Microsoft is delaying the rollout of Vista SP1 (Service Pack 1) for several weeks in order to address problems arising from the use of a small number of device drivers that do not conform to the software giant’s installation guidelines.

“We are going to stage our rollout of SP1 for current Windows Vista users to be approximately concurrent with the availability of Windows Vista SP1 on new PCs and in stores,” said Windows Product Management Group spokesperson Mike Nash in a recent blog.

Microsoft said Vista SP1 will be available for purchase by new customers on March 1. However, volume-licensing customers with active Microsoft Software Assurance coverage or an Enterprise Agreement will be able to download the operating system toward the end of February, the software giant said.

Microsoft will be taking the next month or so to continue identifying as many of the noncomplaint drivers as possible, Nash said. “This will give us time to work with some of our hardware partners to make adjustments to the installation process for the affected drivers,” he added.

The Reinstall Option

The performance issue reported by some beta testers had to do with the way the drivers were installed and not the drivers themselves, Nash said. “The solution was simply to reinstall the drivers,” he explained.

However, the reinstall option is clearly not practical for enterprises with large bases of installed PCs with various vintages. Given that device manufacturers have had a year to bring their drivers up to snuff, it would not be fair to hold Microsoft solely responsible for the delay, industry observers say.

“Certainly device-driver vendors need to make sure they are following Microsoft’s guidelines and best practices for their products,” noted Gartner Client Computing Vice President Michael Silver. “But many vendors don’t want to spend the time and money to…