I don't have the same setup I had at the time when I submitted the first message so maybe something has changed in meantime.
Below is what I get on Windows 2000 SP-3, no VS installed, python 2.7, before and after the patch.

C:\Documents and Settings\foo\Desktop\psutil>setup.py build
running build
running build_py
copying psutil\compat.py -> build\lib.win32-2.7\psutil
copying psutil\error.py -> build\lib.win32-2.7\psutil
copying psutil\_psbsd.py -> build\lib.win32-2.7\psutil
copying psutil\_pslinux.py -> build\lib.win32-2.7\psutil
copying psutil\_psmswindows.py -> build\lib.win32-2.7\psutil
copying psutil\_psosx.py -> build\lib.win32-2.7\psutil
copying psutil\_psposix.py -> build\lib.win32-2.7\psutil
copying psutil\__init__.py -> build\lib.win32-2.7\psutil
running build_ext
building '_psutil_mswindows' extension
error: Unable to find vcvarsall.bat


Although the message is improved ("Unable to find vcvarsall.bat" vs "None") it seems the patch had no effect.