After finding a few last-minute problems with Vista Service Pack 1 and XP Service Pack 3, Microsoft delayed deployment on both of them. Now they're both back and ready for download, either manually or through Windows Update.Hold on there, pilgrim! There's no hurry. Urgent updates such as security patches are delivered as soon as they're available. The additional patches in service packs deal with problems that are not security issues. The Vista file copy performance problem, for example, has been fixed by Vista SP1, along with dozens of other issues. The XP SP3 fix list is similarly impressive. Yet there's no need to jump right on to installing these service packs unless they fix a problem you urgently need to solve.

Don't fool yourself, there can be problems caused by service packs. Every new service pack release can be guaranteed to be chased by a news story about users whose systems have been brought low by it. But heck, XP SP3 is a minor update when compared with the incompatibilities of XP SP2; up to 10% of systems had issues with that one. But when all was said and done, XP SP2 was the best thing that ever happened to Windows.

These latest updates were delayed at the last minute when an incompatibility was discovered in Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System. Imagine updating your operating system and finding that your store management system wouldn't work properly -- yeah, bummer. Microsoft was quick to isolate the issue and create a patch.

Just in case you do take the jump soon and have a problem with Vista SP1, my fellow InformationWeek blogger Serdar Yegulalp has put together a detailed guide for getting out of trouble.

If you're anxious to get the jump on XP SP3, even if it's just for testing purposes, Microsoft has both an ISO image and a network installation package.

Really, though, don't bust a gut trying to deploy these immediately. If you don't want to be the pioneer on these service packs, wait for a month and keep an eye on the tech news sites. If the buzz is generally positive, go for it.