Windows XP, Service pack 3 - Install or no install?

[Llhweiir]

My windows update just suggested that I should install Service Pack 3... My experience is that those packs, escpecially SP2 was so incomplete that it caused more problems than it solved... So what do you think) Shold I install, or should I wait?

[pat]

Went fine for me on a clean install. In fact it installed much quicker than a clean install with SP2 and then installing all the updates there were before SP3.

[scuzzy]

I also installed SP3 on my home built system as well as my Toshiba laptop. The update installed smoothly on both systems.

There have been reports that installing SP3 on some AMD-based computers causes them to reboot endlessly. HP computers with the AMD chipsets seem to be hardest hit by this problem. A free solution is available here. The tool is a very small script file that you need to run prior to installing SP3.

I recommend that if you're going to update WinXP, then download the SP3 file to your local hard drive. The 316.4MB file is available here. This is a better solution to the automatic update if you have to update more than one computer.

If you prefer, the 544.9MB CD image file is available here.

[pat]

Actually I didn't even know SP3 was out. It just so happened I decided to do a clean install on my other system and when I went to download all the updates, I think there was 80 some of them the last time I did an install. I was given the choice of SP3 so I went with that. But yeah, went smooth and like I said much faster than it took with all the individual updates.

[Llhweiir]

The install did not work for me... Somewehere in the process I got a message that a file was missing, and if I wanted to continue without it. I clicked yes, but got the same message again and again.... Finally I aborted the process but hten I got a message that a another file was missing, and if I wanted to continue without it. Once again I clicked yes, but got the same message again and again...

Finally I simply rebooted the computer and resotred it to an earlier restore-point.

I will try with downloadin it to the harddrive and installing it that way. Thanks!

[scuzzy]

If you have the original Windows XP installation disc, try doing an OS repair first.

Boot the computer with the installation disc in the CD/DVD-ROM. You may be prompted to "press any key" to boot from CD. The disc will begin the installation process, then prompt you for some options. Select Repair Windows, or however it's worded.

Once you complete the process, then give SP3 another go.

[Mark H]

In installed SP3 via Windows Update with no problems. Getting it on disk is not worth it to me since my photography PC and laptop both use Windows Vista. My last PC runs ipcop for a dedicated whole network firewall. This PC will continue to run Windows XP SP3 until the hardware needs replaced. Then, I may still run Windows XP.

[Llhweiir]

If you have the original Windows XP installation disc, try doing an OS repair first.

Boot the computer with the installation disc in the CD/DVD-ROM. You may be prompted to "press any key" to boot from CD. The disc will begin the installation process, then prompt you for some options. Select Repair Windows, or however it's worded.

Once you complete the process, then give SP3 another go.

I do not have the XP disc as the system came installed with it. Instead I have a small recovery-partition on my harddrive. This seems to affect me in the way that some of the disc-options such as "repair windows" is unavailable to me. I can only restore the entire system to factory settings with the partition.