It doesn’t feel like long since Windows 7 hit the shelves, but we have known about the impending release of Service Pack 1 for a little while now. There have been various patches and fixes released for Microsoft’s most recent version of its famous operating system, but SP1 is set to be the biggest update so far.

An early build of the service pack has leaked to the internet, giving a sneak preview of what’s to come. The leaked build is dated 27 March 2010 and consists mainly of updates which have already been made available through Windows Update. The leak is referred to as Build 7061 and has a build string of 6.1.7601.16537.amd64fre.win7.100327-0053.

Early reports indicate that the service pack is quick to install, but there are no major enhancements. The only major additions we can expect to see when the service pack officially sees the light of day is support for USB 3.0 as well as changes to the Bluetooth and wifi stacks. There is also likely to be an updated version of the Remote Desktop client which includes support for RemoteFX which will allow for the running of 3D applications and Windows Aero in remote sessions.

An official beta version of Windows 7 Service Pack 1 is pencilled in for June, and we can expect to see a full release some time around September, almost a year after the release of Windows 7 itself. Although uptake of Windows 7 has been impressive, the release of a service pack is an important time for any operating system as many businesses will wait until at least the first service pack has been released before deploying a new operating system throughout their company.