SP2 Compatability: PC world lists 40 programs that have problems with SP2

I just ran into this on the web and thought it might be of interest to somebody.

http://pcworld.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://find.pcworld.com/44354

NOTE: I just installed SP-2 myself yesterday. So far, no major problems, but plenty of little quirks and changes. There are more customizations than I thought but hopefully, in time, I can get it as smooth as my SP1 was. (my installation was made all the worse because I followed an xp update link for info about a "criticle problem" with my MS-Word. The little fix involved about 60 MBs of downloads! Word still works...but like XP feels like it has a hangover.

 

Software incompatibilities are sure to be inevitable, its very very common.

 

Consider what we are looking at here the largest operating system in the world. Several popular security programs are on this list. SP2 has been out awhile now. This should not be just excused away. Bottom line in Micro$oft's case it is to often and it is to common. I would add: to my knowledge my Command AV seems to be working o.k.

 

I'm knew to this forum, and I really don't want to step on toes, but I look at it this way....

Everyone else builds stuff to work on MS's OS, not MS makes their OS to work with everyone else's software.

Also, the only reason I think SP2 was rushed to release is because so many people were complaining that it took so long. They were still trying to fix the issue's of compatability, but were getting greif all over. Now, I'm not trying to say they are the perfect company, but I don't totally blame them for all of this.

I beta tested SP2, and I haven't had an real problems with it at all. So there are no major arguments about it from me.

However, this article was also last updated in "October 15, 2004", and is a LOT smaller then what it looked like just a week after its general release. Also, most people won't even be installing SP2, unless someone tells them too. I think most everyone in the IT world learned pretty well how many people do windows update (example: The Blaster Virus).

No more comments from this peanut gallery.

 

Hi McCarrob,

You do not seem like the to stepping on type. I'm not either, though some misguided souls would not agree.

You make a very valid point about venders needing to write software that runs on the O/S, and not the other way around. However....they did...They worked fine on SP1! The thing that struck me was the number of security programs on the list as mecurie pointed out. It would be interesting to know the reason why.

I had to uninstall and go back to good old SP1. Problems with slow startups, and several freezes during programs causing me to have to reboot. Sometimes it is during something pretty routine like deleting files. I think maybe the rules have changed for how files can be manipulated within a program. but instead of blocking an action it allows it to lock up the system. This is just guesswork on my part based on a day or two of testing out.

Which brings up another point. Not to step on anyones toes but how could they possibly say that it is well tested when there are so many problems with common programs. I had to laugh when I saw that WordPerfect, MS Words main competitor was one of the programs having problems.

NOTE: THE FOLLOWING IS A DRAMATIZATION, NOT AN ACTUAL CONVERSATION:

Bill Gates: So how has the SP1 beta testing been going?

MS Software Engineer: Well, Bill, there seems to be a major problem here: WordPerfect is reported to be incompatable with SP2

Bill Gates: Really? So what's the problem you were going to tell me about?



- HandsOff

 

I have not installed SP2 and have been dragging my feet. I did all the downloads for microsoft office and it is all uptodate and i am motoring along fine with my SP1 and i check the custom updates area of windows updates for the box as express keeps telling me that i haven't installed sp2. I have colleagues that i work with that wished that they hadn't done the install and i am presently getting a lot of work pushed my way and am doing a lot of over time as i am the only one out of 6 that has a reliable computer. my boss and even our office techie have told me "if it ain't broke don't do the install of SP2".
But what I am wondering about is if i want to download/ install programs in the future will I have problems since i don't have sp2 installed and all of its patches
Also I am on dial-up at home and our office techie said that the windows sp1 firewall is sufficient for my notebook, however i am considering disenabling it and installing Zone alarm. Any comments on this as well?
I look forward to some learned advice and voices of experience!! Thankyou.
I should say that security wise I run adaware se, spybot, spyblaster, a2, spysweeper, winpatrol and have norton professional systemworks with the subscription running out in june/05. I also intermittently run the standalone Panda active scan and trend micro house call.
And if i notice any quirks I will run the most recent Avert Stinger.
I hope to get some feedback!! P.S. is there a more uptodate list of incompatible programs than this one of October 15, 2004? Or is this list valid as I see Zone Alarm on the list.

 

I checked with my notebook manufacturers warranty depot inspite of the fact that this is not a warranty issue, but i feel safest there in that they will or should know if there are any issues with my box. and indeed there are problems with the BIOS configuration and the second warranty depot said that he had a backroom full of my manufacturers computers that were in excess of 6 months old. he told me to phone the manufacturer which i did and they told me to phone M$ which i did and the long and the short of it is that both the notebook techies at the warranty depots and M$ told me not to install the sp2 yet that there researchers are working on program compatability and manufacturer's. So here I sit . Would appreciate any comments from notebook owners, i purchased mine in 2003. the agent that i spoke to at M$ said that the bulk of the inquiries he had received were regarding Dell and generic computers, however he would put in my comments and i should get an e-mail back when the matter is resolved <- <- who knows how long this will take Anyone out there with this problem!!! Thankyou

 

If your on dial-up there is really no reason to have a firewall. You are given a firewall @ the ISP level where they create a connection for you. You get a non routable IP. I wouldn't worry to much along the lines of a firewall for dialup. If you were on highspeed, I typically don't think any software firewall is really secure enough. A hardware firewall (IE: routers) are the best way to go, and are rather cheap.

Good Luck