Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 Release Candidate and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Release Candidate – Windows Update Experience Kit

The latest build in Windows Vista Service Pack 2 has been released by Microsoft. This release candidate has the following description:

Windows Server 2008 SP2/Windows Vista SP2 RC is prerelease code offered to the public through our Customer Preview Program. Please see the Windows Server SP2/Windows Vista SP2 Customer Preview Program page on TechNet/MSDN for additional details, documentation, and forums.

Windows Vista SP2 TechNet
Windows Server 2008 SP2 TechNet

Windows Server 2008/Windows Vista SP2 RC applies to people, organizations, and technical enthusiasts who are comfortable evaluating prerelease software. This prerelease software is provided for testing only. Installation of Service Pack 2 RC will result in Microsoft collecting information about the installation process, even if the installation is not completed. We do not recommend installing this software on primary or mission-critical systems. We recommend that you have a backup of your data before you install any prerelease software.

SP2 is an update to Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 that addresses feedback from our customers and partners. By providing these fixes integrated into a single service pack, Microsoft provides a single high-quality update that minimizes deployment and testing complexity for customers. In addition to all previously released updates, SP2 will contain changes focused on addressing reliability and performance issues, supporting new kinds of hardware, and adding support for several emerging standards. SP2 will also continue to make it easier for IT administrators to deploy and manage large installations of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.

Service Pack 1 is a prerequisite for installing Service Pack 2. Please make sure that your system is running Service Pack 1 before you install Service Pack 2.

This kit contains
1) A Word document that has instructions and “things to know” before you install
2) A command script that will set a registry key on your computer that will enable Windows Update to offer you the Service Pack. This installation option is available to computers that have any of the 36 supported Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista languages.

Go ahead and download this update here.