Windows 7 Update, Vista SP2 Coming

Microsoft is set to release updates for the Windows 7 beta this week, and is prepping Service Pack 2 for Vista.

If you downloaded the beta of Windows 7 when it was available, keep your eyes open this week, since Microsoft will be releasing updates for the new operating system, which you’ll need to download manually via Windows Update.

In a blog entry, Windows 7 manager Brandon LeBlanc announced that Microsoft would release up to five test updates on February 24, which will “allow us to test and verify our ability to deliver and manage the updating of Windows 7.”

The updates will not contain any new features or fixes; instead they’ll “replace system files with the same version of the file currently on the system.”

Meanwhile, Ars Technica reported that Vista SP2 RC, build 6002.16670.090130, has been released to Microsoft Connect testers and will soon be available to more testers via the Windows Update site.

The service pack will include all the previous updates and patches for the operating system, and reportedly offers “significant performance improvements” over SP1, although SP2 RC contains 691 hotfixes.