Windows XP SP3 Released To Manufacturing

mike_diack was one of many readers to send word that Windows XP SP3 been released to manufacturing. It will be available to OEMs and enterprise customers on April 29. Here is a summary of features and changes. The company will wait till "early summer" to enable SP3 downloads through Automatic Updates.

I will slipstream it and add the driver pack to my

[Joe The Dragon]

I will slipstream it and add the driver pack to my disks.

http://driverpacks.net/DriverPacks/ [driverpacks.net]

Re:Here's a possible link...

[Anonymous Coward]

Incorrect...

XP SP3 (RTM) Has the Build Number 5512.

Re:So the bad guys will have MONTHS.

[edugeek-au]

Windows XP SP3 - detailed by channel schedule
Channel / Release Vector
Planned dates (US)


RTM (release to manufacturing) - Apr-21
OEM Channel - Apr-21
Windows Update - Apr-29
Download Centre - Apr-29
MSDN/Technet Download - May-02
Windows XP SP3 Fulfillment Media - May-19
VL Customers via download - Jun-01
Automatic Updates - Jun-10

Re:So the bad guys will have MONTHS.

[MarkLR]

SP3 is not a bug fix but rather a rollup of previous fixes that users should already have and a few new features - mostly related to networking. There is no "patch" to exploit.

Re:So the bad guys will have MONTHS.

[fyrewulff]

Uh, SPs are just packaged updates since the last major release. XP SP2 was the exception this time around. You already have most of SP3, if not all of it, if you've been staying up to date.

The most notable new feature of SP3 is that it allows more CD keys to be entered into it, since they are extremely close or have run out of new ones to print that XP, XP SP1 and XP SP2 will recognize.

The SP3 via automatic updates seems to mean to me that they are waiting that long to have a special SP3 download (like the massive 300MB or so SP2 offline installer)

Added "Features"

[Shikaku]

Windows XP SP3 also includes a small list of previously unavailable functionality, including NAP and an update of Windows Product Activation.

I love the term "functionality" because it reminds me of the DRM things in Vista. Anyway, here's what they are adding besides all previous fixes:

"Black Hole" Router Detection Windows XP SP3 includes improvements to black hole router detection (detecting routers that are silently discarding packets), turning it on by default.

Seems nice

Network Access Protection (NAP)

More for enterprise/admins. See http://www.microsoft.com/technet/network/nap/napfaq.mspx [microsoft.com].

Descriptive Security Options User Interface The Security Options control panel in Windows XP SP3 now has more descriptive text to explain settings and prevent incorrect settings configuration. Figure 1 shows an example of this new functionality.

Cool I guess.

Enhanced security for Administrator and Service policy entries In System Center Essentials for Windows XP SP3, Administrator and Service entries will be present by default on any new instance of policy. Additionally, the user interface for the Impersonate Client After Authentication user right will not be able to remove these settings.

More admin stuff. I'll skip some of it from the PDF

Windows Product Activation As in Windows Server 2003 SP2 and Windows Vista, users can now complete operating system installation without providing a product key during a full, integrated installation of Windows XP SP3. The operating system will prompt the user for a product key later as part of Genuine Advantage. As with previous service packs, no product key is requested or required when installing Windows XP SP3 using the update package available through Microsoft Update. Note The Windows Product Activation changes in Windows XP SP3 are not related to the Windows Vista Key Management Service (KMS). This update affects only new operating system installations from integrated source media. This update affects the installation media only and is not a change to how activation works in Windows XP.

I'm not so sure about this though. WPA update... I wonder what Microsoft is sneak in on this.

Re:Umm...

[maxume]

Some customers like their service packs on shiny CD's. Those actually get made somewhere.

Re:Added "Features"

[The Second Horseman]

The product activation upgrade doesn't have any effect on patching existing systems - it's for slipstreamed media. Basically adds the feature to add the license key and activate (WGA) after installation instead of being prompted for it in the middle of the installation. They're not backporting the whole Vista activation / KMS / etc scheme to XP. If they did, their corporate customers would go nuts. Nobody wants to have to re-engineer XP deployment techniques at this point. And a bunch of corporate customers will be using XP for a while.

Re:Update Rollups every 6 months please!

[EXMSFT]

You're really installing Windows via winnt32 every time? You should just use Sysprep and keep your image up to date...

Re:Update Rollups every 6 months please!

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm aware there are third party ways to update fresh builds of XP in a more straightforward fashion (or integrate the updates in to the install disc), but where is mighty Microsoft on this? Where is the value here?

Ummm, you don't need a third-party tool, microsoft provides lots of information on how to slipstream patches into xp before you install. This documentation has been available for years, and it is the same technique as win2000 and win2003 (dunno about vista).

You can also script your install (search google for winnt.sif or unattend.txt) so you just turn on the system and come back in 30 minutes with everything installed the way you like it. Go look at www.msfn.org [msfn.org].

Re:WGA required?

[QuantumG]

The doc says you don't need WGA.

Re:So the bad guys will have MONTHS.

[GIL_Dude]

Because they are different things. The earlier dates are for update.exe (or whatever it is called now). The other is for a pre-built VL slipstream ISO image download.

Re:So much service!

[pizpot]

How to do your Windows/Ubuntu PC, with 2 hardrives:

drive 1,120GB (operating systems and windows programs)
drive 2 200GB+ (linux data)

partition drive 1 into four partitions of this size:

1. 20G - for XP (fat32)
2. 20G - for XP backup (fat32)
3. 60G - for windows data (fat32)
4. 20G - for ubuntu linux / (ext2)

partition drive 2 into 2 partitions:
1. 512 MB for linux swap
2. the rest for linux /home (ext2)

Google "hirens download" for a cd with partition and ghost programs.

Install XP on drive 1 partition 1 and patch it up and install all your stuff. Put games in a folder called "programs" on part 3. Make sure you have a router firewall so XP not get hacked right away.

Install Ubuntu linux (or whatever) to the 4th partition on drive 1, tell it to use the big partition on drive 2 as /home.

Then ghost XP to partition 2 for when it goes to shit. When that happens, just ghost it back from 2 to 1: 5 minutes beats an hour or two.

If you re-install windows, you will lose your boot menu that linux did for you. Just boot to the ubuntu cd, and click Apps, Terminal and then:
grub
find /boot/grub/stage1
-->it replies with (hd0,3)
root (hd0,3)
setup (hd0)
quit
exit

Re:So much service!

[pizpot]

been using it since it went out March 28th on MSDN... it is fine.

Re:MS: "Our customers are our beta testers."

[bigstrat2003]

Windows XP was first released in 2001. Windows XP created severe problems for us until SP2 was released in 2004.

Unless you have something highly specific in mind, I call bullshit. I used XP SP1 for forever (SP2 broke all my games which used the Quake 3 engine, which was a good few at the time, for about six months to a year after it came out), and never had a single problem with it. I didn't use SP0, but XP SP1 was a damn good OS.

Re:Update Rollups every 6 months please!

[Macfox]

Ah sysprep vs winnt32...Don't forget the good old HAL issues, where you need 3 or 4 images to cover all architectures and MS refuses to support switching of HAL with one image, even though it's possible.

Seriously... You should look at BDD with SMS. It uses a combo of winnt32 to setup your images and the create per architecture sysprep images.

Re:So much service!

[pizpot]

Your welcome. After you install XP, go to Add/Remove Software, Windows components, and remove everything there including Internet Explorer. Install Spybot, Zone Alarm, and maybe AVG. If you need IE to download Firefox, just Start,Run, iexplore. Don't do any email in windows, and as little internet as possible... preferably just multiplayer or minimal work stuff.

Do email, credit cards, paypal etc in linux. After you install ubuntu 7.10, download automatix and run it. That fixes your sources. Then click Admin,Sources and uncheck the cdrom. Then Admin,Security,Login Tab and put yourself on auto login. To install software use Add/Remove or sudo aptitude install program-name. --never locks up. Linux puts your email, if you use mozilla-thunderbird, in a hidden folder in your /home folder. Hidden files/folders start with a dot. To make something run that won't, right-click on it and make it executable. You can install MS Office97 in wine in linux. The version of wine shipping to ubuntu can't do warcraft3 multiplayer..., you need to google "pizpot downgrade wine" and read that thread on how to upgrade wine so it works. Virtualbox is cool, you can install XP into linux and I used it to run a major 3d cad program just fine. The webpage uubuntuguide is where you look first for advice, then google and the ubuntuforums second. There is so much to tell... use the force.

Re:I will slipstream it and add the driver pack to

[Gazzonyx]

Just wanted to say thanks; driverpacks.net has saved me so much time and hassle slipstreaming and integrating images for work. Between driverpack.net, RyanVM, WPI, nlite and msfn.org forums, I've saved countless hours. I would have spent all that time either collecting files, writing scripts, etc. or just going through a Dell 'clean' install (which, even at my fastest, takes about 3 hours to slim down and then install the company apps, and configure/add to domain). Your driver packs saved my bacon a few months ago when the Dell cd drive died and I had to use one off the shelf. I've also pulled raw infs from them on occasion when I've needed a driver that I didn't want to hunt down. Thank you!

Re:So much service!

[Minwee]

Why are you formatting the first drive with FAT32? Do you just not like your data?

Linux OSes including Ubuntu have had stable read/write support for NTFS [ntfs-3g.org] for over a year now. The only reason to subject yourself to FAT32 is if you plan on booting to Windows 98.

Re:So much service!

[CSMatt]

Just use BitTorrent. I believe all of the mirrors are permanent seeds on the official torrents.

Re:Update Rollups every 6 months please!

[03Cobra]

You've been wasting a lot of time. Microsoft has their own product for managing their own images. It's called Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT). You can use it to deploy/update XP, Vista, 2003 Server, and Server 08. It stores the files in a .wim format. It's pretty neat, as it uses a write once type database so you can have multiple images in 1 wim to save on space.

At work we use a single image to manage over 200 different computer models that can be deployed in a myriad of ways such as LiteTouch methodology which you can use either Microsoft s Deployment Server to push via PXE boot or just the good old fashion thumb drive. Or you can use the ZeroTouch methodology and use SMS to update/deploy systems without any interaction (Good for kiosk type systems).

In a nutshell, MDT takes all the best practices for deployment (Litetouch, ZeroTouch, Automatic driver injection, user state migration, etc.) and rolls it into one application.

Re:So much service!

[RailRide]

You'll have to create that 60GB FAT32 partition with Linux, because Windows XP SP2 refuses to create a FAT32 partition larger than 32GB, but I believe it can access one with no problem?

XP's formatter is coded with a 32GB limit under FAT32. A utility called FAT32format [crapcontrol.com] allows you to format up to FAT32's actual limit once you've partitioned the drive and given it a drive letter under XP. I used it on a 160GB drive in an external USB box that I decided had to be accessible to Win9x machines. Worked for me.

---PCJ