Bits from Bill
Windows XP SP3, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
It’s been a week now since Windows XP Service Pack 3 has been deployed and the results are good, bad and little ugly.
The Good
I’ve been one of the 99% of those who downloaded and installed Service Pack 3 with no trouble at all. I already wrote last month about what changed in SP3 but now we have the results of performance benchmarks. While some folks have reported increased performance, the benchmarks don’t show any major improvements. In my own tests, I have found a slight increase in internet speed but it depended on my configuration. The results will vary depending on your firewall and the use of network monitor device protocol.
The Bad
Some folks (not all) using HP computers and AMD processors quickly reported problems rebooting after installing SP3. If you haven’t upgrade yet or have problems you’ll want to review the information available in Jesper’s Blog. Jesper experienced the problem personally and with some helped worked through the issues and provides a detailed solution for others who might have problems.
The Ugly
Depending on who you ask you’ll get a different answer about how SP3 affects different versions of Internet Explorer. If you’re using the beta version of IE8 most recommend you downgrade from IE8 before installing SP3. I didn’t experience any problems but I also skipped IE7 when I installed the IE8 beta. My friend Corrine has some good details on the relationship between IE and SP3.
This upgrade is good example of why I recommend waiting 7–10 days before installing any new updates. It’s nearly impossible for Microsoft or anyone to test such critical software when it’s used by millions with millions of different configurations. Thanks to Jesper and others, information is now available to resolve potential problems from Service Pack 3.
posted by Unknown | 12:47 PM
66 Comments:
Bill,
Is the successful machine
a Dell with an Intel Pentium 4?
Being a novice I may wait a long
time to update.
I understand you can still
keep updating your XPSP2 and hold
off on the upgrade to SP3.
Actually, the machine I used for testing is a Dell with a Pentium 4.
I don't see any reason not to upgrade to SP3.
Bill
Can anyone remember the last time Microsoft did anything right?
I installed SP3 on my old Dell desktop last night. So far no problems.
I also noticed a slight increase in Internet speed after installing Win XP SP3 on both my DELL desktop and Toshiba laptop. Everything works fine except that I had hoped SP3 would 1) clean up the mess in my Windows updates and 2) update old Windows drivers. None of that happened unfortunately. Test reports from PC Pitstop after SP3 install show that both computers have outdated drivers and missing updates. The overall PC Pitstop score for each computer hasn't increased after SP3 install.
In spite of it all, I'm still not willing to make the transition to VISTA, even though both computers are VISTA ready.
Steve
DELL Dimension 9200, dual core 2 duo, XP Pro
Toshiba Satellite P100, dual core Centrino, XP Home
Bad Bad Bad - I have 4 computers of which SP3 was installed with the automatic updates program. My Dell Dimension 8250 Deasktop with Pentium 4, and 1GB Ram experienced a slow down I had never seen before. My Dell Inspirion D620 laptop (my fastest computer) almost completely locked up. Without realizing what had happened at first I tried the restore program without much success. I spent several hours removing programs, doing disk clean up, degrag and each reboot was even slower even had to reboot in the safe mode a few times. I finally had to set it aside before I threw it out the window. Glad I saw this article so now I have some insight but need to research on how to remove SP3 becuase it appears to be in several places.
Installed SP3 on my Emachine C6423 without any problems, although it took forever to download.It may be my imagination but things seem to load and unload a lot smoother.
Don
Well, even though I should know better by now, I downloaded and installed XP SP 3 shortly after it was released. I have an XP Media Center Edition. First check I made was whether my tuner card worked. It did not. Looked around on "The Green Button" site, and found that a few others had encountered the same problem, Well, after the lengthy download and install, then a lengthy restore back to a good state. Everything is now working OK. Someday I'll learn...
I haven't noticed any drawbacks, BUT twice now it changed my start icon from the round Vista like? icon that I've grown to like. Now it's the old green rectangular start button that comes with XP. Anybody know how to get the ROUND one back?
I've upgraded 2 of my 4 machines. The Athlon 64-X2 4600 didn't have any problems. The old P3-650 laptop took a long time but appears to be fine also. My main box, an Athlon 64 X2 3800, will wait a while until I see if there are any troubles with the other two.
Tried installing sp3 on a HP Media Center Edition 2005.After reboot the system would not even come back on I had to start in safe mode and delete sp3 before I was able to use my computer again.
It does not work with HP evidently.
Once I started in safe mode and deleted it everything was fine.
I have a 3-user license on all software and have 3 computers, all custom built by myself several years ago. SP3 locked up all 3 on AutoUpdate, but resolved easily by disabling AutoUpdate and then manually downloading and installing the Update. Went w/o a hitch, except error for new wlan api not compatible w/ DLink Utility. I guess DLink will have to provide an update while I continue to ignore the error. If DLink doesn't do this, I may choose to switch to another vendor.
iamnotin,
I have an emachine T2885 loaded. I downloaded SP3 on first availability out of beta. Absolutely no problems not even with the download process or installation. Just lucky or maybe I keep my machine clean and not alot of gagets. Old computer person, machine is not for games.
I installed SP# on an upgraded emachine and now my windows xp is not a legal copy. HELP!!!!!!
Awful, and typical of Microsoft. Put out a so called "Critical Update" to take care of the software full of security holes. Said update is unstable and frankly caused me to have to do a full system restore. I'm running Win XP with Intel Celeron (Compaq Presario) and it was a disaster.
I installed it correctly, XP shuts down and initiates a restart. The computer hangs and announces it cannot reboot. After several tries I ended up having to do a full system restore.
All of this over a "Critical Update" What a joke. I suppose if everyone in the world had their computers configured exactly the same with no customization or extra software, I suppose these updates would work.
Thanks Microsoft, I finally get the hang of XP, even with its security loopholes and you go and screw my machine. I'm glad I had a backup.
Truly awful update!!!
After I installed SP3 on my Thinkpad T41 (Centrino 1.6), my wiress network just went away. It wouldn't recognize ANY of the nearby networks. It tried & tried to reinstall the wireless card & network to no avail. I then uninstalled SP3, and voila...the wireless fired right up!! Goodbye SP3 until they fix it...
Last weekend I installed XP Home on an old IBM NetVista P4 (2GHz), and then allowed the Windows Update site to download and install, in about 4 separate groups, about 65 updates -- including SP2, SP3 and IE7. It took most of a day, but NO problems [yet].
I have a dell with p4, sp3 works great for me.
Installed it on a 6 year old PC...no brand...built for me...Still use IE6, internet seems a bit faster...
I have installed SP3 on my Toshiba Tecra A-9 Laptop last week and havent had any problems so far. Knock on wood. But I havent upgraded Internet Explorer yet.
For those of you with AMD/HP/compaq machines you need to go to Jesper's blog and follow the instructions - really a simple work around if you want to upgrade to SP3.
I'm running a Compaq and 2 HP PC's with AMD processors. I am running IE7 on one of the HP's but still use IE 6 on the Compaq and my HP laptop. Simply don't like IE7 interface. I got the sp3 downloaded and installed without knowing it through auto updater. I knew the system downloaded the up dates but didn't look to see what the update was casue I heard that sp3 wasn't being released for that untill sometime in June. Maybe misinformed, but I have had no problems what so ever on any of my systems. The only thing I've noticed is an occassional issue with yahoo, but no other onnlline issues. Really noincrease or decline as far as speed. Everything pretty much has gone unnoticed that I even have sp3 until I looked at my system info. Taht's when I noticed I now have sp3 on all of my PC. So far no compalaints about sp3 and nothing to brag about either. Guess I am one of the lucky ines that got sp3 vertually seemless and no glitches.
I have an HP Pavilion with XP Home on it, evidently I had the auto update set to automatically download and install updates because I was checking to see if I wanted to download SP3 and I checked and I already have SP3 installed and never knew it. Evidently it hasn't done much either way to my machine. Guess I was just lucky.
Billy and his hoodlums had to do something. They had "a new and improved" software that was screwed up like Hogan's goat and a so called obsolete program that was out performing it. So in an attempt to force people into buying their obscenely priced software, they screwed up what was perfectly good. It is "the new American way" of doing business, no ethics, just greed.
This is Microsoft's attempt to get the last remaining XP users to switch to vista.
Problems:
Lose video when leaving games. Have to reboot.
No longer a "address" tool bar on bottom desktop bar. Was nice to have for quick web look ups.
Logging off between multiple users causes system to hang.
Haven't noticied any improvements.
I do not run Windows anymore, but my mom and dad do. I do all the updating for them and am not looking forward to this one either. Now is it me or does this seem a bit of a cynical plan by Microsoft to make everyone switch to Vista. I mean Microsoft is no longer supporting XP after June 30th, 2008. So I think they want it to mess up your system so you upgrade!?
~George
Service Pack 3 froze during the update and trashed my PC. MS Tech tried several fixes but nothing worked. I lost all my data and to add insult to injury, I lost my Recovery Partition that had the Original Windoze files (Sony doesn't provide discs). MS told me I had to buy another copy! Yeah Right! , I downloaded Ubuntu Linux. I'm done with the Evil Empire, they won't get another penny out of me and so far I'm very happy with Linux.
I am running a Dell p4 dual core 2.8 gig processor. sata HD and an ati 2600 HD pro graphics card. upon rebooting I noticed an almost immediate performance change. My computer seems more responsive like when i move my mouse seems cleaner and faster. not sure if sp3 did it but i like it. Ive had no problems at all and system seems to be running great.
I am using an IBM ThinkPad T41 with Pentium M & 1GB. I installed SP3 soon after release and while it took about 2 hours to download and install I have had few if any problems.
However, since installing I have noticed that "Windows" Explorer comes up with a crash message several minutes after I have closed it down (despite me having previously closed it manually). Then resets the Task Bar and rights itself (but for reduced programs in my startups) and everything including WE seems to work ok. Otherwise, Internet access does "appear" to be a bit quicker than previous.
Has anyone else come across anything similar?
I went to the update just to see if I'd get any performance gain. It really didn't matter much to me, as this is an older 939, Emac mod, and not my main gaming rig, but is still my main browsing rig. (Automatic update enabled, and I am avid about keeping all firmware and driver upgrades/updates as current as possible)
To my surprise, the update would not install at all; it would get to a certain point... then simply hang or stall, if you will.
I did initially make a snap shot of my PC, and I had a recent backup, so I wasn't too worried. Luckily, I didn't need to go through much hassle as MS actually did do something right. They seemed to have looked into their crystal ball, and rolled in an automatic backup and restore for failed sp3 installations.
So while, I have to give kudos to MS for that, I do have give sp3 two thumbs double down. MS has a bad tendency as to releasing major updates to the vast majority of the public well ahead of time.
I kind of have to disagree with Bill a bit as to his comment,"It’s nearly impossible for Microsoft or anyone to test such critical software when it’s used by millions with millions of different configurations."
While it is certainly true, Microsoft should have broadened the beta testing audience. Had they done that, perhaps they would have held off on a public release until better support was "plugged in".
This seems to be an alarming trend with MS though... In their eagerness to make more money and compete with Mac and OSX, we all know that Vista was a very painful experience for many of us, and continues to be to this day, even with sp1.
Thinking back, it seems MS has always been this way though. 95,98,2000,ME,XP. They have all been buggy in several aspects, and only get almost perfected when BAM, MS releases another OS, practically forcing all of us to shift over again.
One thing I would really like to see as an act of good faith, if you will, is to roll another service pack into Vista, allowing all versions an optional dual boot OS with Windows XP rolled in. I think that is the easiest band aid for Vista, and it sure as heck would be welcomed by people like...all of us?!!!
Take care all~Kr4ckc0d3
I upgraded 4 gateways and one compaq with no promlem just wish they had left the address bar on my tool bar it was missing after i upgraded to xp3 why???? I used it a lot it was easyer to use now i have open IE then type in web site address
I installed it on my Dell 4550 that I bought in Jan 2003 with a Pentium 4 2.0GHz, 400FSB, and upgraded the , memory, a better harddrive, and video card, and so far I have not had any problems. This computer has been a workhorse compared to my new Hp Pavilion with Vista. Can it be removed without causing any harmful problems?
My Computer is a custom built DAW system, and when the makers of the DAW software told me to wait for the download, I did. I installed it on my pc (2.4 Ghz Quad Core Zeon-4GB RAM) I have had no problems, and everything seems to run a bit smoother and faster! The only odd thing was, I had SP3, and then I had an update telling me to update my pc to SP3. (???) Anyway, a slow download of the SP3, but I can't say it was a bad update for me, and my pc.
I have a Compaq/HP Pressario SR1729UK Pentium Dual core 2.8 gig which was totally wrecked after downloading the 'critical update' Sp3 auto update, after a system restore it installed with no problems -on its own- with nothing else open. MS do state that it should only be installed after any other updates have been run, so why on earth did it try to install with a bunch of other updates in the first place??. I would now say it seems to have improved browsing considerably, and generally appears to be 'cleaner'. That is with IE7 upgrade from IE6. On balance I would say it was worth doing but I'd go with a 14 day wait before installing this type of update in future.
I have a HP media center 2005 desktop with an AMD chip. Why doesnt microsoft ever think before they release there garbage to us all ??? The reason I was having issues with the restart crashing was because of one very little thing that they should have know about. Its all about registry item that has to do with Intel chips. I guess microsoft thinks that everyone has Intel chips.... They are the worst and I Will not ever upgrade to Vista!! For everyone that has a HP AMD chip just go to the HP website and You will be able to solve this one item that the great microsoft company could not have included with this update!! Good Luck to all my AMD CHIP Friends out there!
The infinite boot problem was not isolated to AMD chips, or commercial systems (HP, Dell, etc.). I build custom systems and my own system fell into this loop with the beta SP3. I've since installed the current SP3 release candidate and had no problems. I've seen no increase in speed nor decrease in speed.
But I agree MS should do a better job of testing these updates before releasing them to the public. My system is nothing fancy.
Heck I installed SP3 and upon reboot I got the little keys icon with a message that said that the configuration has changed greatly since first activation you must register to activate this copy.
It said I had 30 days, I clicked on the icon, but the window opens to a blank white page, freezes and nothing else happens!
Not only that, but NOTHING has changed RE my hardware except I added an Ethernet to USB connector for my cable broadband! I've been running this same installation for almost 5 years with no problems! I do not have time for a reinstall at this time either!
I'm a computer tech, and I've been installing SP3 on all PCs that come into the shop for repair (it's SOP in our shop to install all Windows updates, and SP3 is now pretty much the only way to get most of them). I have yet to run into a situation where the system does not reboot correctly. However, I have had a number of computers where after installing SP3 and then the upgrade to MSIE 7, the computer refuses to install any other updates. They all immediately fail. The solution is to go to start / control panel / add or remove programs, and uninstall SP3 - it's on the list. Then reinstall SP3. The reinstallation has fixed the problem every time I've done it... so far, anyway.
i have no trouble at all in fact its better i get better download speed now
I guess I should be happy SP3 did not fully load on my computer. I was in here doing a search on why it gave an error message when installing. It said "access denied" whatever that meant. So it did an uninstall by itself. I guess I'll know more when I restart. It took forever to get used to XP, now I am learning Vista on my laptop, is only ok. BUT, what the heck was wrong with a very stable WIN98 or even the last release of WIN95C it was the best! Phooey!
I say to heck with windows and go Ubuntu
Had no problems installing or using sp3 on a home built system w/ xp pro.
if you "lost" your address bar look in view toolbars and turn it back on. if menu bar is off look in tools toolbars and turn it back on.
gigabyte mobo
amd processor
xp pro
sp3
ie8
Sounds like XP3 is Vista in sheeps clothing
i have several machines running SP3, have run it all thru the beta stage as well. the only thing that i noticed is that when you remove SP3 RC (as recommended by ms) programs installed after the original installation might not work. Thankfully, the uninstall lists what they might be. otherwise all is fine.
as far as taking a while to dwnld, its a 500+mb file...so needless to say, go get yourself a coffee.
i think a lot of users expect these SP's to work for every configuration out there...but regretfully they don't. i feel sorry for the guys that had there machines trashed, but as any IT guy would say...WHERE IS YOUR BACKUP?
I had a lot of trouble when I installed XP SP3. I contacted my virus preventor and after a while I was told to download my anti virus to my desk top. Then uninstall it making sure to not tick the "keep settings" tab.When I had done this I then reinstalled my anti virus from my desk top and it was fine.
After eading your comments I am glad to have failed to download SP3 after 3 tries. I think i will shift to LINUX if XP gets too troublesome. I was running W95 with an Intal Pentium 166mmx (I believe) using a 56k modem many upgrades ago. It easily beats my present £300 tower with a processor about 20 times faster and broadband. Pages do seem to load more quckly now but I could have 12 or netscapes running ok compared to about 6 IE now b4 things slow & sieze Computers despite continuous technological improvement are disapointing energy-gobblers.
HP Machine with P4 HT and no problems at all. I quite like SP3 i notice a great boost in speed from the internet to applications.
upgradd my acer7003 with sp3 for xp no problem at all running amdsempron
I really don't remember if I installed SP3. I don't remember any extra long downloads or installs, but if I didn't, I won't now.
However, if I didn't, where have my recent problems come from? Specifically, I no longer have the ability to drag-and-drop anything; no icons, even within the internet, no files, nothing. I even had some technician from Firedog come out to the house (to hook up my wireless printer), and he was unable to find the problem. I also had one incidence of the computer taking an extraordinarily long time to boot up (about an hour) XP. After booting, the programs were extremely sluggish as well. However, after a restart (which likewise took a long time to shut down), it rebooted normally, and everything worked fine after that.
Anybody got any ideas?? They would be sorely appreciated. Thanks.
Man... a lot of people telling me SP3 isn't what I want for now........ I just built my 4th machine in January..... XP Home OEM installed.....from TigerDirect..........XFX XFX Nforce 680i LT1 with 2.40 ghz Intel Core2 Quad Q6600..2 gb ram.... runs great...... I installed SP3 about a month ago and had no evident adverse effects...... I have Microsoft Automatic Update set to ON....after reading your blog and the info on the PC Pitstop newsletter about SP3 and it's HP/ AMD demons I tried today to update the latest May Malicious Removal Tool update.... the update window froze... tried 3 times but no joy..... I just now removed SP3 and after re-boot, I tried to update again, and all went well.....all comments about SP3 and it's drawbacks are well-founded. It would appear to affect more than just the HP/AMD combo...........
do not install XP service pack3 .
I have 2 acer machines and I installed (veriton 3600g 2.6ghz) and it continually rebooted ( crashing in other words ).I thought i did something wrong but i checked out other expert reviews and they agree.DO NOT INSTALL>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>XP 3......
YET>>>>WAIT..... IF U DO UPDATES such as critical you will be fine...
I lost all my settings as i could not repair it with any program if u got docs,emails and want to be a loser.Install xp3 then you will have to reload your whole system...printer drivers and the like....
I have a Dell 2350,p4 2,2 512 mb ram, bought in 2003, my hard drive recentely failed..i installed a new hard drive and XP from original disk,SP3 came with all the updates, download didnt seem too long,i havent had any problems,or improvements
I have to agree with the most recent posters. Do NOT Install SP3 at this time, wait 2-3 weeks until MS gets things figured out.
As I stated earlier, it would appear that MS used all of us as "unwitting & unknowing" Beta testers. IMO, this is unacceptable and MS should punitively punished this time. They over stepped their bounds with the early release on Vista, and now they have thrown us to the wolves with XP's SP3.
I am curious to know, how many of you all would appreciate MS throwing in support for dual boot Vista w/ XP included, as a gesture of good faith?
Take care all~Kr4ckc0d3
i don't understand what the big deal is. I have installed SP3 on many machines (10+) all with different configurations - and some with AMD processors (including this one that I am typing this from). I have had no problems what-so-ever. Although I haven't seen any noticeable performance increases, I haven't seen any decreases either.
IMHO, the only thing MicroSuck cares about is selling more Vista copies by screwing up XP even more! I have a $900 Full tower (just in parts), 550W SLI power,2GB DDR2, Sata raid. Running XP Pro SP2 and after reading this, I'm shutting off auto updates permanently. Have Ubuntu 7.10 dual booted and it ran pretty much right out of the "box", it detected my linksys drivers automatically and had internet almost imediately. Ubuntu, even with all the pretty visual effects turned on, still used less proccesor than XP on the "ol school" theme.
Hi
As an It professional working for Educational System in Puerto Rico, I installed SP-3 in about 50 PCs and Laptops by now. A few schools labs. with Dell machines, Administrative HP Desktop and laptop machines. All of then are running smooth and without problems. I only have an IBM Netvista P-IV/512 ram who was killed running the update, i think it was a hardware issue.
My first SP-3 download was from a Spanish Site, all of the machines i tried to install reject it due a language error only corrected untill i downloaded the english version.
Installed SP3 on my old CISNET with an AMD Athlon 1.8 Gig processor. The normal download wouldn't install so I used the redistributable package. Worked without a hitch. It even fixed a boot up problem I had (Icons took a long time to appear.
Hey guys,
Looks like a mixed bag. You can put me down for 5 systems with no problems, including an XPS 1st Gen laptop, XPS Gen 3 desktop, a homemade Antec Quad 2.4ghz, Dell 2400, Dell Vostro 1700.
Ugly....ever since download of sp3 i'm having trouble uploading to my websites!
Hi, recently I work with a computer laboratoy with gateway computers in a school. when I install the SPck3 for all computers aparently that all be all right, but then after restart run very good, in a few minutes later, many pc not project image in the monitor. After restart show the logo of windows xp booting, but nothing in the monitor aparently that the pc is on and the monitor is on and not project nothing. Otherwise others computers of the laboratory going well. This problem coming in one of the pc and in a few hours later the same problems ocurrs in others pc. I don't know what hapen because in many moments the pc work great and then the monitor aparently that go off but it still on. This problems is with the computer I think that the spck3 have conflict with the video drivers. Maybe the spck3 upgrade or change the video driver. I decide to uninstall spck3 booting the pc in safe mode and then the pc run great. If have any sugestions please let us know to resolve the problem. Thank's.
Installed on 3 machines with no problems. 1) IBM Thinkpad T31 768 MB RAM, 1.6GHz P4 proc, 2) custom built Athlon 2000+ Jetway mobo w/ 1 GB RAM, and 3) Alienware Athlon 64-X2 4400+ w/ 3GB RAM.
I have to thank MS for job security. Once this service pack is part of an auto update I may be getting calls from my friends asking to fix their machines. Bucks in my pocket.
Why does anybody bother with XP or vista?
I have two computers with 98se on them and they r both faster and more secure than the two computers with xp & vista on them.
The only reason I do not wipe out xp on these two xp machines is that as I have software that will not install on 98se, such as Acrobat.
All my computers are now dual boot with Linux so eventually I will give up overbloated windows, I will however keep the 98se.
I'm with you about Windows 98. Microsoft couldn't leave a good thing alone. I've been using XP Pro but I am not going anywhere near SP3. I'm sorry, but i simply don't believe that a technology company like Microsoft would release such a bug-filled piece of garbage without it being intentional for some reason. So for me, this has been the final straw and I am going Mac by the end of the year.
I have all my clients installed with SP3, most of them crashes with the gdi32.dll error and those not crashes, they were unable to drag and drop items on their desktop. Any thknkers ?
well i have sp3 in xp with no trouble but the software update #3 from mirosoft upset settings which a pain to fix this mess.
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