How to hack Windows Update to download Vista SP1 Beta

By now you probably know that Vista SP1 Beta is available to a select few testers. If you’re somewhat savy, you may know how to find it on the P2P sites, where it is available for download. But did you know that you can get it directly from Microsoft, through Windows Update, with only a very small, simple hack?

Nero, from the Nero’s Club website, posted instructions on how to trick Windows Update into thinking you are supposed to get the Beta SP1. It’s just two registry settings that need modifying, after which Windows Update will begin feeding you the components required for SP1 beta. Here’s an easy way to do it.

Open a text editor like Notepad, and paste the following text into it:

@echo off
reg add HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\VistaSp1 /v Beta1 /t REG_SZ /d a2c3c14a-9586-4d37-9aaa-79fbd64069d2 /f
reg add HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\VistaSP1 /v Beta1 /t REG_SZ /d a2c3c14a-9586-4d37-9aaa-79fbd64069d2 /f
echo Vista SP1 registry key has been set. Please check for updates in Windows Update.
pause

Save this file as a ‘.cmd’ or ‘.bat’ file, any name is fine, I chose sp1beta.cmd. Make sure there isn’t a ‘.txt’ extension at the end or it won’t work (changing the save as file type to ‘all files’ will help with this). You can save it to any location you like, I simply saved mine to the desktop.

Once you have the file, right-click on it and choose ‘Run as Administrator’ (if you have UAC disabled, you can simply double-click). A command prompt window will open, and should show you the following:

If you see the same, the settings have been added to your registry. You’re ready for the next step.
Go to Windows Update. A quick way to do that is to click on the Start menu, type update in the Search Box, and hit the Enter key. Click ‘Check for Updates’, and after a minute you should get a new update, KB935509. Install the update, and allow the computer to restart when it is finished.
Once logged back in, go to Windows Update again and you should have update KB937287 waiting (if not, click ‘Check for Updates’). Install it.
Once KB937287 is done installing, click ‘Check for Updates’ and KB938371 should become available. Install it and allow the computer to restart when it is finished.
Once logged back in, once again go back to Windows Update and ‘Check for Updates’. I had to wait about five minutes before mine would find the next update, which is Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Beta!
Install and enjoy…