Sp3

[wombil]

Hello All,I have just reinstalled XP home edition and have not done any updates.Question is,"Will I have to install sp2 or does sp3 cover it all"?
Maybe forget sp3 as I hear it stuffs somethings up and only install sp2.
Thanks,
wombil.

[Budfred]

SP3 contains important security updates that you need and there are other updates after that which will not install unless SP3 is there, so you do need to install it... A worm just infected thousands of unpatched computers and MS got to take credit for cleaning it up later (in some of them) while noting that they wouldn't have been infected if they were properly patched...

I haven't heard any complaints about SP3 for a while now -- like most MS updates, the problems get sorted out over time...

I am not sure if you need to do SP2 separately... I think you can just go straight to SP3 or simply let MS update until it is all done... If you are doing it manually, I would start with SP2 and add SP3 just because they are both big updates...

[yawningdog]

Many of my clients experienced printer crashes after installing SP3, and my GF had to restore back to SP2 because SP3 crashed her machine. I'm not saying SP3 is necessarily bad, but I would advise anyone considering installing it to have a fresh restore point. Yes, you can install SP3 without having to install SP2 first.

[wombil]

Thanks Guys,
think I,ll just let ms do it and see how it goes.

[mjc]

One way to mitigate the 'damage' is have been doing all the incremental updates in between SP2 and SP3.

Usually, the problems stem, not so much, from SP3 itself, but rather from a driver or other third party software update that was missed because the actual XP update that created the problem in the first place was also missed, so the patch to fix the problem was never applied. Unfortunately with a roll-up update like a SP, it is much harder to pinpoint the exact 'update' that caused the problem and apply the correct patch, especially if the problem ends up with XP not starting.

This, discounts 'idiot' type problems with the SP, specifically those caused by HP/Compaq. They used the same 'universal' image for both Intel and AMD installs of XP, hence all the drivers for both were loading. Many of those drivers were not needed and when the SP3 installer ran, it only updated the needed drivers, which basically caused the install to fall apart...

[Paul Komski]

Steps to take (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/950717) before you install Windows XP Service Pack 3

Despite that I couldn't install due Access is Denied (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/949377) messages. I had to download the fix in the Advanced Troubleshooting section that rewrites all the registry permissions before it would "take". Nearly a full day's work for the whole darn thing (largely because one had to nearly complete the install before the failure message) - and every other update had been done prior to SP3.

[wombil]

Thanks Guys,
got it sorted out ok.found in microsoft troubleshooting that xp repair or full reinstalls leave out a file needed for installation,namely;
regsvr32 %windir%\system 32 \wups 2.dll