Microsoft offers free support for Vista SP1 installs

Vista users encountering problems when they upgrade to Service Pack 1 can breathe easier: the company is giving away free support for those installing the service pack.

The transition to the service pack has not been problem-free for many users, some of whom have seen their computers fall into endless reboot cycles and struggled with broken applications after installing the upgrade.

Normally, only Windows Vista users who bought the retail product would be eligible for free support but, for SP1 installation, even users with an original-equipment-manufacturer copy of Vista on their computer can get Microsoft's help, according to the official Vista blog.

"We are offering free-of-charge support to anyone who is having issues installing Windows Vista SP1," Microsoft blogger Brandon Le Blanc said.

Unlimited installation and compatibility support is available at no charge until March 18, 2009, according to the Microsoft Service Pack 1 support site.

There are three options available under the free support plan for U.S. users: e-mail support, which will be answered within one business day; online chat, which has a current waiting time of around 40 minutes; and call, available only for users who have a software-assurance agreement, professional contract, TechNet subscription, or MSDN subscription, or for those who come under the Microsoft Partner Program.

Support will be handled on a case-by-case basis, a Microsoft spokesperson said, and the user will always be advised if costs are involved.

Whether enterprise customers will also receive support without cost will depend on their agreement, the spokesperson added.

Suzanne Tindal of ZDNet Australia reported from Sydney.

[Ian Kirkland]

a week late

and useless. I know that Australia is in a different time zone to
North America but surely it's not 7 days behind. This information is
useless since the expiry date is a week ago!
LOL!

[Leria]

March 18, 2009 is not a week ago

You really need to work on your reading skills: March 18, 2009 is nowhere near a week ago.... more like a year from now.

[Ian Kirkland]

OOPS!

Just noticed that it said 2009!!!

My bad!

[umbrae]

How bad is an OS...

That needs a special support extension/inclusion for a Service Pack (i.e. patches). Its kind of sad really. XP was almost a renaissance for Microsoft: a fairly stable OS that seemed well accepted. Although every release has its problems, XP did much better than Vista has done so far.

MS should have really tried to continue improving XP than releasing such garbage. Hopefully, Singularity will turn out better and not be affected by the con-job Vista crew.

[Leria]

You had better read a little bit more

They had to do this same thing when XP SP1 came out, and AGAIN when SP2 came out.
Leopard and Linux don't have these problems, because one has support for life (Leopard) and the other has absolutely NO support except for forums.

Secondly, XP did not do better than Vista. If anything, it is the other way around. People keep on moaning that "My old devices don't work on Vista! WAAAAAAAAH!" when that isn't Microsoft's fault, it is the fault of the person who made your device not putting out a new driver.
They also keep moaning and whining about certain very old programs not working on Vista when Microsoft bluntly stated they wouldn't because they were badly written, real-mode programs and Vista didn't support Real-Mode access to the components of the computer anymore.

Vista is doing JUST fine. The only knock I personally have on it: it needs a minimum of 2GB of memory, in reality.
Big deal. Most computers today are edging up towards 8GB of memory and 64-bit computing as the next standard, so it's not a big deal.

[ElMartino1]

In other words, I need a working computer to get support

if I don't have a contract already in place.

That's simply ridiculous. Perhaps by Feb 2009, my BIOS will have Windows Live built in. ~sarcasm~

[mreiher]

It's like a warning label....

WARNING! Now that you've spent months getting Vista to run in
some fashion, installing VISTA SP1 may (or will) cause many of
your existing applications to fail or not operate properly. At
Microsoft, we understand your pain (as we're experiencing it
too) so we're offering free Technical Support to help reduce your
days of frustration down to several hours on the phone with
someone out of the country. We do this because we care and we
don't want to be sued (again) for releasing software that is just
not ready for prime time - even if it is months late. "Beta Late"
than never!

P.S. Bill has stepped down as CEO, please forward all hate mail to
Mr. Ballmer.

[Leria]

Wrong on the application failing thing

Every single application on my machine still runs after installing Windows Vista SP1. Not ONE stopped working afterwards, and wonder of wonders.... a few that DIDN'T work on Vista before now do work.

Next time, actually take the time to try Vista SP1 before posting on this subject, as I have.
And yes, I am a 'Microsoft Fanboy'.... but I don't overlook their faux-pas anymore than any other companies, they just haven't really had any except for lacking driver support on Vista.

[magicmaster]

Direct Evidence of Defective Windows Vista

A working Windows XP proves itself a reliable companion. Although the interface is not as fancy by today's standard, the stablity has conviced me to wait. Why bother when Windows Vista still looked like a nightly build?

[Leria]

Stop posting these lies

Have you even used Windows Vista? Windows Vista, for me, has been just as stable if not MORE stable than Windows XP.
You really need to stop posting these absolute lies and fabrications, otherwise people will stop taking you seriously, as I have.

[cross platform]

Mine When Fine!

I did have to call MS about a strange problem oof the installation making a hidden file show up on the desktop. It didn't take long to fix. I think the problems are more about the installer than the OS!

[cross platform]

Sorry About The Typos

Gotta get ready for work!

[Leria]

What was the fix for that?

I haven't seen any 'hidden files' appearing on my computer... except when I have "Do not show hidden and system files" unchecked in the Windows Explorer options menu.

I did have a problem where in one folder, it was showing hidden and system files when it shouldn't have, but it was an easy fix with a CCleaner registry scan.

[FO-FI_FO_454]

VISTA SP1 MAY SIMPLY NEED A DOCTOR.

May I suggest my Medicare Advantage Plan:

Click:

http://www.vistahealthplan.com/

Thank you for this opportunity to TALK BACK.

TTFN
From WW2 and our British allies - TA TA FOR NOW.

[dbmrn]

Vista SP1 Instaled fine

Vista SP1 installed fine on all 3 of my machines and it has helped make them all faster. Even my new laptop which developed a glitch, on startup it would freeze temporarily, after installing one of the mandatory pre-SP1 updates started booting up just fine after installing SP1. It's faster than ever now.

[hvoss10]

Vista Working Great

Installed ok with no problems. I have Vista Ultimate, although I had to install the Fix for Space Cadet Pinball, no other problems.

[DougXD]

Any chance you might mention.....

......that SP's for Windows have ALWAYS received free support? Another example of sensationalized blogging. Get your story straight!!!!

[victoriarose620]

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