XP SP3 Problems?

Hi. Someone was telling me yesterday that like 1 in 4 PCs that install SP3 on XP don't work afterwards (ie repeatedly crash or blue screen) is this true?? I have XP on a computer here at home and have been thinking about upgrading... should I wait or just go for it? :S Because well, quite frankly now I am hesitant...

 

I don't know if it's 1 in 4 or what the statistics may be. I'm one of the people whose computer it totally messed up. I have not been able to get XP to function the same after I installed SP3. I've been trying to hold off on completely reinstalling the OS, though. For the last two months, I've been doing different things to see if I can get my system back without starting over. I have been unsuccessful thus far. Even after uninstalling the SP, I have not been able to get my computer to work properly. So, you see, I'm one of the unhappy people. However, I'm sure that there have been quite a few who have been able to operate their computers just fine with SP3.

 

My computer works perfectly with SP3. I did make a backup before using the service pack, just in case.

 

Did he or she provide a source. Why believe them without a source. SP3 works... I have installed it on over a dozen systems now no fails...

 

My MacBook Pro and my wife's HP notebook run perfectly fine with SP3. No complaints whatsoever.

If you're worried about hosing your system, make sure you have all your important data backed up in a safe location.

 

People need to keep in mind that applying a SP over a current installation will always have some sort of risk, it's never really that great. If you have the time, I'd suggest you to do a fresh OS install with a disc that already has SP3 integrated. It's been proven that it is much more stable and also better overall performance than applying a SP on top afterward.

 

There was at least one major issue involving SP3 and machines with AMD processors, mostly from HP. Link here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Windows-XP-SP3,5334.html

It apparently had to do with HP (and possibly some other manufacturers) using the same XP image on both machines with Intel and AMD chips. Something about SP3 caused the PC's with AMD chips to crash unrecoverably.

I'm sure there are lots of other isolated problems with SP3 as there would be with any service pack, but I think this is the one that cause all of the well-publicized problems originally.

 

Thanks for the quick replies. I will be sure to back up my data, and try it out sometime here in the next couple of weeks...

And yeah, my friend has installed it on 3 machines and 2 of them died so... that was my concern. Perhaps he just had bad luck. XD

So yeah, thanks for your help and I'll get back to you guys on how it worked out. ^-^;

 

I installed SP3 just yesterday on my HP 6710b, so far so good, no errors and glitches

 

Hmm guess I got lucky, I installed SP3 a few days ago to a HP Pavilion with an AMD chip and it's been running normally.

 

I installed it on four computers actually . All worked perfectly. So unless I just beat the odds, I'd say those odd are incorrect. Of course I also keep those four computers immaculately clean (free of software clutter), so maybe that has something to do with it.

It you're worried about it and planning on backing up your data anyways you might as well do a clean install prior to SP3. I haven't heard of anyone running into trouble after a clean install.

 

Running perfectly here..

 

The two laptops at my house work fine with SP3.

 

I have no problems.

 

I might try to download it again to see if the problems resolve themselves. If not, I may have no choice but to reinstall the OS.

 

Download the entire SP3 package instead of going through from Windows Update, it's much better.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...a8-5e76-401f-be08-1e1555d4f3d4&DisplayLang=en

 

Been using SP3 since release, no complaints.

Here's what I did:

First I made a backup of all my files and documents, then, made sure I had any discs needed for programs and whatnot. For those without discs, I downloaded and saved the .exe to my external HDD.

I reformated and reinstalled WinXP SP2, applied SP3, then installed drivers, then recovered any remaining updates from Windows Update.

 

Thank you for the advice. I will do just that. I'll tell you how it goes. Thanks again.

 

No problem. By the way, I just re-read your first post, what exactly isn't working with your system after SP3 installed? We can narrow it down and search for a possible solution.

 

Thanks for all of the replies guys. I feel more confident in SP3 now, and I'll do a clean SP2 install beforehand. ^-^'

 

Is always good get the most recent SP, so your system get the latest security patches.

 

hmmm... guys what exactly does SP3 offer? and also I'm getting a new laptop... can I install SP3 directly? or better to clean install? It's a thinkpad, so i don't think there'll be much bloatware apart from think vantage which i plan to keep...

 

Instead of installing a clean SP2 and apply SP3 afterward, you can slipstream SP3 into your installation disc, this way is much better, your Windows will be SP3 right from the start.

http://www.lancelhoff.com/2008/03/12/how-to-slipstream-service-pack-3-into-windows-xp/

SP3 fixed many bugs, quite a lot actually. Yes you can install SP3 directly, if you don't want to do a clean install, then I recommend you to download the full SP3 package instead of installing from Windows Update. Most people who had problems installing SP3 are from Windows Update, it is much safer to install locally with the SP3 full package.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...a8-5e76-401f-be08-1e1555d4f3d4&DisplayLang=en

 

Stewie, In the link you gave, at the bottom, it says that if i'm installing SP3 on one computer, I don't need to download the 300+mb file... which is only for networks. For individual comps, apparently the updates are enough. so i'm confused. Should I just download and install the 300mb file? or just update it?

 

Yes that's what it said, but even for one computer, having the entire package locally is always better than letting WU to check what files you need, many times people failed through WU, but it's very rare that people failed with the local package, because sometimes WU can miss things while checking your computer online, it is always better to have SP3 engine check your computer locally, just like virus scanner, online one is never as good. The 300+ MB package doesn't mean it will install all that 300+ MB files, the main difference between that package and WU is that you have all the SP3 files available locally, it will still install only the files your computer needed. Once you installed SP3, you can delete that package.

 

Thanks, Stewie. I was actually wondering the same thing.

 

Cool... thanks Stewie! I'm just curious - So it's ok to uninstall the installation file after I install SP3 right?

 

There is no installation files to be uninstalled, that SP3 package is basically just like any other software you install, once you run it and installed SP3, you don't need the package anymore.

 

Stewie,
Please get down into the weeds with a novice.
So if I download the SP3 update from the link you have provided, and Save it to a folder called "SP3 Update" . Then open the .exe file, and let it install on the computer. Once the install is complete , I can delete the "SP3 Update " folder ?

Appreciate the help .
Laxpacman

 

Yep, you got it all right. :yes:

1. Download SP3 package (WindowsXP-KB936929-SP3-x86-ENU.exe) and save it anywhere you like;

2. Run the WindowsXP-KB936929-SP3-x86-ENU.exe, it will extract itself, then just follow the instructions. One of the steps will ask you where to back up the old system files in case you want to uninstall SP3, by default it will create a hidden $NTServicePackUninstall folder in your system folder, you can change the location of this if you want to;

3. After SP3 installed successfully, you can go ahead and delete WindowsXP-KB936929-SP3-x86-ENU.exe, or you can save it to use it again to install SP3 on another computer;

4. After a while, when you find SP3 is very stable, you can go ahead and delete that $NTServicePackUninstall folder to recover a few hundred MB of space. But if HDD space is not an issue to you, then you can always leave that folder alone. Remember, once you deleted that folder, you cannot uninstall SP3.

 

Basically, whenever I try to open a folder, it clears my whole screen (icons on desktop completely disappear), and then everything returns but the folder never opens. I have to go into 'Run' every time I want to open something now. That's the main issue. The other issue is my computer hangs on shut down. It takes 5 minutes or so to shut down. Before the install, it took a few seconds (2-5 seconds). Although the shutdown issue annoys me, not being able to open my folders really bothers me.

Edit: How could I have forgotten another one of the big problems. I can't install anything on this computer anymore without it freezing the computer or causing other applications to hang. That was never an issue before SP3 either.

 

1 out of 4? Thats a gross over estimation, if that were the true statistics, you can be pretty sure it wouldn't be available to download from microsoft.com

Yes slipstreaming using nlite, is very efficient.

To try and resolve your issue install, the fully usable trial version of tune up utilities. run all the optimizers and see if your problem is resolved.

 

I just tried to do a search, but I couldn't narrow it down enough to find similar issues that you're having. I know SP3 is not perfect, there are other hotfixes after SP3, so make sure you install those also after installing SP3. My only advice can give you is try to install SP3 from the full package, then do another update for other hotfixes. I hope it will resolve the problems for you.

 

First, thank you for even taking the time to do a Google search. You didn't have to, but you did and it's appreciated. I am in the process of updating using the link you posted earlier. It's just taking forever. I've had to cancel it twice because it was not moving at all. This is the third time and, hopefully, the last. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

No problem. The file is quite big, so it might take some time to download it, also maybe it's busy time now for the M$ server, you can always try to download it later at night.

 

Hi Stewie,

I completely uninstalled SP3 and reinstalled it and, to my shagrin, all of the original problems still exist. I guess I really just have no choice but to do a clean install. I told myself that that would be my last resort, and I think I've reached that point. I was avoiding it for many reasons, but I seem to have reached a point where I have no other option.

Now my fear becomes messing with Vista's boot manager as I go and reinstall Windows XP. I have been researching different boot managers and/or ways to repair Vista's boot.ini if doing the clean install affects it, but I'm still nervous about the whole thing.

 

Hey THAANSA3,

Sorry to hear it didn't work.

For the Vista boot manager, don't worry, it's not hard to fix, just make sure you have the Vista DVD ready. My current dual-boot, I installed Vista first on purpose, then XP, not a problem at all. This is an excellent guide, it has instructions on how to repair the Vista boot loader after installing XP:

http://apcmag.com/how_to_dual_boot_vista_and_xp_with_vista_installed_first__the_stepbystep_guide.htm

 

Thanks, Stewie. Again, I appreciate you taking the time to help me out. I owe you one.

 

Don't worry about it, let me know if you need more help.

 

I certainly will.

 

Lol no need to read a guide cos its very simple. Boot from your vista dvd, choose the repair option, then your vista installation. Then click on the command prompt. Type BootRec.exe/FixMbr and BootRec.exe/Fixboot afterwards
thats it!!!

 

It may be easy for you, but it's not the case for everyone, and a step-by-step guide with screenshots is much easier for people to understand.