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Last-Minute Glitch Holds Up Windows XP SP3

Posted by kdawson on from the it's-always-something dept.

An anonymous reader sends word that Microsoft Windows XP SP3, which had been scheduled to hit the Web today, was pulled back at the last minute. SP3 apparently broke a Microsoft application, Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System. Their solution is to set up a filter to make sure that no system running the affected software will get automatically updated; once the filter is in place, SP3 will be released to the Web. A fix for the incompatibility will follow.

6 of 162 comments (clear)

  1. Isn't this anticompetitive? by annamadrigal · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Seriously, if Microsoft is prepared to hold up an update of this sort and then modify the procedure to kludge their way around the problem for their own software but would just release the patch if it was someone else's application, then this seems extremely dubious to my non-expert mind. After all, doesn't this give their applications the unusual, and unfair, advantage that they might work with Windows both before and after a major update?

    1. Re:Isn't this anticompetitive? by i.of.the.storm · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Uh, they delayed the release of Vista SP1 for other companies' drivers to be updated, isn't that the same thing? Perhaps you should do some research before pulling the anticompetitive flag, it's in their best interests to make sure their own shit works properly, shit though it may be. (Note: That's not my opinion, but probably that of others here.)

      --
      All your base are belong to Wii.
  2. Vista SP1 has the same bug by Joe+The+Dragon · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Vista SP1 has the same bug

  3. Re:well done by machxor · · Score: 2, Interesting

    They didn't really patch anything. As anyone running Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System can still break things by installing XP SP3. As far as I can tell they are not changing the actual SP3 installer so that it will not install on a machine running Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System. Doesn't even sound like it will warn.

  4. In a nutshell by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    In a nutshell:

      * one of Microsoft's own software breaks after installing SP3 for Windows XP.

      * the software that breaks is a business application, and not some security program requiring undocumented API calls or system drivers

    What are the odds that software from others will break, too?

    A cynical part of me wonders if SP3 contains breaking changes to make life harder for WINE, and possibly other solutions.

    Does anyone have more info regarding the specific reasons for breakage?

  5. What if... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    OK, so it doesn't install the update on systems with Dynamics installed.

    What about those users who choose to install XP, complete all the updates, and then install the rest of their software? Does SP3 revert to SP2? Does it prevent the installation of Dynamics? Or does it just break Dynamics?