According to Microsoft, Service Pack 3 (SP3) will the be last service pack for Windows XP. This is part of the transition to Vista. In fact, a few of the new features in SP3 are also in Vista. While I hate to see the slow progression from XP to Vista, it is about time MS released another SP. It has been about 3 years since SP2 was released.
Why would I want SP3?
For starters, SP3 includes all of the patches and updates since SP1. Therefore, you can now install all of those updates via a single patch. Recently I completely wiped my computer and reinstalled Windows XP SP2 and Ubuntu Hardy Heron 8.04, and there were over 100 updates for Windows. These 100+ updates take a while to download and install, even on fast internet, and even take several restarts to finish.
If you are not going to upgrade to Vista, you should look into slipstreaming your Windows XP install cd with SP3. Basically, this allows you to add SP3 to your current XP install cd. This way, from now on when you install Windows, SP3 will be included.
Is there anything new in SP3?
Yes, and no. There are some new minor “features” in SP3 but nothing major. The main reason for the SP is to combine all the previous updates and patches.
A couple of the minor features are in networking, including Network Access Protection compatibility and “Black Hole” router detection algorithm. The NAP compatibility feature allows Windows XP machines to interact with the NAP feature in Windows Server 2008. This functionality is also available in Windows Vista. The latter feature allows XP to ignore certain network routers which drop packets incorrectly. This is also available in Windows Vista.
Another much needed feature is Product Key-less install option. From now on, all SP3 installs will NOT require the user to enter a product key during setup. This feature is implemented into Vista as well.
What versions of Windows does SP3 work with?
SP3 will work with all versions of Windows XP: Home, Professional, Tablet, and Media Center. SP3 does NOT apply to Windows XP Professions x64.
Loading ...When can I get SP3?
April 21, 2008: Microsoft completed XP SP3
April 29, 2008: SP3 released to the public. Supposedly, MS released SP3 to Windows Update as an optional update; however, I have not seen this in my Windows Update.
April 29, 2008: SP3 available for download at Microsoft Download Center
May 2, 2008: SP3 available for download at MSDN/TechNet
May 19, 2008: Windows XP SP3 fulfillment media (CD-based)
June 10, 2008: SP3 available from Windows Update/Automatic Updates
So, where can I download SP3?
I have searched the web and had a little trouble finding places to download SP3, since it was technically still a Release Candidate (RC). This just means that is still in beta testing to make sure there are no unforeseen problems. However, now SP3 is officially released (even on MS download center) so you should have no problems installing it on your own system.
Anyways, enough blabbering. Here are the download links.
Softarepatch.com - RECOMMENDED- I used it to download SP2
Microsoft Download Center
For much more information on SP3, be sure to check out the Paul Thurrott’s SuperSite for Windows.
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Written by Eric
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