SP2 Available For Download.

The thing is, unless MS made large changes between RC2, and RTM, this shouldn't be the issue it is.

I think everyone is underestimating the impact Sp2 has on XP.

What was compatible may not be anymore.

If someone is in an environment where you can't afford the risk, then they will want to wait until vendors bring out patches for their apps.

MS has taken a stubborn stance on this; vendors need to fix their apps. They aren't going to back down, I don't believe.


I don't forsee MS yanking this one off of the web.

The fact it works great on a clean install speaks volumes of what kind of software incompatiblity problems we are seeing, not bugs with the service pack. Yes, there are bugs, but they aren't show stoppers.

 

Then why isn't this type of stuff happening on a clean install

 

There was a rumor floating around here that MS postponed SP2 this last time due to if you had spyware and/or viruses on the system, SP2 would thrash Windows XP.

Maybe thats the case, and maybe MS never fixed that problem.

 

Another possibility to consider.

MS claimed they yanked RC2 due to problems installing it over the latest security updates and causing problems.

I'm curious to know how SP2 would differ in that scenario, if at all.

 

Well that throws that theory out the window

I still maintain if its on a clean install and works fine, how can it not be third party software? Especially if the above scenario was fine for halo.

Lets not forget that drivers are third party software, too.

 

I see what you are saying, and agree.

We saw these issues with SP1, too, in terms of catastrophic failures, however.

Its no surprise to me we see it in SP2 as well.

 

is sp2 gonna install automatically on MS update? if so should we stop it from doing so untill these problems are resolved? aloha

 

laurieB, its extremely unlikely MS is going to change anything about this.

So until these problems are resolved could be a very, very long time.


To answer your question, set automatic updates to download but not install, or don't use it at all.

 

duh, i know this is gonna sound dim, but what is the point of download and not install? also, i thought i HAD TO have windows updates. doesnt it just 'do it' automatically? i just looked at the update page and there is no indication that you can 'switch it off' aloha. ps. im assuming that the SP2 is a 'critical' update. pps, i read your advice on NOT downloading driver updates TWO DAYS after i did it! still nothing horrible appeared to happen and i will know better next time. lol

 

thanks Abby, but since i never know what these updates are for or about, i will never know whether to download them or not. although MG appears to critique some (all?) of these, i haven't noticed anybody saying 'this one is good' or 'this one is bad' (apart from the driver downloads just mentioned ). i assume that different downloads behave differently on different machines. so unless each and every time there is an update i post asking 'should i do this' then i hafta just take it on faith. I'm beginning to feel like there is a giant conspiracy to make computers in general, far more complicated and vulnerable than is necessary. for example, where exactly were those instructions in my puter?

 

For those of you administering networks that have XP computers, Microsoft has a program that will block the download of SP2 for 120 days from Aug. 16, when they say it will be available through Automatic Updates. There's also a program that will remove the block before the 4 months if you so choose.

To block it: here

To unblock it: use this

 

Nifty.

Thanks for the links.

 

You're welcome.

I'm a student who supports faculty computers at my university, and our computer support people are short-staffed over summer (I've seen numbers like 1 support person to 300 faculty/staff during fall and spring semesters), so I'm hoping they use these files until some fixes come out.