Microsoft won't release Service Pack 2 for Windows 7

The engineering team responsible for building and releasing service packs has reportedly been told there won’t be another service pack for Windows 7. It marks the first time in multiple releases that Microsoft won’t be issuing a second major update.

If you recall, Windows XP received three service packs during its run while Vista scored two major bundles. It’s unclear at this hour why Microsoft isn’t planning a second service pack but it doesn’t take a genius to make an educated guess.

Windows 7 was due for a second service pack any day now. Service packs are reportedly a pain for Microsoft to produce because they require a lot of time and effort to build. With Windows 8 primed for release, it seems as though Microsoft wanted to have everyone working on the new OS rather than lingering around on an older project.

The decision to move forward makes sense but Windows 7 faithful likely won’t be amused. Service packs combine dozens, or even hundreds of individual updates into a single package that’s easy to install. Having to apply each update individually is a time-consuming affair that typically requires multiple reboots and administrator attention.

Some also believe that the decision to skip a second service pack could be a subtle hint to push users towards adopting Windows 8 earlier than they might otherwise have.

Redmond will likely continue to issue individual updates on a regular basis as usual until the operating system reaches end-of-life status.