Microsoft released the Dynamics CRM 2013 Service Pack 1 code-named “Leo”, also referred to as the Spring Release ’14 somewhere around end of May 2014. This has been one of the most anticipated releases of the year since it comes with a revamped Service module having an array of new features in addition to a number of bug fixes as well. I was a little late in picking this up since I was busy with other development stuff and never had the chance to go through the details and explore the exciting features that were made. So this weekend I decided to update one of my Dynamics CRM 2013 VMs which was still running the RTM version (I didn’t want to experiment on my existing Update Rollup 2 environment since it had an ongoing development project). Anyways, so this is how it went!
Installing CRM 2013 Service Pack 1
The installation was similar as any other Update Rollup that you’d install, except that the setup files were a bit larger. The Service Pack setup for the Server was underway.
This time, the setup long quite a bit longer to finish, something which assured it was doing some major changes to Dynamics CRM 🙂
Once complete, it asked for a restart to apply the changes.
The log file showed everything went smoothly with no traces of error whatsoever.
Once the VM was restarted, it was time to install the Service Pack setup for the Reporting Services.
After the Reporting Services setup was complete, it was time to verify the updates were installed. Doing a quick check by opening up Dynamics CRM and going to “About” link confirmed the same.
The build number showed 6.1.0.581, and also the text “Service Pack 1” in the header.
Activating CRM 2013 Service Pack 1
Simply installing the setup files isn’t enough contrary to how Update Rollups were installed. If you simply run the setup files, you won’t find any changes in Dynamics CRM, keeping you wondering what might have gone wrong! You’ll need to activate (or rather “Install” as it’s shown inside Dynamics CRM) the Service Pack features from inside Dynamics CRM.
To activate it, go to Settings > Administration and you’ll find a new link “Install Product Updates”.
Clicking on this will take you to a page where it gives a quick snapshot of the features that would be available after activating the Service Pack.
Right at the very bottom, is a button “Update” clicking which will start the activation. It will also display a note saying that the updates once installed cannot be uninstalled.
You will be required to confirm the installation with a warning note again.
Once you click “Yes”, the activation starts and should take a few seconds to complete. In the meantime, it will try to educate you by showing a video of what you will be able to do once the features have been installed.
A success message will confirm the installation.
This completes the installation and activation of  the Service Pack. Now let’s see what has changed!
Changes after installing  the Service Pack
The first thing that you might want to check is the updated Service module. Navigate to “Settings” and click on the new option “Service Management”. You will be greeted with an array of features, which I’ll leave it to you to explore!
For the complete list of features introduced and bugs fixed, have a look at this KB Article by Microsoft. You might also want to check out the article What’s New in the Spring ’14 Release by Gareth Tucker for the list of enhancements in each module.
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