It looks like the beta version of Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista will be released in the next few weeks to obliging volunteers and manufacturers. It’s not going to be on the same scale as the infamous Service Pack 2 for Windows XP, which included some major security upgrades and replaced large chunks of the operating system, but it is still fairly large, at a little over 45Mb, it covers quite a lot of ground and we are assured, will fix a few niggling problems.

What we know so far is that it will include support for a new file format called ExFAT, which is designed for use with flash memory devices. There will also be support for SD Advanced DMA, for faster file transfer and reduced CPU workload. SP1 will include improvements to drive encryption, there are some tweaks for speeding up and improving security on network connections, enhanced network diagnostics and an updated disc defragmenter. The official launch of SP1 for English, French, Spanish, German and Japanese versions of Vista is expected in November with the remaining 36 supported languages following in February 2008.

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