downloading xp sp3

Hello,

in xp sp2 32-bit

i have sp2 installed. i want to upgrade to sp3. i don't have a burner. where can i download sp3 and run it without using a c or usb?

 

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=24

-or-

Windows Update

 

thanks for the reply Adrynalye. ms site says:This installation package is intended for IT professionals and developers downloading and installing on multiple computers on a network. If you're updating just one computer, please visit Windows Update at http://update.microsoft.com .

I'm updating just one computer. doesn't this make a difference? Also, previously i used this same link to upgrade from sp2 to sp3. after that many programs started acting up. i can't say i it was because of the sp3 installation but it was he only change i made then. is it fine?

 

In Internet Explorer, go here (Microsoft Update Catalog) and select the top item. It's the stand alone installer for SP3 (316.4MB). This MUST be done in Internet Explorer.

 

No it doesn't. It is just a large package.

 

(Once I downloaded that large all-encompassing SP3 file, I saved it for future re-use. It's installation process should detect everything your system needs from it, and it will supply those needed files and updates. "Should" is a keyword, here, though - because we all know how we live in this oh-so-perfect world. But it's worked for me across a host of systems.)

I did save mine to a CD as well as a USB stick for maximum compatibility into the future.

One issue I've had - some software doesn't like to be installed AFTER SP3 is loaded. Paint Shop Pro 6 and 7, for example, and UltraEdit 10 are the two products that I use on my XP PC and when I do a wipeout-and-reload, I use my WinXP-SP2 CD, then install most of my useful software, THEN I install SP3 afterwards.

 

mdoah thank you so much for the catalog link!! i'd been tying to get to microsoft updates with no luck. the http://update.microsoft.com link first directed me to access it from ie and when i did it asked me to download ie8, but when i did, ie8 failed to install. so i couldn't get to the updates using ie or any other browser. the catalog link works fine. i'm installing sp3 now.

Adrynalyne, thank you or clearing that up. i've always wondered.

 

ChristineBCW, i gotta agree with those last lines. thanks for sharing your experience.

 

update:

downloaded and installed sp3 from ms update catalog. i had a minor worry during the installation when a process namederforming cleanup, seemed to take forever. i thought the installation was having a hangup, but the twitches/refreshes on the desktop had me googling the issue. it seems the process actually installs hotfixes, so if i'm upgrading from sp2 to sp3 to which ms support is ending in April, i can imagine what a large number of fixes it is going to take. so it's ok if it take hours to finish the installation.