Service Pack 1 contains security updates and performance improvements. The main difference between Service Pack 1 and Service Package 2 is the availability of updates. Depending on your operating system, you may want to use one or the other. Microsoft also plans to support injecting the rollup into Windows 7 system images and install media. The updates are required to use Windows 7, but both will report if they are already installed. It really gives off an air of sloppiness, and again, I would not expect that from Microsoft these days.What is the difference between Windows 7 Service Packs 1 and 2? Basically, service packs are updates for Windows 7 that make the operating system more secure and reliable. But making it available from a long-abandoned web page that is accessible only via Microsoft's browser, requires an ActiveX add-on, and doesn't work is just baffling. The rollup, service pack, call it what you will, is desperately needed and a good decision. This package will be distributed over Windows Update. This will be a continuously evolving, cumulative batch of non-security fixes.

So, the dependency doesn't qualify it as a service pack.įor updates released after April 2016, Microsoft also plans to produce monthly rollups of non-security updates for Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2012/R2. You could install SP2 for Windows XP without having to install SP1 first.

One reason why Microsoft is not calling it Service Pack 2 is because it requires Service Pack 1 to be installed. That's amateur hour I would not expect from Microsoft these days. I tried to add them to the cart, and no luck. After installing an ActiveX add-on, I was given a catalog with either the Windows 7 rollup or the Server 2008 rollup, plus a separate Windows 7 patch. So, I loaded the page in IE 11 instead of Firefox. If you prefer to use a different Web browser, you can get updates from the Microsoft Download Center.

Update windows 7 service pack 1