Windows XP Service Pack 3

[firedog]

Has this been officially released yet? If so, where do I get it from? And is there really any point?

Thanks

[merlin99]

Has this been officially released yet? If so, where do I get it from? And is there really any point?

Thanks


seems it has

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=68c48dad-bc34-40be-8d85-6bb4f56f5110&displaylang=en

as for if its any use well its Microsoft and its windows

LOL

[firedog]

cant see where to download it on that link...

[smartybones]

thats just the overview, telling you what its going to do... .... its not released yet.... well not the final release anyway, you can get a RC2... but your best waiting for final....

[WarioTBH]

As Smarty said, its not been released yet, just beta and RC versions.


It will be worth upgrading to when its out, its ment to have alot of performance increases in it, which will make it even more faster than Vista :D

[tonys]

It will be worth upgrading to when its out, its ment to have alot of performance increases in it, which will make it even more faster than Vista :D

That won't be difficult! I always wonder what else the Service Pack will do if you're already on top of all the updates. Does it just consolidate everything into one seamless (ha ha) package, or is there some added value?

[smartybones]

there is usually one or two additions to a service pack... a favorite trick is a month before the release of the service pack, post info about a 'new' vunrability that allows a malisious user to wipe your hard drive and / or other nasty thing that you will not be happy about... then anounce the fix is in the new service pack....

also loaded in the service pack, will proberbly be some changes to the EULA... further selling your soul to bill... or at least allowing him to pimp out your granny.... your choice? agree or allow a single click on a web page delete all your mp3's and movies that you have spent hours downloading from usernet and torrents....

very cyincal of me i know.... but it woulden't be the first time

[Gargoyle]

That won't be difficult! I always wonder what else the Service Pack will do if you're already on top of all the updates. Does it just consolidate everything into one seamless (ha ha) package, or is there some added value?

Reading stuff on the above link SP3 doesn't really introduce much. Mostly it's just a consolidation of existing updates, and a few extras bits and bobs, but nothing of general interest really.

Gratuitous smilies at my daughters insistence.....

:eek::cool::rolleyes::mad::confused::(:mad:::(:):o :D;):p

[paulbacon]

I never bother getting them straight away. MS have to support the old serivce pack for at least 1 year so any security flaws will be fixed regardless

[tboorman]

Mainstream support for Windows XP ends on 14/04/2009, after which only security updates will be available unless you have purchased an extended hotfix agreement.

[paulbacon]

Is that a definate date? I know MS can extend support if they wish (they did it with SP1). With Vista not really being adopted well by users and many still using XP then MS may have to continue to support it beyond that date

[tboorman]

http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/?p1=3223

[paulbacon]

Could be a mistake for MS to end support in 2009. I know many people with Vista and most have gone back to XP, after having issues from Vista unregistering itself to lack of drivers for hardware, and just general stability issues

[Gargoyle]

It's not ending support as such - just certain aspects of it (http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifepolicy).

Security updates continue to be available to all in the extended phase (up till 20014) which is probably the only important thing. Though non security hotfixes aren't unless you take out an agreement - but this doesn't really affect most people by this stage in the products lifecycle. Paid support is still available (but who ever used that ?)

For all the fuss, I suspect that the number of Vista users reverting to XP is small and limited to fairly tech savvy people. Most people with Vista will ahve got it on the machine they bought 'cos that's what it had, and will just stay happily using it.

We've got Vista on a new laptop here, it;s fine, I quite like a few bits of it. but I wouldn't be bothering to upgrade any of the XP boxes around here.

[paulbacon]

Out 29th April

Already been leaked on a few sites, no idea why. Whats the mad rush to download a service pack :D

[abuelito]

Quite a few sites and blogs claim that SP3 gives a significant speed boost to XP. Plus other minor but worthwhile benefits. April 29 is the "official" date of release to the public. It is available now on a number of sites, including Microsoft's own, but somewhere in the small print, there is a suggestion that these releases may not be quite the final one. I'm waiting for the 29th before giving it a try.


Windows XP SP3 boasts speed boost, testers claim
Same outfit that dissed Vista SP1 says XP's 'must-have update' 10% faster than XP SP2
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?articleId=9048658&command=viewArticleBasic

[artyman]

I'm a subscriber to the "If it ain't broke don't fix it" and since my machine seems to working fine I shan't be rushing to implement any changes.

[paulbacon]

I waited a year to get SP2, and dont see the need to get SP3 anytime soon

[Soreen]

http://lifehacker.com/5006697/windows-xp-service-pack-3-final-release-unofficially-available-for-download


I downloaded it from the majorgeeks torrent link but I haven't installed yet. Don't really know if it is worth it.

[Soreen]

Oh yeah, download it from microsoft if you must:

http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/3/5/53519680-fcc0-4a00-86e0-e7d5cba84461/WindowsXP-KB936929-SP3-x86-ENU.exe

[abuelito]

SP3 release delayed due to compatibility issue.
http://www.informationweek.com/news/windows/operatingsystems/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=207403115

[abuelito]

Latest news on SP3
http://www.internetnews.com/software/article.php/3743696/No+XP+Service+Pack+3+for+You+Today.htm

[Soreen]

I installed it and it told me windows needed to be activated again, doh!

[Ircsum]

I installed a slipstreamed XP SP3 & it's now running fine. I made the mistake of going to Windows Update after the initial install & something there screwed me so I formatted & installed it again.

Ircsum.

[Reines]

I just installed SP3, and only changes I've noticed are it reset the max half-open connection to 10, and re-patched uxtheme :@

[artyman]

Would you care to explain that in English for the hard of understanding :D

[abuelito]

Would you care to explain that in English for the hard of understanding :D

Thanks, Ken. I was too shy to admit I didn't understand it either.:o

[Reines]

Would you care to explain that in English for the hard of understanding :D
lol, if you meant me, sorry :P

Half-open connections are limited to 10 as of XP SP2, which can be a problem is you are doing anything that requires a lot of simultaneous connections (mainly affects torrents, though can also be an issue if you are hosting anything popular).

uxtheme.dll is part of the XP skinning sub-system. By default Microsoft only let you run officially signed skins, though you can patch it to allow un-signed skins (allowing you to have a nice custom skin, without the overhead of running any extra skinning software).

[abuelito]

Thanks, Reines for the very clear explanation. In fact, my news server permits up to 20 connections. However, in practice, I find there's no benefit in using more than 6.

[Reines]

Thanks, Reines for the very clear explanation. In fact, my news server permits up to 20 connections. However, in practice, I find there's no benefit in using more than 6.
Well it's only half-open connections that are limited anyway, rather than fully open (IE. connections that are still attempting to connect though haven't yet managed).

[artyman]

I wish I hadn't asked !!! :) wanders off mumbling incoherently.......

[paulbacon]

Is that what all these "TCP/IP has reached the security limit imposed on the number of concurrent TCP connect attempts" messages in Event Viewer are? Get a few now and again

[Reines]

Is that what all these "TCP/IP has reached the security limit imposed on the number of concurrent TCP connect attempts" messages in Event Viewer are? Get a few now and again
Yup that is it, there's more details plus a program to alter the limit here: http://www.speedguide.net/read_articles.php?id=1497 (I just found this on Google, I have the program saved somewhere...)

[paulbacon]

Yup that is it, there's more details plus a program to alter the limit here: http://www.speedguide.net/read_articles.php?id=1497 (I just found this on Google, I have the program saved somewhere...)

Ive never noticed a problem even tho i may get a few of these messages a day on occasion.

[Xabi17]

Have we worked out whether it's worth it or not? :)

[kennethsross]

Been running SP3 for about a week now. Cannot say I have seen anything different. (but there again, the machine it is on has run faultlessly with its original install of XP home (SP2) for two years).

[abuelito]

For me, SP3 has certainly been worth while. I was having problems with net.framework and was getting some non-critical but worrying error messages on Event Viewer. These have all disappeared since installing SP3. Start-up seems a bit speedier also. Nothing earth-shaking but as it's free, I'm happy with it.

[CanopeanDreamer]

Yup that is it, there's more details plus a program to alter the limit here: http://www.speedguide.net/read_articles.php?id=1497 (I just found this on Google, I have the program saved somewhere...)

It's just a simple script that you run, but, AVG 8 picks it up as malware (which it certainly isn't) that can seriously damage your system. Careful you don't let AVG 8 delete it from wherever you saved it :)) Once AVG picks it up you can put it into Exceptions.

[tonys]

Any updates on Service Pack 3 issues? Windoze is now pushing it out to me via auto-update but so far I've resisted the temptation to download one massive file then discover it screws up my machine in some way :rolleyes:

[21cn]

Updated to Sp3 only to find my old matrox graphics / tv card would no longer work :( Uninstalled Sp3 and all was well again:rolleyes: So in my experience, it's not worth it :D

[goatty2]

this morning window started a auto update. turns out to be sp3.
I built this computer a few months ago and had the normal updates on the second Tuesday of the month, so does anyone know why its done it today. has it been improved from the first release:s