Are Win XP Service Packs still available?

Discussion in 'other software & services' started by ohblu, Jun 13, 2011.

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  1. ohblu

    ohblu Registered Member

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    I know I could just go on over to Microsoft's website and look this up, but I'm currently on a dial-up connection with a slow computer (XP with 256 MB RAM) and their website is taking forever to load.

    I'm wondering if all of the Win XP Home service packs are available on a CD or even for download? I'd prefer to have a CD since I'm stuck on dialup. I'll probably need to get a new hard drive for my older computer and will want to put XP back on it. My installation CD doesn't even have SP1 on it. So I'm not sure what to do. I've never had to do any of this before so I'm in new territory.
     
  2. ronjor

    ronjor Global Moderator

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  3. TheKid7

    TheKid7 Registered Member

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    Yes.

    I prefer the network install exe's over Windows Update:

    Service Pack 2:

    http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...be-3b8e-4f30-8245-9e368d3cdb5a&displaylang=en

    Service Pack 3:

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

    Ask someone you know to download the above two files and burn them to a single CD and send it to you. I "think" that there is no longer a SP1 or SP1a available for download since SP1 & SP1a are contained in SP2. It is required to have SP2 installed prior to installing SP3.
     
  4. ohblu

    ohblu Registered Member

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    Thanks. I'm a bit confused about the SP2 link. Why does it say this, "This installation package is intended for IT professionals and developers downloading and installing on multiple computers on a network. If you're updating just one computer, please visit Windows Update"? What does that mean to me?

    And what's on the service packs anyway? Is it basically all of the patches and updates I would need? Or would I still need to install individual, older patches from like 2004? That's the problem for me. With being on dialup, downloading patches is a huge hassle.
     
  5. TheKid7

    TheKid7 Registered Member

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    Just ignore what Microsoft says about "intended for IT professionals......". The file may be downloaded and used by anyone. The downloaded file is a single exe (executable) file. You just run the exe and follow the directions.

    Install SP2 first and after the installation of SP2 is complete restart the PC. Then install SP3 and after the installation of SP3 is complete restart the PC.

    The Service Pack patches are the critical updates with no optional updates. After installing Service Pack 3 there will be another bunch of critical updates that you need to download and install to bring you up-to-date.
     
    Last edited: Jun 14, 2011
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