XP SP3 fails to impress
Posted February 21st, 2008 at 07:19 by screwballl
Microsoft has publicly released the beta version of XP SP3 RC1 (v3264, kb936929) which is a 336MB download available at Microsoft's website as a standalone download. They have also released the RC2 version for a limited time (v3311) as a registry patch that enables it through Windows Updates rather then a standalone download.
Installing it took ages, much much longer than it should have on both systems, it seems that there are certain windows files that are in use that it has to remember to replace with newer versions after it restarts and also the registry scanning. This process may go faster on newer systems but for both of the test systems, it was dog slow.
After installing RC1 on 2 older systems, namely a Pentium4 1.8GHz (XP Home) and AthlonXP 2600+ (XP Pro) systems, I did some digging for program incompatibilities, some indication of performance increase or anything noticeable. After working with it for 2 days now, both do seem to run a tiny bit faster (I would think 10% or less) but not really able to notice a difference with real world usage. The security programs work the same without a hitch, Skype works the same as does everything else so it appears as if there is no real world benefit other then placing all previously released patches into one big service pack. There may some other minor things that I have not seen yet but so far nothing stands out.
Looking around on the MS TechNet forums for SP3, there does not seem to be any specific trends that stand out. Pretty much everything there seems to pertain to user error of some sort whether they didn't disable their security software or something else they did messed it up, it is all pretty much related to that. The only threads that seem to be of concern are a few mentions of Windows Update being broken after uninstalling the beta Service Pack.
For most people, my suggestion is wait until the final release goes public and then wait a month or two before jumping in. Only those still using SP1 or original versions of XP should upgrade to SP3 as soon as it is publicly available. So if your mother in laws bridge partners sisters uncles computer is still running XP version 2002, be a nice kid and run over there with the standalone SP3 once released and help reduce the botnet that has plagued this world. Every single patched system helps speed up the internet tiny bits at a time, so when you get the chance, help out, even if it takes 2 hours of your free time, help out those who need help. Or even setup a few signs saying "free windows upgrades" to pique some interest and give people a burned CD with standalone SP3.
It is amazing the number of people on dialup not willing to update and the lack of updates once they do go to high speed, continue the lack of updating and their computer becomes part of a botnet.
Installing it took ages, much much longer than it should have on both systems, it seems that there are certain windows files that are in use that it has to remember to replace with newer versions after it restarts and also the registry scanning. This process may go faster on newer systems but for both of the test systems, it was dog slow.
After installing RC1 on 2 older systems, namely a Pentium4 1.8GHz (XP Home) and AthlonXP 2600+ (XP Pro) systems, I did some digging for program incompatibilities, some indication of performance increase or anything noticeable. After working with it for 2 days now, both do seem to run a tiny bit faster (I would think 10% or less) but not really able to notice a difference with real world usage. The security programs work the same without a hitch, Skype works the same as does everything else so it appears as if there is no real world benefit other then placing all previously released patches into one big service pack. There may some other minor things that I have not seen yet but so far nothing stands out.
Looking around on the MS TechNet forums for SP3, there does not seem to be any specific trends that stand out. Pretty much everything there seems to pertain to user error of some sort whether they didn't disable their security software or something else they did messed it up, it is all pretty much related to that. The only threads that seem to be of concern are a few mentions of Windows Update being broken after uninstalling the beta Service Pack.
For most people, my suggestion is wait until the final release goes public and then wait a month or two before jumping in. Only those still using SP1 or original versions of XP should upgrade to SP3 as soon as it is publicly available. So if your mother in laws bridge partners sisters uncles computer is still running XP version 2002, be a nice kid and run over there with the standalone SP3 once released and help reduce the botnet that has plagued this world. Every single patched system helps speed up the internet tiny bits at a time, so when you get the chance, help out, even if it takes 2 hours of your free time, help out those who need help. Or even setup a few signs saying "free windows upgrades" to pique some interest and give people a burned CD with standalone SP3.
It is amazing the number of people on dialup not willing to update and the lack of updates once they do go to high speed, continue the lack of updating and their computer becomes part of a botnet.
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