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OK so what do I do with this .exe file? Do I install it?
Wait. The offical release need patching.

if you downloaded a .exe file you just double click on it. but, do not use the rtm file. XP SP3 is not ready for the public yet.

there are a few bugs in it. that is why it is delayed to the public. what you downloaded is a leaked version of the XP SP3 RTM, and it was released to the manufactures. but there are bugs in it. just like the vista service pack that was released to the public, it had problems with the drivers not being compatible.

that is the same problem now with the rtm.

if you decide to install it, do at your own risk. the official release is not expected til the end of may or the middle of june. that is when they expect to have the bugs worked out.

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God why can't MS make a program that works. This is starting to remind me of MS BOB or Windows ME.

OK so what do I do with this .exe file? Do I install it?
Wait. The offical release need patching.

if you downloaded a .exe file you just double click on it. but, do not use the rtm file. XP SP3 is not ready for the public yet.

there are a few bugs in it. that is why it is delayed to the public. what you downloaded is a leaked version of the XP SP3 RTM, and it was released to the manufactures. but there are bugs in it. just like the vista service pack that was released to the public, it had problems with the drivers not being compatible.

that is the same problem now with the rtm.

if you decide to install it, do at your own risk. the official release is not expected til the end of may or the middle of june. that is when they expect to have the bugs worked out.

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God why can't MS make a program that works. This is starting to remind me of MS BOB or Windows ME.
OK so what do I do with this .exe file? Do I install it?
Wait. The offical release need patching.

if you downloaded a .exe file you just double click on it. but, do not use the rtm file. XP SP3 is not ready for the public yet.

there are a few bugs in it. that is why it is delayed to the public. what you downloaded is a leaked version of the XP SP3 RTM, and it was released to the manufactures. but there are bugs in it. just like the vista service pack that was released to the public, it had problems with the drivers not being compatible.

that is the same problem now with the rtm.

if you decide to install it, do at your own risk. the official release is not expected til the end of may or the middle of june. that is when they expect to have the bugs worked out.

"God why can't MS make a program that works."

Because they're micro$oft. They don't have to. That's why.

People will buy it whether it works or not. Or they'll "share it". And in that case micro$soft won't let them activate it.

So people will find a crack on the web and activate it anyway. But then they won't be able to update it. So they'll run it wide open without any security.

And spread malware and other undesirable things every time they go online.

And they all lived happily ever after.

Or did they? :o

Edited by irregularjoe
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God why can't MS make a program that works. This is starting to remind me of MS BOB or Windows ME.

They are attempting to do so. Unfortunately , people jump the gun and the product is very complicated and takes time to perfect.

They have alpha and then beta releases, they test them extensively and then release them through technet and the Microsoft Software Developers Network to testers who hopefully will discover any conflicts with their products and notify microsoft and between the two either the software developer will fix the incompatability in their product or microsoft can work around it.

Finally they post Release Candidates, where they think they have solved all the problems they were alerted to , but know that there is still a chance that there are undiscovered problems. These are not intended for use by the average consumer or on primary computers, but by members of the testing community who have a spare computer they use for beta testing who are willing to risk it all and put things to the test.

Unfortunately, while SP3 was scheduled for release April 28, just before that date; they were alerted that there was a problem and they pulled the scheduled release. Hence the not quite ready for prime time version is still out there on the servers and those who jump the gun and try to download it will risk problems. While it is possible that they will release a patch for these people, it is more likely that they will just release a fixed SP3 and tell all beta testers and those who jumped the gun that they need to uninstall it and run system restore to get back to where they were before installing the bad version and then get the final version.

So in this case; unless there is a specific reason why you need it now; the best idea is to wait for SP3 to be officially released through automatic updates on windows update.

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That is what I was thinking. I just will sit and wait.

God why can't MS make a program that works. This is starting to remind me of MS BOB or Windows ME.

They are attempting to do so. Unfortunately , people jump the gun and the product is very complicated and takes time to perfect.

They have alpha and then beta releases, they test them extensively and then release them through technet and the Microsoft Software Developers Network to testers who hopefully will discover any conflicts with their products and notify microsoft and between the two either the software developer will fix the incompatability in their product or microsoft can work around it.

Finally they post Release Candidates, where they think they have solved all the problems they were alerted to , but know that there is still a chance that there are undiscovered problems. These are not intended for use by the average consumer or on primary computers, but by members of the testing community who have a spare computer they use for beta testing who are willing to risk it all and put things to the test.

Unfortunately, while SP3 was scheduled for release April 28, just before that date; they were alerted that there was a problem and they pulled the scheduled release. Hence the not quite ready for prime time version is still out there on the servers and those who jump the gun and try to download it will risk problems. While it is possible that they will release a patch for these people, it is more likely that they will just release a fixed SP3 and tell all beta testers and those who jumped the gun that they need to uninstall it and run system restore to get back to where they were before installing the bad version and then get the final version.

So in this case; unless there is a specific reason why you need it now; the best idea is to wait for SP3 to be officially released through automatic updates on windows update.

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I installed it for the first time today via Windows Update. I can't find a stand alone installer on the Microsoft Download site, I am not sure if it is available yet.

Yes there is a standalone at the link I mentioned earlier. There is even a CD ISO image, which is ~200MB larger than the standalone installer.

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Well, I just installed it without a hitch! Took about 30 minutes to install. After I got the re-activation screen ("due to hardware changes") I was a tad bit concerned, but I just used the internet activation and everything is working fine... so far!

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Slipstreamed it yesterday. Need to do my other copy today. I am not pleased with the SP3. It adds and removes a bunch of stuff that I had moved to propper places. Dam MS.

Well, I just installed it without a hitch! Took about 30 minutes to install. After I got the re-activation screen ("due to hardware changes") I was a tad bit concerned, but I just used the internet activation and everything is working fine... so far!
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Slipstreamed it yesterday. Need to do my other copy today. I am not pleased with the SP3. It adds and removes a bunch of stuff that I had moved to propper places. Dam MS.
Well, I just installed it without a hitch! Took about 30 minutes to install. After I got the re-activation screen ("due to hardware changes") I was a tad bit concerned, but I just used the internet activation and everything is working fine... so far!

I see it at the links posted, but I just checked two machines which had not been updated recently and went to windows update and did a custom. While both wanted to install a new WGA verification , neither shows SP3 at windows update yet.

So they must be releasing it regionally , one area at a time .

I think I will wait for it to show here on windows update .

Reboot after the update and it shows now.

Edited by Pete_C
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I found something interesting. Today I went to update a computer which only had service pack 1. I went to windows update, but it would only let me install sp2. I wonder why I was not just able to skip sp2 and just install sp3?

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I found something interesting. Today I went to update a computer which only had service pack 1. I went to windows update, but it would only let me install sp2. I wonder why I was not just able to skip sp2 and just install sp3?

Did you read the "You must have SP2 installed to get certain important updates"

I suspect that if you had SP3 full downloaded no problem; but that they want you updated to SP2 at a minimum to use Windows Update now that SP3 is out. No more support for unpatched systems, at least not without having to track things down.

Just fiinished two SP3 updates no real problems; although on one machine two cmd.exe windows opened and one said repeatedly ERROR: The Parameter Is Incorrect.

Research indicates this is probably related to either a printer driver date or a device with fixed IP on the network (NAS, Network Printer) or Mapped drive when the TCP/IP is set to obtain an IP automatically.

No big deal, everythign checks out. Second machine , I unmapped the mapped drive, turned off the NAS and printer and did not get that error.

Yep checking error logs it appears to be stuff related to print drivers for printers which are no longer installed but were shared over the network, and a folder which was previously shared over the network as a mapped drive.

Regarding the driver dates it is caused when a driver date is in binary instead of Reg sz

ALL The driver dates should be in this format:

eg: xx/xx/xxxx reg sz

and not

reg binary. eg: 00 10 00 01 11 01

If by some chance one of your drivers installed with a reg binary date , it causes the error of "The Parameter is Incorrect" when SP3 installs.

If the printer is uninstalled it leaves the data in the registry.

Normally updating your drivers prior to update to SP 3 will solve this but if you have some old hardware which used binary date it will pop up the error since you do not update that driver.

Edited by Pete_C
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Sure appreciate the discussion. When I saw SP3 show up ready to download, I assumed

it was okay but knew to check this wonderful board first.

I also read in an article today that SP3 was not going out until sometime in June to the people

who have their computers set to automatically download updates .

After reading the comments here, I'll wait until June for sure.

Thanks so much!

nancy

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No dont wait. Get it now. It is an update that you need. Dont be foolish and wait. Just because people are having issues installing it, it is just because of hardware. If you do it from the WU you will be fine. Mine went through just fine.

Sure appreciate the discussion. When I saw SP3 show up ready to download, I assumed

it was okay but knew to check this wonderful board first.

I also read in an article today that SP3 was not going out until sometime in June to the people

who have their computers set to automatically download updates .

After reading the comments here, I'll wait until June for sure.

Thanks so much!

nancy

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I just got a call back from a client with a machine I just reloaded with sp3. She said it was causing network problems and the computer to lock up, so she had to take it off. I can't verify the sp3 was the true cause of her problem, but thought I would relay it to you guys.

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Again I think that having an unpatched PC is the worse thing of all. I think that if leave it open, you could screwed. I installed the update since I built my PC and it is an AMD and I have had no problems at all. I think just some people need to watch how they patch things and also watch how their system is setup. I think that if you got the update from WU I think you would be fine. I again think the problems much like SP2 and SP1 are minor. I because if it was that bad and I mean that bad when it came out from the last time they had issues, they would have yanked it again. I just think again this stuff has been tested and that MS will fix the problems that are out there.

same here. When I clicked on the auto-update shield, it showed sp3 and then it just disappeared. I think I'll wait.
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