Mailbag: The February 2008 Media Center Cumulative Update fails to install on Windows Vista SP1

Question:

I saw your blog post about the February 2008 Cumulative Update for Media Center for Windows Vista.  I have Windows Vista Ultimate Edition with SP1 installed, and when I try to install this Cumulative Update, it fails.  How can I get this update to install on my Windows Vista SP1 system?

Answer:

Windows Vista SP1 is a cumulative service pack, so all previously released hotfix packages for Windows Vista, including the February 2008 Cumulative Update for Media Center for Windows Vista, are already included in Windows Vista SP1.  You do not need to install any separate package in order to get the fixes includes in this cumulative update onto your Windows Vista SP1 system.

The reason that this cumulative update gives you an error while you are installing is that it is marked to not be applicable on Windows Vista SP1.  You should not see that update offered to you if you visit Windows Update on a Windows Vista SP1 system, but it is still possible to try to download it and run it directly on systems that it does not apply to.