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Should I Bother InstallIng SP3?

Discussion in 'Windows XP' started by gfein10463, 2008/06/02.

  1. 2008/06/02
    gfein10463

    gfein10463 Inactive Thread Starter

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    My OS is XP Pro with SP2. In addition, I believe I have had all my critical MS system upgrades, other than service packs, installed "automatically" for several years, but it is possible that I switched from prompted to unprompted installation somewhere within that time frame. It is therefore possible that if and when I had the prompted installs option selected, I may have missed some upgrades when they were initially offered, but it is likely that I picked any missed ones up when I manually visited the MS download sight and had my system scanned. At present, I am avoiding Vista.

    On the one hand, I read at CNET that downloading SP3 was unneccessary if SP2 was installed and all more recent critical XP upgrades were downloaded. Is this true? In addition, SP3 was difficult or "impossible" to install for some of the CNET posters, and/or SP3 created system problems from which it was hard for some to recover to complete the SP3 installation or to return to XP with SP2. What has been your experience in this regard?

    On the other hand, also at CNET, it was mentionned that unless SP3 was installed in the near term, the length of time for which MS would support XP would be much more limited. Is this true?

    Hopefully, you can provide me with answers to these questions, and make a reccommendation as to how to proceed under any trade-off that remains.

    I would also like to know whether the SP3 download is the same for XP and XP Pro, and the best online source, if other than MS, for obtaining the download.

    Thanks many times over.
     
  2. 2008/06/02
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    gfein10463 - Welcome to the Board :)

    There is no rush to install SP3 - there few new features and most users would not need/notice them anyway. That said a large number of new/updated .dll's are loaded, but essentially it is a rollup of all the patches/updates to XP.

    A few problems have been noted particularly with AMD powered HP's, but this has been addressed.

    For my part I have run the Release Candidates of SP3 without issue and now run SP3 RTM on all my computers, again without issue.

    One point to be noted - if IE7 (not included in SP3, nor is WMP11) is installed and then SP3 is installed IE7 cannot be removed to roll back to IE6. Either uninstall IE7 before applying SP3 and then reinstall IE7 or if SP3 has already been installed uninstall it, uninstall IE7, reinstall SP3 and then reinstall IE7. IE7 can then be removed. The reason for this is that SP3 includes an updated version of IE6 and a roll back to this is not possible if IE7 is installed prior to the SP3 install.

    Good reading ....

    http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=68c48dad-bc34-40be-8d85-6bb4f56f5110

    http://www.windowsnewsletter.com/html-archive/2008/17may2008.html
     

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  4. 2008/06/02
    gfein10463

    gfein10463 Inactive Thread Starter

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    Pete. Thanks for your "Welcome to the Board" and your quick and pertinent response.

    Could you clarify? Do I have to unininstall/reinstall IE7 if I don't need to do anything regarding IE6? Do I need to uninstall/reinstall WMP11?

    Gene
     
  5. 2008/06/02
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    Gene

    You do not have to uninstall IE7 prior to loading SP3, but if you do not you will be unable to do so after SP3 is installed without first uninstalling SP3. You may not have any desire to revert back to IE6 - which is less secure, but problems in IE7 are often solved by uninstalling it and reinstalling. I like to keep all my options open :)

    The IE 7 issue is down to the changes in IE6 in SP3 - in other words if SP3 is installed on a system in which IE7 is already installed a subsequent uninstall of IE7 would try to roll back to the original version of IE6 which no longer exists. Thus the uninstall facility is blocked. Installing IE7 after SP3 allows for a roll back to the SP3 version of IE6 as IE 7 then is aware of the later version.
     
  6. 2008/06/02
    gfein10463

    gfein10463 Inactive Thread Starter

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    Pete, thanks for the clarification re: IE7/IE6. Do I have to uninstall/reinstall WMP11 for the same reason?

    BTW; I greatly appreciate a staff member of Windows BBS, particularly one who is across the pond, being available to reply to our posts, I hope this thread helps others.:)

    Gene
     
  7. 2008/06/02
    retiredfrmdeere

    retiredfrmdeere Inactive

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    Couple day's ago I uninstalled IE7 from my Toshiba Laptop w/ Win XP home SP2. I then downloaded and installed xp SP3 and then reinstalled IE7. I have had no problems so far and it seem's now web pages and programs loads just a little faster.
     
  8. 2008/06/03
    gfein10463

    gfein10463 Inactive Thread Starter

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    retiredfromdeere, thanks for confirming that Pete's IE7 Uninstall/Reinstall procedure works, seems trouble-free & results in some apparent speed gain.

    Gene (retired from chase)
     
  9. 2008/06/03
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    Gene

    I could have sworn that I added a line re. WMP to my last post, but evidently not :)

    AFAIK there are no issues with WMP11.

    The speed gain noted by some testers is slight (10% claimed) - certainly not enough to be immediately apparent and not a 'feature' claimed by MS. At least SP3 does not slow things down :)
     
  10. 2008/06/03
    gfein10463

    gfein10463 Inactive Thread Starter

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    Pete,

    Thanks for the FU. Hope you got some sleep.

    Gene
     
  11. 2008/06/06
    gfein10463

    gfein10463 Inactive Thread Starter

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    Dear Pete et al:

    In the interest of keeping visitors to this thread fully apprised on this issue, I suggest they read the writup in PC Pitstop's "TechTalk Blog" entitled "Windows XP SP3 Issues and Fixes Continued" -- which I read after my initial postings here. It was published on May 25, 2008 and its conclusion was: "DO NOT INSTALL WINDOWS XP SP3. "

    This writeup is available via the following link: http://techtalk.pcpitstop.com/2008/...p3-still-not-ready-news-flash-do-not-install/

    Please let us know your reactions to this writeup vs. others with alternative recommendations.

    Gene
     
  12. 2008/06/07
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    Gene

    Absolutely no problem in posting links to relevant sites - articles - manufacturer sites in response to specific hardware/software questions, etc.

    The link you posted has already been posted in another thread on the BBS, not that that is a problem.

    One thing to bear in mind - you only hear from those who have problems - the millions of people who have installed SP3 successfully have no reason to shout out :)

    That said there are clearly problems with conflicts with certain hardware/software configurations - was the same with SP2 and with the best will in the world no software company, MS included, can test every conceivable combination.

    Quoting Susan Bradley, a highly regarded patch expert and security guru, writing in Windows Secrets ....
    For my part I can only reiterate a comment I posted earlier ....
    Bottom line is, in most cases, uninstalling SP3 resolves the problems.
     
  13. 2008/06/07
    gfein10463

    gfein10463 Inactive Thread Starter

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    Thanks Pete,

    I concur with your assertion that "the millions of people who have installed SP3 successfully have no reason to shout out." Wouldn't an analagous assertion be warranted for Vista.

    It is my concerns about Vista, regarding its features, limitations, installation problems and post-installation problems, that led me to lean toward SP3.

    I do not want to overly widen the scope of this thread, but I would appreciate finding out your overall conclusions regarding Vista vs. SP3, in the context of the predominance of successful Vista installations.

    Once again my thanks...and :) "s ".

    Gene
     
    Last edited: 2008/06/07
  14. 2008/06/07
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    Gene
    Please start a new thread in the Vista forum on this topic - sort of cross boundary, but more Vista oriented.

    I cannot answer your question - I use XP Pro SP3 on two computers and have Vista Business SP1 on a third - rarely used. I do not warm to Vista as yet, specifically the way MS have messed up Windows Explorer. I shall probably stick with XP until Windows 7 is released (2010?).

    Maybe I am old fashioned - probably so as I run both installs of XP in Classic Mode aka Win 98. I am not one for eye candy :)
     
  15. 2008/06/08
    gfein10463

    gfein10463 Inactive Thread Starter

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    Dear Pete,

    These are hopefully my last questions before I uninstall IE7 and download SP3.

    1) After I download SP3, will I be charged for IE7 when I download it from the Microsoft site, if it has been previously uninstalled?

    2) After I have downloaded IE7, will I need to reestablish all my custom IE7 settings and reinstall the modest number of IE7 add-ons I had in place?

    Thank you for your patience with my inquiries. ;)

    Gene
     
    Last edited: 2008/06/08
  16. 2008/06/08
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    Hi Gene!

    No!

    Yes!

    Christer
     
  17. 2008/06/08
    gfein10463

    gfein10463 Inactive Thread Starter

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    Hi Christer!!

    Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.

    After I write down all my IE7 settings, I will be ready to rock n' roll.

    With 4,754 WindowsBBS posts under your belt, you must be trying very hard (Your Computer Experience Says: I'm trying!) or you're very modest.

    Hope things are warm and smily :) in Sweden.

    All the best,

    Gene
     
    Last edited: 2008/06/08
  18. 2008/06/09
    retiredlearner

    retiredlearner SuperGeek WindowsBBS Team Member

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    Hi Gene, Like Pete said you only hear about those who have trouble. There would be millions of users who haven't had any problems with IE7, me included. I have installed SP3 on 4 Home built PC's and following Mike Flynns (How to get a clean install of SP3) I had no major hassle with the jobs. As reported by others all of my comps work smoothly and give the impression that they are working slightly quicker.Neil.:D
     
  19. 2008/06/09
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    Hi Gene!

    Well, it's better to be modest than overstating ones experience and no matter what ... ;) ... I'd still be trying!

    It certainly has been during the last month or so. As you may have noticed in my avtar, I'm sitting in a glider. Last week, the Swedish Nationals were held and the weather was flyable every day, eight out of eight, with cloud bases over 3.000 meters. That happens only every ten years or so. On average, you get a 50% ratio on competition days and cloud bases between 1.000 and 2.000 meters. From my club, four pilots were competing in two different classes (standard and 15-meter). One of them came home as the Swedish Champion in the standard class and another nicked second place in the 15-meter class.

    Christer
     
  20. 2008/06/09
    gfein10463

    gfein10463 Inactive Thread Starter

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    Dear Neil,

    I hope you're enjoying your visits to the front nine and the back nine in Kiwi country. I would love to get out of NYC to visit NZ in the near future.


    Thanks for underscoring Pete's observation re: SP3 and your pointing out that the observation would be appropriate for IE7 as well:


    Can you please let me know how to navigate to the Mike Flynn post that you mentioned:

    I tried a few search term variations, but nothing turned up.


    Your comrade in retirement ;),

    Gene
     
    Last edited: 2008/06/09
  21. 2008/06/09
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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