Windows XP Service Pack 3 arrives, brings surprisingly little misery

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Thumbnail image for win_xp_deafult.jpgWindows XP’s latest service pack, SP3, is just a few hours old but the already the complaints are flying Microsoft’s way. Reported problems range from being simply unable to install the thing properly to being unable to boot up once you have, and any number of smaller issues in between.

However, the XP community is never one to shy away from having a good old moan, particularly when it can curse and rant, damn and blast everyone and everything at Microsoft right up to Bill Gates himself. I know I very much enjoy doing so every once in a while. It’s good for the spleen.

Anyway, with arrival of SP3, the complaints aren’t nearly as bad as they could have been. Could it be that so many of us have moved onto Vista that it’s just not worth griping about XP any more. Or, miracles of miracles, could Microsoft have got this one half right?

Hopefully it’s the latter, what with Vista being a despicable pile of dog shit and all (ahh, that’s much better), and because this is likely to be the last major update to the aging OS. Windows XP will in fact stop being sold by our giant Redmond friend at the end of June and mainstream support will only last until April next year. Fairwell old friend; I’ll begrudgingly admit that you might have been slightly useful for a couple of minutes.

XP support (via Information Week

Related posts: Forget ordinary OS’s – Firefox is all you really need | Microsoft announces XP retirement

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12 comments

  • I too installed SP3. I was happy to report that after a week it was running fine. Not better, but not worse. Then I tried remote desktop. It doesn’t work. OK, lets check the registry to see if it is turned off, after all, MS turned off the Active X control for Remote Web Workplace in my IE (without asking me BTW) so maybe they did it here too. Oops, remote registry won’t work either, nor remote shutdown, nor will the new RDP Client get the screen resolution correct. Other than making it impossible to do my job, it is running fine.

    Just to allow you a bit of a chuckle, I will include a line from my chat with MS FREE support for SP3 chat line.

    8:48:31 PM Randy Miller
    I would also like to know why the new RDP client cannot put the screen correctly
    8:49:39 PM G_Sourabh Sarkar
    It is because of change made in the system files by service pack 3.

    and also,

    8:21:24 PM Randy Miller
    Why does RDP and remote registry quit working after SP3 install
    8:22:18 PM G_Sourabh Sarkar
    Most probably its because of some changes in the system registry.
    8:23:27 PM G_Sourabh Sarkar

    And of course my favorite…

    8:30:08 PM G_Sourabh Sarkar
    Have you tried working on RDP and remote registry in safe mode?

  • From the sound of all the flack that has been flying on all these boards, I have come to a conclusion that may scare quite a few pc owners.
    “Hi all this is (not) Bill Gates and I run a small company known as Microsoft. Many of you know we have created a flawless os in Vista. I do understand there are alot of you intent on using your older XP os and would like to keep it running for a few years after our release of Vista.

    THIS IS NOT ALLOWED BY ME! I will send you a service pack that will cause certain programs to run differently in your systems, these will be annoying issues where your system will reboot occasionally without any reason and make updating your drivers impossible.

    I AM THE COMPUTER GOD AND YOU WILL BUY VISTA!
    Once you annoyance level reaches a CRASHendo, You will run to the stores and buy new computers with Vista already installed.”

    Planned Obsolescence is a fact of computer life folks I would stay away from SP3 until you can afford a New Computer, I bid you happiness and solitude and suggest trying a string and two cans with a friend this will provide hours of fun and cost less.

  • We have to learn to live with hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, and other nasty things why should we have to live with crap like Microdumps SP3 ?
    9/06/08

  • Just tried to install SP3 on 2 systems, AMD 3GHZ and 3.5GHZ, both with over 1GB ram and GeForce 6800XT video cards. One install stoped half way through and just sat there, the other one got the BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH. They are both back to the SP2 and will stay that way for a LONG, LONG time. You know there is a VERY hot place in HELL for these guys, I say guys because Girls would never be so DUMB to put out something thats TRASH.

  • In the film and movie industry which we are in, we can’t afford to jump in and install just any XP Service Pack that comes online… Everything on our systems can and will be at stake! or even lost!!

    I decided way back when first looking into sp2 to hold out for a year and a half before we updated our systems. No problems once all those bugs were worked out…

    This morning the opportunity arose once again to become ‘Tempted’ with the xp-sp3 updates….

    Again after reading this sites post and over 20 other complaint related forums, its time once again to just sit back and let every other xp system owner who wants to ‘beta’ the sp3 beast… live and or in this case (Die) for us!!

    Our advice.. Why would you want to ‘beta test’ this release?… If your SP2 systems are running fine… Don’t download sp3 for at least 6 months or longer.. It’s just an option friends, and your XP world won’t come crashing down for not downloading it….

  • SP3 sucks!

    I installed and no longer have a Device Manager!!!

    FIVE MS-Techies couldn’t solve my problem…onlt SCREWED FOUR of my computers —- this time!!!!

  • People who are advanced,experienced computer users should know by now,especially after Sp2.I never have automatic updates turned on.I will not download & install service packs with windows update.Here is what I did….I downloaded the 316mb Sp3,then I used Nlite to do a slipstream of Windows Xp Pro Sp2,I then did a “CLEAN INSTALL” Nlite is fantastic as it lets you totally customize the install,letting you get rid of some of the garbage,like msn explorer & messenger,I also integrated IE7 & slipsteamed WMP11 with all the hotfixes into the iso.I then imaged my hard drive. In my opinion this is the best most problem free way to do it.Here is the link for WMP11…http://web.clicknet.ro/boooggy/#hotfixes
    Nlite…http://www.nliteos.com/

  • @ Simon,

    I guess maybe I’m biased because I ran it without hitch on two machines this morning.

    Mind you, mine are what you might term ‘wildly upgraded enthusiasts machines’ 😀 so maybe SP3 just doesn’t like standard office machines. Perhaps I’ll be eating those words before the day is out.

  • To say that “the complaints aren’t nearly as bad as they could have been” is a bit too optimistic, I feel. If half of all installs result in problems, upto being stuck in reboot-loops, and no longer being able to install anything, then I’d say its pretty bad! The only two install attempts I’ve actually witnessed so far did actually resulted in one plain refusal, and one reboot loop! And these were well-cared-for office Dells, not wildly upgraded enthusiasts machines.

    Oh, and nobody I know actually LIKES Vista! They use it simply because it came with the machine. I’m sticking with XP SP2, as after many years I’ve got it tamed into a fairly usable OS…

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