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Does it crash during the install process of SP1, or after SP1 has finished installing?
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I am not entirely clear. Are you saying you already tried a new hard drive for this Vista machine? <br />
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Try the System Readiness tool for Vista before trying to install SP1.<br />
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<a href="http://support.microsoft.com/kb/947821" rel="ugc">http://support.microsoft.com/kb/947821</a><br />
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See if that allows you to install SP1 (make sure your have the correct SP1: 32-bit, for intel CPU's). See if you can run the MD5 hash verification on the download. ... Thinkpads_User<br />

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It crashes during the install, but at the final stage, it crashes when the system reboots and performs the 3-step process. &nbsp;At which it then crashes with an ntoskrn error, and will not boot in any mode; last known-good configuration doesn't work either. &nbsp;I'll post the exact error tomorrow.<br />
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I'll also try the system rediness tool also to see if that fixes it.
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@ ve3ofa: SP2 requires SP1 to be installed first.<br />
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@ everyone: set sata to non-raid and installing sp1 at the moment. &nbsp;Will update this post with the results.
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SATA controller set to non-compatible setting.
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SATA controller was set to non-compatible setting.
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I have a Dell XP 420 desktop with a fresh reload of Vista 32-bit. &nbsp;Upon successful install of the OS and drivers, it crashes when a pre-downloaded copy of Service Pack 1 is installed. &nbsp;The same predownloaded file has been used several times on other systems, and has been successful. &nbsp;The bios has been updated to the latest version from Dell's site.<br />
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I believe Windows 7 SP1 experienced the same issue, and we have already tried a different hard drive, as it was also determind the hard drive (although it was new) was failing.
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I have a Dell XP 420 desktop with a fresh reload of Vista 32-bit.  Upon successful install of the OS and drivers, it crashes when a pre-downloaded copy of Service Pack 1 is installed.  The same predownloaded file has been used several times on other systems, and has been successful.  The bios has been updated to the latest version from Dell's site.

I believe Windows 7 SP1 experienced the same issue, and we have already tried a different hard drive, as it was also determind the hard drive (although it was new) was failing.

Service Pack 1 crashing fresh reload of Vista 32bit

Windows Vista is an operating system created by Microsoft as the successor to Windows XP. It was intended for PCs, workstations and laptops, and shares the same code base as its successor, Windows 7. New features included an updated graphical user interface (GUI) and visual style dubbed Aero, a new search component called Windows Search, redesigned networking, audio, print and display subsystems, and new multimedia tools. Vista aimed to increase the level of communication between machines on a home network, using peer-to-peer technology to simplify sharing files and media between computers and devices. Windows Vista included version 3.0 of the .NET Framework, allowing software developers to write applications without traditional Windows APIs.