliability Pack improves performance when copying or moving directories containing large amounts of data or files, speeds up boot times and adds fixes to Vista's Memory Manager. The Vista Compatibility and Reliability Pack adds improves games performance ad appearance with improved graphics card compatibility.
The service packs also adds improvements to the playback quality of HD DVD and Blu-ray disks of large monitors, while the reliability of Internet Explorer has improved when using third party toolbars. Microsoft has also added fixes that boost the reliability of systems upgraded from XP to Vista.
Details of improvements the packs address are reported to include:
938979 Vista Performance and Reliability Pack
- Improves performance in resuming back to the desktop from the Photo and Windows Energy screensaver.
- Resolves an issue where some secured web pages using advanced security technologies may not get displayed in Internet Explorer on Windows Vista.
- Resolves an issue where a shared printer may not get installed if the printer is connected to a Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 system and User Access Control is disabled on the Vista client.
- Resolves an issue where creating AVI files on Vista may get corrupted.
- Improves the performance in calculating the 'estimated time remaining' when copying/moving large files.
- Improves performance in bringing up Login Screen after resuming from Hibernate.
- Resolves an issue where synchronization of offline files to a server can get corrupted.
- Resolves a compatibility issue with RAW images created by Canon EOS 1D/1DS Digital SLR Camera which can lead to data loss. This only affects RAW images created by these two specific camera models.
- Resolves an issue where a computer can lose its default Gateway address when resuming from sleep mode.
- Improves the performance when copying or moving entire directories containing large amounts of data or files.
- Improves the performance of Vista's Memory Manager in specific customer scenarios and prevents some issues which may lead to memory corruption.
938194 Vista Compatibility and Reliability Pack
- Improved reliability and compatibility of Vista when used with newer graphics cards in several specific scenarios and configurations.
- Improved reliability when working with external displays on a laptop.
- Increased compatibility with many video drivers.
- Improved visual appearance of games with high intensity graphics.
- Improved quality of playback for HD-DVD and Blue-Ray disks on large monitors.
- Improved reliability for Internet Explorer when some third party toolbars are installed on Vista.
- Improved Vista reliability in networking configuration scenarios.
- Improved the reliability of Windows Calendar in Vista.
- Improved reliability of systems that were upgraded from XP to Vista.
- Increased compatibility with many printer drivers.
- Increased reliability and performance of Vista when entering sleep and resuming from sleep.
