Windows xp SP2 will appear on windows update on the 25th of august... out now is the version released to beta testers and partners (same as coming to public the 25:th)...

> Good question. I don't know but it is possible.
> I want to do some reading before updating to SP2
> I think I have heard some bad comment about it.
>
>
> -.-. --.- -.. -..- . - .-.-. -.- --... ...--
>

I am waiting for SP2 patch to come out before downloading and installing it...

I am with Eugene - I won't be installing SP2 for some time - if ever - until I hear what kind of horror or success stories installing it causes. No doubt there will be patches to fix problems caused by installing SP2!

I am not going to be a guinea pig for M$ - I don't trust Mr Gates.

My PC is running fine as it is - "if it ain't broke - don't try and fix it".

M$ have already provided lists of may programs that either don't work or behave differently (including M$ programs!).

Installing SP1 was a nightmare for many - can't see SP2 being any different.

> I went to WindowsUpdate, looked around for SP2. Couldn't find it. I found
> where it wanted people to turn on automatic updates in order to get SP2, but I
> couldn't find SP2 itself. So I downloaded and installed all of the other
> updates I needed. Still not there. I checked MS's site main site and they say
> to enable automatic update to dowload it and that they are "preparing" the
> service pack for release. I feel kind of stupid asking this, but I'm not
> finding it on the MS sites, and since many of you say that you've installed
> it, it does exist somewhere. So, am I just missing it or is there a good
> reason I'm not finding it?
>
> Chris
>
>
As far as I know you can get the update by turning on automatic updates or requesting a CD only, at this time. I keep getting bombarded with a message to download SP2 by auto update but I refuse to do so. I'm not sure about how to get the CD yet. Oh, by the way, Microsoft decided that it will "give away" SP2 on CD and not charge users as they did with SP1. See my message #15660 in response to message #14857 for my reasons for not doing the update. One other thing, the size of the SP2 file download will depend greatly on how many updates you did prior to the release of SP2. I think the full file size is over 200 MB. My auto update tells me that the file will be as small as 75 MB. L8R....

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<p>Rick A. - BOINCing right along now....</p>

Oddly, my auto update hasn't mentioned a thing to me :)

> Oddly, my auto update hasn't mentioned a thing to me :)
>
>
You should feel very lucky! My auto update just keeps trying to shove it down my PCs databuss.

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<p>Rick A. - BOINCing right along now....</p>

I forgot to turn my auto update off and my pc Dl'ed it. It messed my system up so bad it kept restarting saying something like i had the wrong drivers for my vid card even tho there the updated drivers from the nvidia website. messed it up so bad I had to format and reinstall everything the funny thing is my other 2 pc's it works fine. so I dont know
[url=http://usa.duane-n-lisa.net]

I keep my Auto Update Stopped & Disable in the services.msc, I'm not Auto Updating anything on my Computer from Microsoft with out me knowing first hand just what is being updated. Anybody that Auto Updates is just asking for trouble...IMO

I am running with SP2 for more than one week now, it is available (a hefty download) on MSDN for developpers. So far, no problem of compatibility noticed and even if the benchmark kick on the first time you run Boinc with SP2 installed, the ID of your computer remain unchanged (like any other installation of patches before).
The installation via auto update is simply an easier way to deal with the installation of SP2 any way. Apparently M$ is taking some serious step to make your PC more secure, and some of those rely heavily on auto-update now... Note that auto-update can be configured to tailor almost every needs anyway, and it does not install any updates for instance if you do not want it to install it, it will however warn you that some updates are available... also it can be set to download (and not install) updates in the background (the way M$ wants to deal with the distribution of SP2, meaning that it will take longer to download (as you will not use your full bandwidth, and meaning that the bandwidth on M$ server will also be shared by more user at the same time)).
Notice also that new services are available with that SP2, more focused on security than before. I for one consider that this is a very good step for users of Windows XP, that is tailored to suit the needs of neophytes with their computers.
Of course, you can still not activate auto-update, but you will then have to wait until the sp2 itself is made available for download... later.

Ooops forgot to add...
1) Full download of SP2 for Profesional & Home versions of XP (SP1 or not) is 266 Mb.
2) Installation did not create any issues on my desktop.
3) However I had some problems on my laptop, but even without using system restore, I was able to go back to the install of SP1. (I did not try to troubleshoot the issue for the laptop...)

Bill Gate$ also wants to control your horizontal & vertical. Just like the US Government, they want to make you feel "secure." I wonder what kind of ingenious spyware is embedded in the 266Mb DL? Hmmm

Applications are now being accepted at the Ministry of Love and the Ministry of Peace. There will be no need to screen the applicants, they already know everything about you. Munchies for thought...

Oh, and one other thing, I pity the poor bastards who have to rely on dialup. Could you imagine having to call emergency services during the download, or an urgent incoming call getting a busy signal for 3 days (assuming that your phone line hasn't been disconnected for misuse).

The possibilities are endless....Everyone who loves to Format & Recover raise your hands.

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Account frozen...

Three computers out of four updated. Two went fine (One XP Home, one XP Prof) one with some quirks that might just predate the upgrade, but didn't show up, and one that failed so badly that after it had rolled itself back the machine barely knew what time of day it was, loaded at 640x480 video, and no network. It then insisted on reactivating itself (failed, because no network loaded) and then rebooting...

It seems that if your machine is in good order (no oddities in the registry, and only hardware drivers approved by MS) then SP2 may install OK. If there are any oddities about your set-up then SP2 can't cope and a re-install is the best option.

Moral: only do things Billy's way. He knows what's best for you.

Second Moral: Run Linux.


Giskard - the first telepathic robot.

Well, nice picture, but who wrote this f***ing nonsense text in german ???

> Ooops forgot to add...
> 1) Full download of SP2 for Profesional & Home versions of XP (SP1 or not)
> is 266 Mb.
> 2) Installation did not create any issues on my desktop.
> 3) However I had some problems on my laptop, but even without using system
> restore, I was able to go back to the install of SP1. (I did not try to
> troubleshoot the issue for the laptop...)
==========

Oooops you forgot to Add that the installation takes up 1 to 1.5 Gb's of your hard drive space also. I've had SP2 installed long before this latest release came out and the latest release also. I didn't see anything I needed that it installed and simply un-installed it.

Anybody that uses a good FireWall Protector & Anti Virus Program can skip having Bill Gates bloat their OS by 1 to 1.5 Gb's more.

Flaw Found in Windows XP SP2 (as of August 20, 2004, 5:06 PM)

Security firm Secunia has detailed a new flaw in Internet Explorer that affects users running Windows XP Service Pack 2. The vulnerability involves drag-and-drop, which can be used within a Web page to place a malicious program in the Windows startup folder.

Secunia has branded the issue "highly critical" and says it comes from "insufficient validation of drag and drop events issued from the 'Internet' zone." Users are advised to disable Active Scripting, or use a Web browser other than Internet Explorer.

Full article available here.

sad isn't it ;)

--J

Actually this "highly critical" flaw isn't really that big of news, in my opinion. Of course, everyone has their own opinion, but this "flaw" simply means that you can drag something from a webpage onto a local location on your computer, and it won't ask you first. The "malicious" part of this "flaw" is that a hacker could convince you to drag and drop something into your startup folder and your system wouldn't complain.

The "patch" for this will simply be an idiot window that says "warning: the file you are copying may contain malicious code. would you like to continue? Verify that this file is from a reputable source before proceeding."

There is a nice news article over at Broadband Reports about this with posts from others who share my opinion. I think that this is simply a company resorting to spotting tiny functionality things to try and gain publicity, or trying to win the race to find the first "vulnerability" in SP2 because it was advertised as such a big security update.

My oppinion is, that Internet Explorer could atleast check if the file being copied is executable and if so, then warn about it. Those "idiot windows" could help to prevent User Stupidity Errors from happening, which is why email worms for example spread so well and quickly.

--J

> Well, nice picture, but who wrote this f***ing nonsense text in german ???
>
>
>
Not me, that's the way I found it.

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Account frozen...