Win XP SP3 released on Windows Update

I just got the notification on Windows Update that SP3 is available and I should download it. Also the download weighs in at 66.9 Mb.

 

Woohoo . So I should expect it pretty soon then.Nice find.

 

yeah i got it too. dling it now on my xp desktop

 

Woo!

Thank you jin07!

Guess I'll be doing a clean install tomorrow.

 

got it , seems to be fine , no conflicts yet

 

I'm hesitant at downloading it after the SP3 Chaz linked to slowed down my system. Then again, I just reformated and clean installed a couple days ago so it shouldn't be that bad.

 

oh wow wtf. i just installed it and it needed to reboot, so i let it, now it starts up, then i get a BSOD and it restarts itself again and the process continues...uhh. help? :[

 

sweet thanks for the heads up

 

Did a manual update and the XP SP3 appeared. Down loading right now.

 

Just acquired a disc with SP3 already integrated (via MSDN).

Running a little better on my Eee PC than integrating the service pack myself.

 

Installed.

Initial boot up was much slower.

Ran CCCleaner, Advanced Windows Care, and Zone Alarm. Cleaned up a bunch of dead registry crud from the XP3 upgrade. Found 27 adaware apps with Zone Alarm(Got rid of them).

Rebooted after cleaning and it booted up about as fast as before. That is ok with me.

So far the biggest advantage I have noticed is that my frame rates seem to be faster on Half Life 2. HL2 runs better. From what I have read about game play performance increases with PS3 this is normal.

Everything is stable so far.

 

worked perfectly for me.

 

only 66.9MB? the RTM version I downloaded manually was 300+MB. any idea why?

 

Hmm this is strange. It shows Service Pack 3, but it's still build 2600.
Also, I thought IE and WMP were supposed to be updated, but there's still IE6 and WMP9. Is this normal, or did my download get messed up?
EDIT: Apparently it's correct.
Just a note to anyone that might be interested, at the commandline, if you don't want the ability to uninstall SP3, use /nobackup.

 

Can you get into safe mode?

 

Just showed up in the WU, installing as I type.

 

can confirm 2 cases in my offices, we ended up with a clean re-install, repair will not work, problems (not exclusively, others might have other reasons) were traced back to:
. bad sectors on disk
. memory error

cheers ...

 

I would also like to know why?

All works great though .Also downloaded the 316Mb file. And saved it. And then ran it.

Maybe a dumb question. But what is the difference?

Cheers,
Theo

 

Will we be able to buy XP with SP3 integrated now? I don't see it on newegg or pricegrabber. If it will eventually be available, how long do you think it will take. I see Vista SP1 is available to buy so maybe only a month?

 

I did the upgrade on a machine here at work, and now when logged in, I cant reboot or shut down. I can log off, then shut down or reboot from the log in screen, but not from the desktop. Anyone else having a similar issue?

 

My guess is that the 316 Mb version is the stand alone SP3. In other words, you could run it on a non service packed version of XP and get all the updates given through SP1 and SP2, as well as SP3. The 66.9 Mb version is probably installed when Windows Update detects that you already have all the updates from SP2 installed. Hence, it's a smaller install file because you don't need all the previous updates, only those specific to SP3.

 

Is this something that MS will force us to upgrade too? I have auto-update disabled...So assuming I never go to the WIndows Update site.

I am happy with SP2 for my needs and really do not want to deal with crap not working.

 

No you don't have to install it. You don't have to install any update if you don't want to, but I don't think you'll be able to get other critical updates. I forgot if you could uncheck critical updates or not. Hopefully, someone else knows for sure.

 

It's always better to get the most recent service package as it improves security and other bugs that you may not currently have but you will most likely have later.

 

In a perfect world perhaps.

We have upgraded 3 pc's here at work today to SP3 and all 3 are having issues...and not the same issues...one boots to BSOD everytime.

So I think ill skip this particular update.

 

I had no problem installing it on my HP ZX5078CL notebook. No apparent problems, no slowdowns, no BSOD, etc. Also, no new features are readily apparent. I like it when service packs add new toys.

By the way, I think the standalone SP3 download is a bigger file size because it is the complete, cumulative service pack for 5 different languages. I could be wrong about this.

Jeremy

 

I'm with you in this case, home situations are quite different from work, they are more relaxing, we have a lot of time to solve the issues, and you don't have that
luxury at work.

I actually applied the same strategy as if I was at work, I started a thread collecting all the issues with SP3, and as soon as I feel comfortable and knowledgeable, I will get the SP3, but not yet.

 

What a crock. I tried to update to SP3 but nothing happens in the little uncloseable window that shows progress.

"Downloading Updates - 0%"

 

Scary thing, why can't these things just work the first time!

 

It's probably because there are so many people trying to get it. At least that's my guess.

 

had the same issue and it took a while for it to move. took about 25 mins to download and install....

 

It slowed my system down as well.

 

I retract my previous post

I tried again (6th attempt) and it got the file and started updating. First it checked if my copy was legit, and then it backed up pretty much the entire WINDOWS folder. After that, it copied over a lot of files.

At the first boot, it nags you to enable Automatic Updates Took pretty long to boot - will have to defrag. I set my maximum half-open connections back to 65536, since SP3 again caps it at 10, which gimps uTorrent and Opera.

Service Pack 3 is a great update.

 

Being bored and adventurous I decided to take the risk to install SP3. Could have gone worse.. wish I hadn’t done it though. First reboot was painfully slow. Wasn’t sure it was going to come up at first after I stared at a black screen for several minutes. Subsequent reboots have not been like this but still notably slower. Computer as a whole is now sluggish. Net is now a lot slower too. Have not run into anything that didn’t actually work (though a few aps locked up momentarily) Really not an improvement. I recommend people not install SP3.

ETA: I take it back. Itunes and Windows Live Messenger both have to be reinstalled. My net is approx ½ the speed it was right before I installed SP3. Benchmark tests are ridiculously slower.

eta2: Great and I have no sound. I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling my sound card. No go. Firefox download function is not working properly now either. Good lord gotta wonder if Microsoft did this to destroy XP on purpose. So much for the problem free 20% performance increase pre release reviews.

 

Day 2 with official XP SP3 update installed and not a single problem.

 

That's terrible - you should try a clean install.

 

So far I haven't had any problems. Mind you, I had clean installed a couple days before, so that may have something to do with it. The first couple of boots were painfully slow. After I cleaned the registry and defraged in safe mode, my computer was back up to speed in a couple boots. Haven't noticed any slowdown or speed up (I just heard in my head the Gradius speed up message). The only added feature I can spot is the MSN connection manager in Network Connections.

 

So far so good, no problems at all, and it's nice not to have to install 85 separate hotfixes.
+1 to Microsoft.

 

Sound is back.. ran ccleaner and did some general tweaks/cleanups and at least now it doesn't feel so much slower but benchmarks remind me what i lost. *sigh* i can't be messed with a clean install.. i've been procrastinating building my new machine in part because i couldn't messed with the day or so it would take to get everything back on (programs refound etc). it's liveable now.. and i just got further incentive to get my build on the way.. complete with SP2 and NOT SP3.

I don't understand why SP3 has CRIPPLED my 7950GT. I mean to the point it's running about like my x300 I had when I originally got the machine. Prob another driver I need to reinstall..

 

My apologes if this has already been asked, but is the dual core hotfix included in SP3?

edit: nvm, found the list of hotfixes.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/946480/

 

Updated a new Dell Inspiron 1520 with XP service pack 3 and no problems
and runs quickly.