XP SP3

It's a rollup of all the post-SP2 patches, hopefully purged of the flawed patches. Tests suggest 10% enhanced performance. Those of us who prefer IE6 get to keep it (I like the functionality of a single menu bar, especially for the notebook computer). See

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=85AF7BFD-6F69-4289-8BD1-EB966BCDFB5E&displaylang=en

I downloaded and installed the SP3 beta version that was posted a couple months ago, but it misbehaved - there were IE6 lockups (!!) amongst other problems - so I removed it. Hopefully MS has fixed the glitches.

My Norton Ghost HD image is written on both external HD and BluRay disk, just in case this 'final' SP3 once again misbehaves.

Rick/Portland, OR

Reviews everywhere (reputable ones, of course) says that I'll get an approximately 10% increase in performance.

 

More power to kick Vista in the b***, heh :D

 

Of course I'll do it the -- IMO -- 'right' way, i.e. slipstream it into a Windows Installer CD, and re-install Windows from scratch.

 

(I have to re-install Windows, anyways. Softwares from a certain cell phone maker that I installed 2 days ago totally messed up my Windows )

 

.

Curiously, I was unable to find XP SP3 by searching the MS Download website. Ars Technica posted a valid link:

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080429-microsoft-releases-the-long-anticipated-windows-xp-sp3.html

I clicked on the 'English' version and downloaded a 324MB file. It installed in 10 minutes, added a few undesired shortcuts to my Start Menu, automatically backed up my files and created a Restore Point.

Upon booting the computer, everything seems to work OK. So my preliminary report is a 'thumbs up' for XP SP3.

Rick/Portland, OR

Today is April 29. Don't see SP3....

At home, I'll probably have it on before the summer.

At work, we're still running IE 6. Since SP 3 includes an upgrade to IE 7, it will wait until we're ready to deploy IE 7 or until we can figure out how to strip it out of the SP.

I also prefer IE7 over IE6 (damn IE6 breaks a few times a week on me) so I'll be pushing sp3 provided the sp2 disk actually makes it beyond the first boot on my hardware; the pre sp1 install disk blue screens during the first boot.

CNET has just announced that Microsoft has pulled the XP SP3 release:

http://www.news.com/8301-13860_3-9931343-56.html

The pretext is an 'incompatibility' with Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System.

Since I do not have 'RMS' installed, it does not affect me. My XP SP3 installation works just fine, other than an annoying new folder inserted into my IE6 'Favorites' list.

This new folder is called 'favorites'. It probably replaces the old 'Links' folder that contained links to Microsoft services. I removed the 'Links' folder in SP2, and I have removed the 'Favorites' folder in SP3.

Removing this new 'Favorites' folder does not adversely impact any IE6 Favorites functionality. To permanently remove this folder, one must perform a simple Registry edit:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar

Click the subkey LinksFolderName. The Data value is Favorites. Delete the data value. Exit the Registry.

If you wish, export the Toolbar key before you edit the subkey.

Another change in SP3 involves Windows Services. In XP MCE (2005), the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) service is always enabled, and cannot be disabled. Apparently Microsoft has determined that this is an essential service.

Rick/Portland, OR

It works like a charm.