Should I run the Vista Service Pack 2 Beta update on my PC?

Microsoft has now released the beta version of Vista Service Pack 2. Beta versions are only for use by advanced users who understand that such early released software are for testing purposes and may still have flaws. In this case, such flaws may therefore cause problems with your installation of Vista, forcing you to format and reinstall.

For customers who use data encryption (EFS), if they complete this update prior to unencrypting the files, they will no longer be able to access them because Vista SP2 will automatically change the key. These files must be unencrypted prior to install Vista SP2 Beta.

See also: Best practices for the Encrypting File System