PLEASE -- study threads here about the problem that arises when you apply SP3 to XP and an AV/Security program is already installed since a similar situation can apply with VISTA and SP1.
Microsoft has a fix you can apply to XP before you apply SP3 but I don't yet know if it applies to VISTA and SP1 or if there is a specific fix for VISTA.
I have asked here just now so I suggest you wait since I don't know of any urgent rush to apply SP1.
PLEASE -- study threads here about the problem that arises when you apply SP3 to XP and an AV/Security program is already installed since a similar situation can apply with VISTA and SP1.
Microsoft has a fix you can apply to XP before you apply SP3 but I don't yet know if it applies to VISTA and SP1 or if there is a specific fix for VISTA.
I have asked here just now so I suggest you wait since I don't know of any urgent rush to apply SP1.
The rush that I have to apply SP1 was to get Vista and my printer to work better together. I have a dell 926 (don't get one especially if you have vista).
To install SP1 i got help from Microsoft - they had me uninstall my antivirus (AVG8 free - which has been a great antivirus). Since then I haven't been able to get AVG8 installed - it keep saying that I still had antivirus/security software installed and recommended that I not install it - I tried to find anything AVG on my hard drive and remove it but when I installed AVG it still gave me the same message - I would install it anyway - it would work once and then not work. I uninstalled and installed it a few times - rebooting each time - and same thing. I tried to get help from Microsoft, Dell and Norton but they couldn't help - AVG would not help because it's free.
I finally installed Avast! antivirus no problem.
After SP1 I tried to do a backup and it hung up at 0%. Symantec tech said that my external hard drive was a Fat32 file system and my laptop was an NTFS or something file system and he recommended converting the external hd to the ntfs file system. I elected not to at the time since it was during a work day and I didn't want to spend any more time on it.
I'm going to try to do a backup now since I have done a check disk, gotten new antivirus, got help with Dell with my printer and had it uninstalled and installed again - I'll see if the backups work. If not, it's back to Symantec for help.
Is all of this worth it? I don't know - I hope so. I wanted ghost because I get a blue screen every once in a while and if my laptop crashed I wanted to have a complete system in case dell ends up sending me a new laptop.
I don't use AVG so I can't be specific but I do watch some AV forums, and a search using Google, shows plenty of problems including BSOD.
I'm not knocking AVG -- until 8 it was a fine useful free program that I have installed on laptops for family members.
People whom I know who have run into this have uninstalled AVG 8 until it is fixed -- AVG7 is still getting updates until the end of this year I gather but I don't think you can download it from AVG.
