Benefit of XP Service Pack 3 & Others.

[Sam Hell]

This may sound silly as we are up to Win7, time does fly. I do not see a new OS in my future so i wonder if there is any appreciable good to updating to SP3. I read somewhere long ago that the update was hosing HP AMD systems or something like, and I put it off and never got around to it. My update is still out there along with latest .Net, Silverlight and such. I don't want to install something that won't be any improvement, especially if it has less than desirable effect, such as bloat, conflict, little "gotchas". On the other hand I can see M$ pulling the plug on XP soon and i would hate to be out in the cold. Either way, i guess you could say i'm a bit leery of M$. Not totally a noob, but after all this time just enough to be a confused paranoid mess.

I've come to put a lot of stock in the word of people here. It would again be of immense help in my decision making process if a few people were to weigh in on this with their own experience, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Cheers.

[Cudni]

I find sp3 an improvement, that worked well several machines it got installed, and only overall good and i guess ugly but not bad

[JRViejo]

Sam Hell, you are correct. Your setup (HP + AMD) was troublesome for XP SP3. Re: Does your AMD-based computer boot after installing XP SP3? (page loads slowly).

Microsoft addressed the issue here: Error message after you upgrade a computer that uses a processor other than an Intel processor....

After reading Windows XP Service Pack 3 Overview, I decided to stay with SP2. Microsoft stated: This update also includes a small number of new functionalities, which do not significantly change customers’ experience with the operating system and since I already keep up with and install all Updates, I did not see the need IMO.

[Sam Hell]

Cudni_ Thanks for your reply. I have decided to forego SP3, but am reassured by your success with your comps should i decide to take the plunge.

JRViejo_ Special Thanks for your links, especially Jesper's blog, it is fantastic reading, i even gained insight to an unrelated problem which caused devastation a yr ago, now i know how to easily prevent recurrence! I have updated my sig to reflect that i do indeed have Media Center, making for the perfect storm. Like you i will stick with SP2 for now, i have no problems, as long as i can still grab critical security patches i will refrain from impulsive tweaking.

I owe you both a beer. Here's to your good health!

[JRViejo]

Sam Hell, you're welcome! Take care.

[MrBrian]

If you do not update to SP3, I believe you will be missing all of the fixes labeled 'Hotfix' at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/946480.

[JRViejo]

MrBrian, most of the Hotfixes described in the List of fixes that are included in Windows XP Service Pack 3 incorporate this statement:

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

The goal of XP SP3, according to the Windows XP Service Pack 3 Overview, was:

• Provide a new baseline for customers still deploying Windows XP, to help them avoid the inconvenience of applying individual updates.
• Fill gaps in the updates users might have missed by declining individual updates when using Automatic Updates, and to deliver updates not made available through Windows Update.

I have kept up with the individual updates during Patch Tuesdays since the deployment of SP3, so the 3 new functionality (Black Hole Router Detection, Network Access Protection, and CredSSP Security Service Provider) were not enough for me, personally, to install SP3. Your mileage may vary.