WINDOWS XP Service Pack 3

Submitted by Camilla Barlow on Thu, 12/06/2008 - 18:00.

 The growing list of XP SP3-related glitches being encountered by users should give pause to anyone thinking of downloading and installing the update.
if you've kept XP patched from week to week, there's presently no clear advantage to implementing the operating system latest service pack, though you'll want to do so eventually.

When should you install XP Service Pack 3?
Since its initial release a little over a month ago, XP Service Pack 3 has been plagued with reports of problems among early adopters. Considering that the service pack's most important enhancements relate to computers on corporate networks, you may be wondering whether you need XP SP3 at all.

It comes down to a question of support. Microsoft supports each service pack for two years following the release of its successor. Thus in the spring of 2010, XP SP3 will be the only XP service pack that Microsoft will support. In addition, Microsoft has stated it will offer free support for those facing XP SP3 installation issues through April 2009. If you have already installed XP SP3 and haven't experienced any problems or any other service-pack glitch, you don't need to remove SP3.

However, if you haven't yet installed XP SP3, hold off. There are known problems with computers related to AMD processors, Norton Antivirus System Protect and some have been reported with Office 2000 and Explorer 7.

Instead, scroll down the Windows Update page each Patch Watch Tuesday and choose to install updates that do not include XP SP3.

Bottom line: if you've installed XP SP3 and your PC is working fine, leave it alone. However, if you suspect SP3 has caused your system to act up, remove it via XP's Add or Remove Programs applet. Finally, if you haven't installed SP3, it's perfectly okay to wait until all the wrinkles are ironed out.

Just remember, there's no rush to deploy this service pack.
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