Microsoft has announced it is to release new updates for PCs running the Windows 7 beta next week, while at the same time launching the Release Candidate build of Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 to a select group of testers.

In a posting on The Windows Blog, Windows 7 manager Brandon LeBlanc said the firm would be releasing up to five test updates on 24 February, which “will allow us to test and verify our ability to deliver and mange the updating of Windows 7”.

LeBlanc was keen to emphasise that the updates would not deliver new features or bug fixes and would merely “replace system files with the same version of the file currently on the system”.

Users will need to manually install the updates through Windows Update, he added.

But as Windows 7 took a step closer to a full release, Microsoft has been busy preparing for a Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 SP2 release, according to reports.

The Ars Technica site said the Vista SP2 RC, build 6002.16670.090130, was released to Microsoft Connect testers and will soon be made available to a broader range of testers via the Windows Update site.

Vista SP2 will include all previous updates and patches for the operating system, the site reported. There have also been reports of “significant performance improvements” over SP1, although SP2 RC contains 691 hotfixes, said Ars Technica.

It is widely believed that Microsoft’s detailing of its plans for the forthcoming Windows 7 operating system is an admission of its failure with Vista, which has received poor reviews and disappointing take up since its worldwide release in 2007.