Guest Bob Posted July 5, 2008 Posted July 5, 2008 Should I or shouldn't I download it ? I hear "bad things"
Guest Milt Posted July 5, 2008 Posted July 5, 2008 RE: SP3 Bob, Some people are going to have problems with any update. But most people won't. And the one's you hear from tend to be the ones who have had problems. I, for one, didn't see any problems after installing SP 3. The benefits do outweigh the risks. Delete .temp's, clear caches, run chkdsk, defrag and then shut down unnecessary programs. And, most important, cross your fingers. Good luck. Milt "Bob" wrote: > Should I or shouldn't I download it ? > I hear "bad things" >
Guest N. Miller Posted July 5, 2008 Posted July 5, 2008 Re: SP3 On Sat, 5 Jul 2008 16:37:00 -0700, Bob wrote: > Should I or shouldn't I download it ? > I hear "bad things" So do I. OTOH, I installed SP3 on two Windows MCE 2005 computers without issue; and just recently installed the Windows XP Home Edition upgrade on a Windows Me computer. It came with SP2 out of the box. I did not bother going to the Windows Update site until I had installed SP3. All systems are running well. -- Norman ~Oh Lord, why have you come ~To Konnyu, with the Lion and the Drum
Guest Big_Al Posted July 6, 2008 Posted July 6, 2008 Re: SP3 Bob wrote: > Should I or shouldn't I download it ? > I hear "bad things" > The biggest suggestion is to make a backup of important files. That or make an image of the drive so you can restore. Backup, Backup, Backup! Best defense. I had no issues, but I made my backup just so I could recover.
Guest marx404 Posted July 6, 2008 Posted July 6, 2008 Re: SP3 I'll play the (SNL) counterpoint here (Jane, you ignorant slut...) DO go to the MS site and fully read the Knowledgebase before attempting to d/l SP3. There are some important issues concerning HP laptops and AMD processors. Quite a few people have had their systems hosed, many have been ok with SP3, but as I have said many times before, always back it up beforehand. Personally, I will be staying with SP2 as I cannot find a reason to justify the risks vs. the benefits. -- marx404
Guest Bob Posted July 6, 2008 Posted July 6, 2008 Re: SP3 you mean backup the entier c drive or just importnat files, or both ? If things go wrong can I return to sp2 with everything in tact ? "Big_Al" wrote: > Bob wrote: > > Should I or shouldn't I download it ? > > I hear "bad things" > > > The biggest suggestion is to make a backup of important files. That or > make an image of the drive so you can restore. > Backup, Backup, Backup! Best defense. I had no issues, but I made > my backup just so I could recover. >
Guest Jim Posted July 6, 2008 Posted July 6, 2008 Re: SP3 "Bob" <Bob@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:7E4BC449-2A89-476D-B765-EB61E35AB006@microsoft.com... > you mean backup the entier c drive or just importnat files, or both ? > If things go wrong can I return to sp2 with everything in tact ? > > "Big_Al" wrote: > >> Bob wrote: >> > Should I or shouldn't I download it ? >> > I hear "bad things" >> > >> The biggest suggestion is to make a backup of important files. That or >> make an image of the drive so you can restore. >> Backup, Backup, Backup! Best defense. I had no issues, but I made >> my backup just so I could recover. >> Yes, you backup the whole drive. With that, of course you can return to the current configuration with every thing intact. Unless you have a floppy and an XP distribution disk, do not use ntbackup. Jim
Guest Big_Al Posted July 6, 2008 Posted July 6, 2008 Re: SP3 Bob wrote: > you mean backup the entier c drive or just importnat files, or both ? > If things go wrong can I return to sp2 with everything in tact ? > > "Big_Al" wrote: > >> Bob wrote: >>> Should I or shouldn't I download it ? >>> I hear "bad things" >>> >> The biggest suggestion is to make a backup of important files. That or >> make an image of the drive so you can restore. >> Backup, Backup, Backup! Best defense. I had no issues, but I made >> my backup just so I could recover. >> Yes, backup the whole drive. I've read, and I'm sure its the extreme, but some people wind up with an inoperative PC after the upgrade. Granted there is an issue with AMD chip systems, etc, and you should read the writeups. Below is taken from a previous post. A place to get FREE support for SP3 installation issues *from Microsoft*... http://support.microsoft.com/oas/default.aspx?ln=en-us&prid=11273&gprid=522131 WinXP SP3 - Read all prerequisites for a successful installation http://msmvps.com/blogs/harrywaldron/archive/2008/05/08/windows-xp-sp3-read-all-prerequisites-for-a-successful-installation.aspx Steps to take before you install Windows XP Service Pack 3 http://support.microsoft.com/kb/950717 Release Notes for Windows XP Service Pack 3 http://download.microsoft.com/download/c/d/8/cd8cc719-7d5a-40d3-a802-e4057aa8c631/relnotes.htm This would also fix the issue for those planning on updating to SP3 as well. Apply this before you install SP3. http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=953356 Key things to note: Internet Explorer: "If you have installed Windows Internet Explorer® 7 or a beta version of Internet Explorer 8, and then install Windows XP SP3, you cannot uninstall Internet Explorer. To avoid this, ensure Internet Explorer 7 or a beta version of Internet Explorer 8 is not installed before installing Windows XP SP3. If you have already encountered this issue, uninstall Windows XP SP3, uninstall Internet Explorer, and then reinstall Windows XP SP3." Windows XP Media Center Edition 2002: "If you install Windows XP SP3 on a computer running Windows XP Media Center Edition 2002 with SP1, Windows XP Media Center Edition may malfunction. To avoid this, install Windows XP SP2 before you install Windows XP SP3. If this issue has already occurred, uninstall Windows XP SP3, install Windows XP SP2, and then reinstall Windows XP SP3." It seems some people are unable to get further updates after installing SP3... Seems some have experienced a symptom similar to doing a repair installation on Windows XP - and the same fix seems to work for them for that... Updates are not installed successfully from Windows Update, from Microsoft Update, or by using Automatic Updates after you repair a Windows XP installation http://support.microsoft.com/kb/943144 Some people experience an "endless reboot" issue... From PA Bear [MS MVP]: Workarounds: http://msinfluentials.com/blogs/jesper/archive/2008/05/08/does-your-amd-based-computer-boot-after-installing-xp-sp3.aspx [NB: The above has been updated many times and now includes "a small tool that will detect the IntelPPM problem and mitigate it before installing [WinXP SP3]." 1. Boot into Safe Mode and rename INTELPMM.SYS to INTELPMM.OLD. 2. After booting into Safe Mode: Start --> Run --> (copy/paste) sc config intelppm start= disabled --> OK --> Reboot into normal (Windows) mode.
Guest Ken Blake, MVP Posted July 6, 2008 Posted July 6, 2008 Re: SP3 On Sat, 5 Jul 2008 16:37:00 -0700, Bob <Bob@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote: > Should I or shouldn't I download it ? You want my opinion? Definitely. > I hear "bad things" Whenever anything new comes out, you always hear "bad things." People who have problems with it (and there are always some) are the most vocal, because they are looking for solutions to their problems. Few people come to these newsgroups, for example, simple to post "I installed it and it works." Read here first: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/950717 -- Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience Please Reply to the Newsgroup
Guest glee Posted July 6, 2008 Posted July 6, 2008 Re: SP3 "Bob" <Bob@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:61E3D129-1DBA-4BD4-AA86-52A9DF4F15CF@microsoft.com... > Should I or shouldn't I download it ? > I hear "bad things" No need to be in a hurry, but yes, do install SP3 after doing a little prep. These guidelines may help: Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3): Installation Guide http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?f=62&t=33296 Internet Explorer and WinXP SP3 http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=33210 XP SP3: Post Installation Cleanup http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?f=62&t=33827 XP SP3: IMPORTANT SUPPORT INFORMATION http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?f=62&t=33244 XP SP3: "Fixed" Reboot Loop / Safe Mode Only after Install http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?f=62&t=33241 XP SP3 Installation Failure Troubleshooter http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?f=62&t=33295 XP SP3: Registry Corruption & Norton SymProtect http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?f=62&t=33522 XP SP3: Hotfix - Device Manager and Network Connections http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?f=62&t=34129 XP SP3: FIX -- Svchost.exe Uses 100% CPU Resources http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?f=62&t=33303 XP SP3: Problems? How To Uninstall Service Pack 3 http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?f=62&t=33246 -- Glen Ventura, MS MVP Windows, A+ http://dts-l.net/ http://dts-l.net/goodpost.htm
Guest Phisherman Posted July 6, 2008 Posted July 6, 2008 Re: SP3 On Sat, 5 Jul 2008 16:37:00 -0700, Bob <Bob@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote: >Should I or shouldn't I download it ? >I hear "bad things" I DLed it and installed it and it created a validation hassle. I have much less trust for Microsoft. Not sure if it had something to do with my AMD processor. If you decide to go ahead with it, I highly recommend a complete backup first.
Guest Hula Baloo Posted July 6, 2008 Posted July 6, 2008 Re: SP3 Bob wrote: > Should I or shouldn't I download it ? > I hear "bad things" > I installed SP3 on 21 machines, 20 of which went with no problems. The other one had many, many USB devices connected plus a parallel port scanner. About 3/4 of the way thru the install, that machine would crash. I contacted MS support and finally got the one misbehaving PC thru the install by booting in Safe Mode and installing SP3 from the downloaded file. After that no problems on any of the 21 machines. I never did find out what caused the problem on that one machine, but the Safe Mode install got around it in any event. 3 of these 21 machines I use at home and are all different. The other 18 are classroom machines that have a ton of software on them, and have been exposed to numerous students. Bottom line recommendation: Install SP3, but be sure to do adequate preparation including backing up your system before doing so. I never had to use my backup, but I wouldn't make ANY significant change without adequate backup. The ounce of prevention is always better than the painful pound of cure! The whiners and complainers you hear most of the complaints from are usually the ones who don't do the appropriate preparation. When you've got FREE help from MS, you can hardly have a more positive environment for installing it.
Guest Dave Posted July 6, 2008 Posted July 6, 2008 Re: SP3 In article <61E3D129-1DBA-4BD4-AA86-52A9DF4F15CF@microsoft.com>, Bob@discussions.microsoft.com says... > Should I or shouldn't I download it ? > I hear "bad things" I downloaded XP on my machine when it came out and it totally hosed my computer. Fortunately, I had done a full backup a few days before. That said, it is something about my computer that caused XP3 to crash the system. I also installed it on the wife's computer and my laptop without any issues. I upgraded my motherboard, CPU and RAM a few days ago, so I re-installed XP from scratch and installed SP3 and had no issues. So far I have about 90% of my software re-installed and still no issues so far. Still, I'm setting restore points and doing daily full backups until I get everything re-installed and it runs stable for a few weeks, just in case.
Guest N. Miller Posted July 6, 2008 Posted July 6, 2008 Re: SP3 On Sat, 5 Jul 2008 20:15:33 -0400, marx404 wrote: > I'll play the (SNL) counterpoint here (Jane, you ignorant slut...) > > DO go to the MS site and fully read the Knowledgebase before attempting to > d/l SP3. There are some important issues concerning HP laptops and AMD > processors. Quite a few people have had their systems hosed, many have been > ok with SP3, but as I have said many times before, always back it up > beforehand. > > Personally, I will be staying with SP2 as I cannot find a reason to justify > the risks vs. the benefits. Read the caveats before applying SP3 to the Windows MCE 2005 systems. Both are Intel processors on desktops, so the HP laptop with AMD processor caveat did not seem to apply. The other system is an older HP Pavilion 6745C; Celeron processor, with Windows Me. Needed a BIOS flash (per HP; they don't have the BIOS code on their site any more, but I downloaded back when it was available). That one had already had the important stuff migrated to an HP Pavilion a1440n, so there was nothing preventing a reset of the Windows Me system to factory conditions (run from the restore CDs), then installing Windows XP Home Edition SP2 over it. Since this was a completely fresh install, I just applied SP3 right away, before visiting the Windows Update site. Had SP3 caused a problem on this system, nothing would have been lost. The other systems had been imaged before proceeding. -- Norman ~Oh Lord, why have you come ~To Konnyu, with the Lion and the Drum
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