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Microsoft pushing Windows 7 SP1 to users starting today

March 19, 2013 | By Paul Mah

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Microsoft will start pushing a Windows 7 Service Pack 1 automatically via Windows Update to certain users starting today. This move will affect Windows 7 users who do not already not have SP1 installed. Users whose PCs are configured with automatic updates enabled will not need to perform any further actions to get the update.

In a new blog entry on Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) Blogging Windows blog, the company noted that: "Updating customers to Windows 7 SP1 is part of our ongoing effort to ensure continued support and improved security updates for customers who have not yet installed SP1."

This comes ahead of a move on April 9 when Microsoft will no longer support Windows 7 RTM. Microsoft cautioned that the service pack will also take longer to install than the typical Patch Tuesday updates, and users are advised to plug laptops into AC power. The update also requires over one gigabyte of free disk space for 64-bit Windows 7 and 750MB for the 32-bit version.

To be clear, the automatic update will only take place on consumer PCs that are not managed using tools such as the System Center Configuration Manager or Windows Server Update Services. Due to the size of the SP1 update, businesses with a BYOD policy or ones that do not use the above services to manage may want to prepare for their Internet connectivity taking a hit as PCs get updated.

For more:
- check out this article at ZDNet
- check out this article at The Register