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Windows XP SP2 In Release
mr_tommy writes "Service Pack 2 for Windows XP has been released to manufacturers (RTM), is available to MSDN customers, and will soon be available to all via Windows Update and Microsoft sites. At ~ 250 megs, the download is big, and Microsoft will be offering the option of getting it on CDs. The much awaited Service Pack comes with many security updates (new NX and DEP protection), extra features (firewall, security center), and improvements for Windows. New versions of IE and OE come with the release, as well as improvements in the wireless networking field. So far, the service pack seems to be very stable (no known major issues) and does seem to speed up most systems. A review of SP2 Final with some limited download links is available at Neowin.net. I'd urge all users (pirate users too) to deploy the service pack and benefit from the genuine effort Microsoft have made with regards to security in this release." We did cover this recently but since this is a major deal, we figured people would want to know more.
Even as a person who owns a legal copy of XP Pro, I am pleased that SP2 will be able to be installed on almost all copies of XP that are around. Hopefully this will help slow spyware and other annoyances down!
Also, I've heard that the download is available from the new windows update site: here and several bit torrent websites(file name: WindowsXP-KB835935-SP2-ENU.exe, MD5: 59a98f181fe383907e520a391d75b5a7, size: 278,927,592 bytes)
Boxing Equipment Reviews
Is it odd or even service packs that usually cause problems?
Install it now! Say what you will about MS, but this looks like a good improvement. Maybe I'll wait untill you all install it first...
Use this link for the pirates info. No sense in linking to a forum that just links to another.
Daddypants agrees.
Only being half sarcastic, actually.
>> "What would the robut do? Frame someone!"
After it harassing me left and right about programs connecting to the internet. Even after letting it run for a while, it never spotted a program connecting that wasn't supposed to be.
I imagine things will continue as they have. No firewall. No spyware, no trojans, no 0wn3d machines. Just proper patches and Mozilla.
> Is it odd or even service packs that usually cause problems?
Yes.
It's the top three downloads on Filemirrors.com, for those of you having problems getting working links.
-Ares
If you're using one of the two widely pirated keys for XP (XXXXX-640-0000356-23XXX or XXXXX-640-2001765-23XXX), SP1 didn't install for you, and neither will SP2. So go ahead and change your key using Microsoft's own process. Search the web for valid keys....
Well Microsoft finally donnit. Iam glad they brought the final version of their XP operating system after using the beta version for over 2 years now. Looking forward to bugfixes to this version.
Any excerpts from any links telling if I run a system restore point before SP2 will I be able to go back?
The above post is an editorial, the poster cannot and will not be held responsible for all or in part for it's contents
Let's see...millions of Windows users all downloading 250MB at once....
I guess this is the nuclear attack we've been waiting for to see if this whole "Internet" concept really works.
Just a friendly warning for the non-geekier readers out there: there are a LOT of bogus copies of this out on the net and P2P. Some are trojaned, some are pre-RTM. If its not the right size, md5 hash, or not digitally signed by MS and dated 8-4-04 don't install it. Have to give MS kudos on this one. The security center is a good addition, if a little annoying at first until you customize it to fit your situation. It even recognized AntiVir as my anti-virus program. System is running fine, no problems during or afer install except for a "cannot back up atapi.sys" warning (no big).
Is the juice worth the sqeeze?
The MD5 hash of the real file is 59a98f181fe383907e520a391d75b5a7. If you download it, then you can check it with any tool to generate the MD5 hash, and if they match, you can be certain it hasn't been messed with.
That's the whole point of telling people what the hash of the file is.
- Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set him on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
My Windows box is pwned by a 12 year scripty kiddy I hope he remembers to install this useful update.
I work with a CRM finance program named Made2Manage. We were informed by them that this service pack breaks the connection between them and SQL. We have heard the same thing from another software vendor for a sql based e-mail system. Supposedly, when MS turned on all of the security features for this SP they eliminated the way in which a number of vendors communicated with SQL. To date I have not received the go ahead for this service pack. M2M evidently contacted MS about this issue but received little or no assistance in resolving this issue.
So be warned. If you are running third party SQL based software this service pack may break it.
AbortRetry
Damn, now I need to create an account
If you have a processor that supports NX, SP2 will not be compatible with some programs, especially dynamic recompilers.
As R. Belmont pointed out to me on a different message board, dynamic recompilers allocate memory, fill it with x86 instructions, and then jump to it. NX specifically prohibits executing allocated memory, so dynamic recompilers should crash in SP2 on processors that support NX.
Expect this feature to break many current emulators (Mame will be fine.) The feature supposedly can be turned off in Windows, but since I don't have a processor that supports NX, I don't know where one would do so in the interface. The newer Athlon chips - specifically, the Athlon 64's, and future Pentium 4s, support NX, so keep that in mind when upgrading to SP2.
Unfortunately, not in your face enough -- Windows users have gotten too used to closing any window that opens unrequested without even reading what it says. I finally went around and set Windows Update to just automatically install the updates for people, as they would never do it themselves no matter how many times I urged them to stay on top of their updates.
"Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies."
Holly cow, that's bigger than ALL of windows 98! I know there are a TON of improvements in SP2 but the size is kind of crazy
That's the administrative install version that covers everything - including Windows Media Center edition, Windows Tablet PC Edition, etc. If you download the client version, it'll only download the files you need.
Coming soon - pyrogyra
Microsoft says Installing Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) will prevent Microsoft CRM versions 1.0 and 1.2 from running correctly. Version 1.2 is the latest.
More Microsoft CRM stories: Shortly after Microsoft began using its Customer Relations Management software, we got a call from a Microsoft representative inviting us to a meeting in New Jersey. This caused some confusion until the rep said the Microsoft CRM database showed we were based in New Jersey. (Correct answer: Oregon.) Last Friday we got a call from someone at Microsoft who invited us to a local meeting. Three minutes later we got another call from the same person. She didn't realize she had called the same number.
folks will fully understand
the 260MB download is only for the full network install...the msdn download includes tools and comes in at over 400MB.
folks using automatic updates are apparently looking at a 70-90MB download as the updater reads and downloads only what is missing.
and also point out the svc pk update cd will be mailed FREE OF CHARGE around the world.
This is a common misconception. SP2 is not big because "of all the fixes", but rather because XP's core has been recompiled with VC 2005 compilers to provide the latest optimizations (as well as a software equivalent of NX) among other things, hence you're downloading pretty much ALL of XP's core, with fixes/changes to only some of it. SP1 and previous were compiled with VC6 I believe.
- Oisin
PGP KeyId: 0x08D63965
That isn't quite accurate.
IBM is recommending that its internal people not install SP2 yet -- not because of SP2, but because IBM's web apps might be broken. Windows used to tolerate that brokenness, but SP2 now demands proper compliance with the security rules of the platform. IBM is telling people to wait until they've tested the web apps and fixed any broken ones before shifting.
For my part, I don't understand why they didn't start fixing their apps months ago. The design of SP2 was fully fleshed out by the time RC1 rolled around. One of the reasons Microsoft sent out the RC's was so that businesses and partners could update their applications.
<irony>I'm a trifle puzzled by the delay: the fixes that SP2 requires are fixes that should have been in place previously; why would anyone delay putting in necessary security fixes in their code?</irony>