XP SP3 CD Now Available

Ex_Brit

Ex_Brit

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Is this simply a CD containing SP3 or do you get a slipstreamed XP SP3 CD from them under your pre-exisiting license?
 
Looks just like a XP SP3 CD. Just like hte SP2 CD that had done. Not a XP with SP3 slipatreamed. I got one of those from MSDN already. I should say i got a XP with SP3 already slipstreamed from MSDN already. I got the ISO for SP3 downloaded and used for a whiel now.
 
Just another way for Microsoft to make some money then... Got SP3 working flawlessly already anyway. Not that I could order it anyway. I get a error page when selecting continue after selecting U.S. :frowning:
 
It's only SP3. There are people who like to get it physically and have slow connections so don't want to download large files.
 
Thanks for that Peter, I'll hang on in the hope of a magazine freebie for a while!

I take it that the designation "Windows XP Professional SP3 English Patch CD Pro/Home" means it will work with XP Home edition?

There seems to be conflicting views on whether you can update XP SP1 directly to SP3, as I believe should be the case, without needing to go via SP2.

What do you recon?
 
I dual boot the Home version along with Vista Home Premium here. SP3 went right on without a problem. With the new service pach out they simply ship any new disks out with SP3 already included like seen following the release of SP2.
 
If only they still had the integrate switch for sp3...

It almost seems as if they want to make it harder for us who already have copies of XP and don't want to go buy new discs.
 
The idea there is while XP is still available to now sell copies with SP3 included while halting all SP2 copies. When you have to go out and buy a new copy of XP to run on a new machine like those reverting back from Vista seeing SP3 already included simplifies things. Sooner or later XP with SP3 will likely be the requirement for many things like it is seen with SP2 at the present time.
 
Ex_Brit said:
You should be able to upgrade directly and yes it's OK for Home. I think the doubts originally expressed were to do with XP Gold (no SP) and Media Editions, but I think that's all been taken care of.

We did a thread over at McAfee with lots of helpful links regarding SP3: http://community.mcafee.com/showthread.php?t=220807
Click to expand...

Thanks for that Peter,
My reason for wanting to upgrade to SP3 is that I have problems with my OS since trying to remove a Trojan.
A Deckards scan has revealed that I now have two bad sectors on my E drive, and IE7 keeps randomly crashing the system.
Since my OS is an OEM supplied one, I did a factory re-set, hoping to escape from the problem, before I was aware of the HD fault, and this took me back to XP SP1 -November 2003, when I purchased the machine!
I installed SP2 from a Microsoft disc (Courtesy of PC Advisor), but the real gut buster was the 20 hours I spent coaxing my machine to accept the 98 updates that had followed SP2, all to no avail, since I still have the problem!
Now that I'm aware of the bad sectors, I've run "scandisk/r", which I understand marks the bad sectors so that the machine does not try to write to them, but of course, that will not restore what ever has been previously written to these areas, ergo the continuance of the problem.
My simple logic says, now that the "traffic cones" have been placed round these "potholes", another attempt at a factory re-set may be successful.
Hence I wanted to try another re-set with this failing drive, but couldn't face installing all those updates again!
Since I'm not 100% certain whether my woes are caused by the above, or if there is still something nasty lurking in a dark corner of my machine, I was not confident that downloading SP3 and burning it to disk, would not incorporate something "extra", I was loathe to do that.
As I help out at a computer literacy class, I managed to blag a copy of the recently released "Network edition" today from the school's computer engineers, and was hoping to do a re-set this week, but booting my machine today, I got a BSOD, and that has rather panicked me!
What would you advise??
 
Hi six-h,

If you upload a zipped copy of the latest file in C:\Windows\minidump\ I can tell you what caused your BSOD.
 
I'm not familar with a Deckards scan. I suggest that you either use the fre version of this tool to check for any trojan remnants: http://www.superantispyware.com/superantispywarefreevspro.html
or...download Hijackthis and post its log on one of the following forums for expert assistance:

Do not post the log here, we can't help!

DOWNLOAD HIJACKTHIS

Post the logs at a specialist Forum:

AUMHA FORUM

BLEEPING COMPUTER FORUM

GEEKS TO GO FORUM

MAJOR GEEKS FORUM

MALWARE REMOVAL FORUM

SPYWARE INFO FORUM

TECH SUPPORT GUY FORUM

WHAT THE TECH FORUM (Formerly Tom Coyote)

Be sure to read all the sticky announcements/instructions at the top of each malware forum!

Because you had a trojan doesn't necessarily mean that your hard drive is shot.
 
My bad....you may have to go to Tools/Folder Options/View and enable viewing of hidden files and folders.
 
Thanks Peter,
I've been to the Malware Forum, Malwareteks, A squared and from there, to "Shadowputerdude's" own site over the period from mid Jan to the present, and the consensus seems to be that my machine seems to be clean, but, I have a software conflict, or the Hard Drive is failing.
It seems to be coincidental that after all the poking and prodding my hard drive should be found to be faulty, - I don't like coincidence, - it's too much of a coincidence...:smile:
Hence my unsuccessful attempt at a factory re-set.
Today's BSOD has pushed me towards the wisdom of replacing the Hard Drive though!!

Addendum:

Peter,
Already selected "Show hidden flies & folders"
Are "Minidumps" stored inside yet another level of folder??
 
Last edited:
Go to system properties -> startup and recovery -> settings

Make sure the path there is %systemroot%\minidump\

(see the screenshot for an example)
 

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OK Mahmoud, I've got that screen, but I can't do anything with it, clicking "OK" just closes it.
What do I do??
 
Mine says "%systemroot%\minidump" differs from yours by not ending in a back slash, or am I being too pedantic :wink:
six-h
 
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