Everyone has been wondering when Microsoft is planning to release Windows Vista Service Pack 1, and as it appears, now should be the time to expect it. Earlier this month, on February 4th, Microsoft released Vista SP1 to manufacturers (RTM) in English, German, Spanish and Japanese.

Once this process started, Microsoft announced that “in mid-march, we will release Windows Vista SP1 to Windows Vista Update and the download center on Microsoft.com. Customers who visit Windows Update can choose to install Service Pack 1.”

At the same time, Microsoft added that “customers who visit Windows Update can choose to install Service Pack 1. If Windows Update determines that the system has one of the drivers we know to be problematic, then Windows Update will not offer SP1.” This however doesn’t mean that customers won’t be able to install SP1 if they want to.

Starting mid-April, “we will begin delivering Windows Vista SP1 to Windows Vista customers using the automatic download capability of Windows Update. This means that we will begin automatic downloads of SP1 for customers who have chosen to have upgrades downloaded automatically.”

Microsoft also announced that in April, the remaining language versions will become available, along with boxed product (FPP) of Windows Vista that integrates Service Pack 1, which will become available in retail stores.

Before installing Windows Vista SP1, customers will need to install several additional updates that will be delivered to most users through Windows update. For those who will want to install SP1 by using the standalone installer instead of Windows Update, the updates will be installed by the stand-alone installer.

Windows Vista is “the next generation of the Microsoft Windows operating system, which hosts both managed and native applications on a productive, secure and reliable platform,” the company said on their Web site.