Microsoft preps Windows 7 for SP1 testing

Microsoft has already prepared Windows 7 with code to let users download the new operating system's first service pack, a prominent blogger reported last weekend.

Rafael Rivera, who writes the Within Windows blog, sniffed out several keys in Windows 7's registry that add an eligibility check for Service Pack 1 (SP1).

A first service pack -- which includes already-issued security patches as well as new bug fixes, and in some cases, new features -- is important because many corporations won't widely deploy a new edition of Windows until that milestone has been reached. Service packs are also relatively rare: Windows XP, which debuted in October 2001, has had only three.

Rivera took the appearance of the eligibility check to mean that SP1 testing is imminent. "The takeaway here is that external Windows 7 SP1 testing should commence soon, if it hasn't already," said Rivera.

But even if Rivera's hunch is correct, it could be months before Microsoft launches a public preview of SP1. For example, although Microsoft seeded an invite-only group of testers with Vista SP1 in September 2007, it didn't make the beta available to the general public until December 2007.

:story: Full story: Computerworld