Windows XP Service Pack 3 FAQ
Q: What is Service Pack 3?
A:
Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) is the final Windows XP service pack, a
collection of previously-released fixes and product enhancements, as
well as a few new features that are unique to this release.
Q: Does SP3 include everything from SP1 and SP2 or do I need to install those first?
A:
Though XP SP3 aggregates all of the previously-released XP fixes,
Microsoft now says that you will need to install at least SP1 on XP
before installing SP3. The company recommends installing SP2 first as
well, though that is not required.
Q: What versions of Windows XP will work with SP3?
A:
You can apply Service Pack 3 to Windows XP Home Edition, Professional
Edition, Tablet PC Edition (any version), or Media Center Edition (any
version).
Q: What about Windows XP Professional x64 Edition?
A:
SP3 does not apply to the x64 version of Windows XP. Instead, that
operating system is updated via service packs aimed at Windows Server
2003. The latest Windows 2003 service pack is SP2.
Q: Windows XP SP2 was released over three years ago. Why the delay on SP3?
A:
While Microsoft is an enormous company with over 77,000 employees
worldwide and over $50 billion in annual revenues, its organizational
structure actually constrains which products are actively developed in
some cases. For example, while a large team of developers, product
managers, and program managers are involved during the ramp-up to any
major OS release, Microsoft then pushes the product into its support
organization for follow-up development in the form of hot-fixes, service
packs, and so on. Other teams work on out-of-band updates that are
typically shipped via the Web and, eventually, a new or existing team is
constituted to work on the next major release and the entire process
begins anew.
With Windows XP, however, Microsoft was forced to
temporarily halt development on XP's successor, Windows Vista, in order
to complete XP SP2. That's because this release, though provided to
customers for free as a typical service pack, was in fact a major OS
upgrade and was developed outside of the company's support structure, a
first for any service pack release. After XP SP2 was completed, the
people involved with that project moved onto other things, typically
Vista or Windows Server 2008.
In the case of Windows XP SP3,
Microsoft simply dedicated every available employee it could to
completing Windows Vista, which by that time was years behind schedule.
So it's only been since the beginning of this year that anyone turned
their attention back to XP's next and neglected service pack.
Q: What are these new features I keep hearing about?
A:
Windows XP Service Pack 3 will not include any major new features, but
it will include four minor new features that improve the system's
reliability and security. Contrary to reports, Microsoft has been very
up-front about these functional additions for quite some time now.
These new features include:
Network Access Protection compatibility. Announced
years ago, this feature allows Windows XP machines to interact with the
NAP feature in Windows Server 2008. This functionality is built into
the RTM version of Windows Vista as well.
Product Key-less install option. As with Windows Vista, new XP with SP3 installs can proceed without entering a product key during Setup.
Kernel Mode Cryptographics Module. A new kernel module that "encapsulates several different cryptographic algorithms," according to Microsoft.
"Black hole" router detection algorithm. XP
gains the ability to ignore network routers that incorrectly drop
certain kinds of network packets. This, too, is a feature of Windows
Vista.
And that's about it. Nothing dramatic, as promised.
Q: That's it? Is there anything else?
Nothing major. Some features have actually been removed, like the taskbar-based Address Bar option.
Q: Why is Microsoft even bothering to release this update? Isn't everyone moving to Windows Vista?
A:
Given the relative security, stability, and reliability of XP with SP2,
and the subsequent release of Vista, XP SP3 may seem like a pointless
update, but nothing could be further from the truth. Many businesses
will roll out new XP-based PCs in the coming years, and as anyone who's
had to update an XP SP2 system can tell you, the 100+ updates that
Microsoft has shipped since SP2 can be a nightmare to deploy. If you're
already running XP and have been regularly updating your systems all
along, the release of XP SP3 will be a minor event. But if you have
planned XP deployments in the future, look very carefully at this
release and consider it the baseline for your next generation of PCs.
Or, you could always consider Vista, which will of course be updated
with genuine new features far longer than will XP.
Q: When will Microsoft ship XP SP3?
A: Microsoft finalized Windows XP Service Pack 3 on April 21, 2008 and released it publicly to the Web on April 29, 2008.
Here's the complete Windows XP SP3 release schedule:
RTM (release to manufacturing): April 21
Windows Update (optional update): April 29
Microsoft Download Center: April 29
MSDN/TechNet download: May 2
Q: Is it possible to slipstream or integrate SP3 with Windows XP?
A: Yes! A complete Windows XP Service Pack 3 Slipstreaming Guide is now available here:
Direct links from MS:
* Arabic
* Chinese (Hong Kong)
* Chinese (Simplified)
Code:
http://download.windowsupdate.com/msdownload/update/software/svpk/2008/04/windowsxp-kb936929-sp3-x86-chs_D7067E86ABD4257454200D0C398D71C4CE6CD33E.exe
* Chinese (Traditional)
Code:
http://download.windowsupdate.com/msdownload/update/software/svpk/2008/04/windowsxp-kb936929-sp3-x86-cht_8a0625e10b8c6cb88d9d1952f1a189fbd761b744.exe
* Czech
Code:
http://download.windowsupdate.com/msdownload/update/software/svpk/2008/04/windowsxp-kb936929-sp3-x86-csy_7af606916b887dba9dd38ae282505ce2c2b81b08.exe
* Danish
Code:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/9/8/2/982c99b3-d968-4a5c-973e-12e97a38bbf9/WindowsXP-KB936929-SP3-x86-DAN.exe
* Dutch
Code:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/e/a/1/ea15b9ae-f5d4-4971-8d31-22ce257ed30a/WindowsXP-KB936929-SP3-x86-NLD.exe
* English
Code:
http://download.windowsupdate.com/msdownload/update/software/svpk/2008/04/windowsxp-kb936929-sp3-x86-enu_c81472f7eeea2eca421e116cd4c03e2300ebfde4.exe
* Finnish
Code:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/4/7/4/474e6c1a-fd6d-464e-bf50-65e928fd2d1b/WindowsXP-KB936929-SP3-x86-FIN.exe
* French
Code:
http://download.windowsupdate.com/msdownload/update/software/svpk/2008/04/windowsxp-kb936929-sp3-x86-fra_414B61BBC86E09579D8447BAA23EB1B867F9CA93.exe
* German
Code:
http://www.download.windowsupdate.com/msdownload/update/software/svpk/2008/04/windowsxp-kb936929-sp3-x86-deu_f2dcd2211384a78df215c696a7fd1a7949dc794b.exe
* Greek
Code:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/8/c/1/8c150467-65a8-4384-9639-3b7da8d946d8/WindowsXP-KB936929-SP3-x86-ELL.exe
* Hebrew
Code:
http://download.windowsupdate.com/msdownload/update/software/svpk/2008/04/windowsxp-kb936929-sp3-x86-heb_eb8fc9ff0890279346661dde065c14b5c696e423.exe
* Hungarian
Code:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/0/7/7/077a5aa5-07d6-41a1-bed5-680f84898439/WindowsXP-KB936929-SP3-x86-HUN.exe
* Italian
Code:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/9/4/d/94d3f80a-2c0d-4ce1-a983-52f946b62c78/WindowsXP-KB936929-SP3-x86-ITA.exe
* Japanese
Code:
http://www.download.windowsupdate.com/msdownload/update/software/svpk/2008/04/windowsxp-kb936929-sp3-x86-jpn_e0fc34cfa52d270b3c79a68af8fa358244f7419e.exe
* Korean
Code:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/7/9/a/79aaf123-878f-4945-933c-7b13c64576ab/WindowsXP-KB936929-SP3-x86-KOR.exe
* Norwegian (Bokmål)
Code:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/7/f/6/7f6b9393-ebba-4837-a765-e6efbbf921d1/WindowsXP-KB936929-SP3-x86-NOR.exe
* Polish
Code:
http://www.download.windowsupdate.com/msdownload/update/software/svpk/2008/04/windowsxp-kb936929-sp3-x86-plk_7CBE718131E9C71B322F1149E86BEDBA351BA11C.exe
* Portuguese (Brazil)
Code:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/d/c/c/dccd3e5b-aef9-4f61-bfc4-d973396282aa/WindowsXP-KB936929-SP3-x86-PTB.exe
* Portuguese (Portugal)
Code:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/b/6/3/b633eaca-8fc7-4471-a459-577df014c99f/WindowsXP-KB936929-SP3-x86-PTG.exe
* Russian
Code:
http://download.windowsupdate.com/msdownload/update/software/svpk/2008/04/windowsxp-kb936929-sp3-x86-rus_850cda9f57033a17d046a56d422547ea80dcaf61.exe
* Spanish
Code:
http://download.windowsupdate.com/msdownload/update/software/svpk/2008/04/WINDOWSXP-KB936929-SP3-X86-ESN_E305BECFC6FD5A8199368CEFFC496397247AC60F.exe
* Sweedish
Code:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/8/4/d/84d118c8-e8be-4c40-adc7-10a9b8159a0f/WindowsXP-KB936929-SP3-x86-SVE.exe
* Turkish
Code:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/4/7/9/4797a8f7-bf89-45ae-ad3d-900d0714096e/WindowsXP-KB936929-SP3-x86-TRK.exe
There
is also ISO-9660 CD image files for users who wish to create an update
CD for Windows XP Service Pack 3, for example for offline installation
by administrators.
* Arabic
Code:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/2/b/4/2b457e9a-441f-4d4f-a181-5fa38f35c977/xpsp3_5512.080413-2113_ara_x86fre_spcd.iso
* Chinese (Hong Kong)
Code:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/0/4/8/048765b4-90ca-4528-b749-df75d4a15667/xpsp3_5512.080413-2113_chh_x86fre_spcd.iso
* Chinese (Simplified)
Code:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/3/7/b/37b6b7c6-9c9b-42f8-b006-9338060ffdbd/xpsp3_5512.080413-2113_chs_x86fre_spcd.iso
* Chinese (Traditional)
Code:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/2/4/5/24532e7c-59e8-45c6-9217-bf54be0ed492/xpsp3_5512.080413-2113_cht_x86fre_spcd.iso
* Czech
Code:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/c/d/4/cd46db1e-2814-4079-8c5c-c5535e92c251/xpsp3_5512.080413-2113_cs_x86fre_spcd.iso
* Danish
Code:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/a/1/2/a1267b1f-e984-4d7e-9367-7d1a7aea08b1/xpsp3_5512.080413-2113_da_x86fre_spcd.iso
* Dutch
Code:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/b/1/9/b199630c-2be7-4307-8629-bb3f1b565e61/xpsp3_5512.080413-2113_nl_x86fre_spcd.iso
* English
Code:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/e/e/9/ee9d0116-c9fe-4fc2-b59c-406cbfb6d515/xpsp3_5512.080413-2113_usa_x86fre_spcd.iso
* Finnish
Code:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/8/b/e/8bed474e-4762-4729-91d9-04f401ffdcb2/xpsp3_5512.080413-2113_fi_x86fre_spcd.iso
* French
Code:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/c/e/5ce72557-7fe4-4340-ad07-c113fb5e6005/xpsp3_5512.080413-2113_fr_x86fre_spcd.iso
* German
Code:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/4/8/8/488b2ffc-8fdc-4204-b6d5-07fff1aa4463/xpsp3_5512.080413-2113_ger_x86fre_spcd.iso
* Greek
Code:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/3/1/0/3100063b-46a4-4877-8c2d-b6ddf5d3f4c8/xpsp3_5512.080413-2113_el_x86fre_spcd.iso
* Hebrew
Code:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/3/2/6/326478f3-eb30-443b-81fd-449278bbd7e9/xpsp3_5512.080413-2113_heb_x86fre_spcd.iso
* Hungarian
Code:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/3/0/8/308481f2-29f3-4ef7-92e4-cb3385a2b47f/xpsp3_5512.080413-2113_hu_x86fre_spcd.iso
* Italian
Code:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/d/c/2/dc2c639b-d225-40f8-a99c-16168cf3b5c9/xpsp3_5512.080413-2113_it_x86fre_spcd.iso
* Japanese
Code:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/b/e/5/be52fbd2-4fa6-482b-bdb7-29969e827beb/xpsp3_5512.080413-2113_jpn_x86fre_spcd.iso
* Korean
Code:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/c/3/7/c375a72d-b83a-40f4-82c6-da3f1499ddeb/xpsp3_5512.080413-2113_kor_x86fre_spcd.iso
* Norwegian (Bokmål)
Code:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/9/b/8/9b82d727-9dc3-47f6-b05a-314457b2d78a/xpsp3_5512.080413-2113_no_x86fre_spcd.iso
* Polish
* Portuguese (Brazil)
* Portuguese (Portugal)
Code:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/1/d/e/1de65db8-e17b-490b-a1a8-689391f62254/xpsp3_5512.080413-2113_pt_x86fre_spcd.iso
* Russian
* Spanish
Code:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/3/5/a/35a7d977-4d7f-4f52-8618-20618b1dc0fb/xpsp3_5512.080413-2113_es_x86fre_spcd.iso
* Sweedish
Code:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/4/3/8/438a923a-7a79-459b-9e8e-629082200f45/xpsp3_5512.080413-2113_sv_x86fre_spcd.iso
* Turkish
Code:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/9/c/b/9cb860ee-5fe7-42c7-9487-9cbb85a6edba/xpsp3_5512.080413-2113_tr_x86fre_spcd.iso
If you want more information try a google search, this is some of what I found from just one link:
Q: What are these new features I keep hearing about?
A:
Windows XP Service Pack 3 will not include any major new features, but
it will include four minor new features that improve the system’s
reliability and security. Contrary to reports, Microsoft has been very
up-front about these functional additions for quite some time now.
These new features include:
Network
Access Protection compatibility. Announced years ago, this feature
allows Windows XP machines to interact with the NAP feature in Windows
Server 2008. This functionality is built into the RTM version of Windows
Vista as well.
Product Key-less install option. As with Windows
Vista, new XP with SP3 installs can proceed without entering a product
key during Setup.
Kernel Mode Cryptographics Module. A new kernel
module that “encapsulates several different cryptographic algorithms,”
according to Microsoft.
“Black hole” router detection algorithm.
XP gains the ability to ignore network routers that incorrectly drop
certain kinds of network packets. This, too, is a feature of Windows
Vista.
And that’s about it. Nothing dramatic, as promised.
Q: That’s it? Is there anything else?
Nothing
else new. There are updated applications, which shipped long ago as
separate downloads, like Internet Explorer 7 and Windows Media Player
11. And there are even some features that have been removed, like the
taskbar-based Address Bar option.
From http://neosmart.net/blog/2007/window...ysis-included/
* New Windows Product Activation model: no need to enter product key during setup. Thank God for that!
*
Network Access Protection modules and policies have been brought to XP
after being one of the more-well-received features in Windows Vista. You
can read more about NAP here.
* New Microsoft Kernel Mode
Cryptographic Module - the Windows XP SP3 kernel now includes an entire
module that provides easy access to multiple cryptographic algorithms
and is available for use in kernel-mode drivers and services.
* New “Black Hole Router” detection - Windows XP SP3 can detect and protect against rogue routers that are discarding data.
Windows
XP SP3 is compatible with all versions of Windows x86, included
Embedded, Fundamentals, Start, Professional, Media Center, and Home
Editions.
Windows XP SP3 now contains 1,073 patches/hotfixes, not
including those in previous service packs. Of the 1,073 included
updates, 114 are for security-related issues. The remainder are updates
to performance & reliability, bugfixes, improvements to kernel-mode
driver modules, and many BSOD fixes.
Enjoy your new Windows install disk with Service Pack 3 integrated!
