Windows 7 SP1 released

Windows 7 Service Pack 1 is now available to everyone for download and rolling out via Windows Update.

For Windows 7, SP1 will help keep PCs well supported by delivering ongoing updates, many of which have been made previously available through Windows Update.

It does, however, include client-side support for RemoteFX and Dynamic Memory which are two new virtualization features enabled in Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1.

For those looking to update a single PC, Microsoft recommends using Windows Update instead of downloading the standalone installer. A few other tidbits on installation:

• When installing Windows 7 SP1 on a laptop PC, make sure it’s plugged in to an electrical outlet (AC).
• Your PC will need to reboot after installing Windows 7 SP1 so make sure you save all your work and close your applications before you begin your installation.
• Installing Windows 7 SP1 will require a bit more hard drive space so if you don’t have enough, I recommend running Windows 7’s built-in Disk Cleanup tool to assist in freeing up hard drive space.

For those who may want to free up hard drive space, it is possible to remove the service pack installation specific files after installing Windows 7 SP1.

After installing Windows 7 SP1, you can remove the service pack installation files by running Disk Cleanup and clicking on the “Clean up system files” button and checking “Service Pack Backup Files” to free up space.