Do I need SP3 ?
- Thread starter yottie
- Start date
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There are other features than just the updates. They can be read about in the page linked to below (the headings in black bold). Understanding the terminology that describes them is something else though. I did the update purely because it was there. It installed OK and made the computer possibly a bit faster. Everybody's experience might differ:
http://www.winsupersite.com/faq/xp_sp3.asp
http://www.winsupersite.com/faq/xp_sp3.asp
There can be issues with SP3, I've just reviewed deploying it to the pc's where I work (about 1000 of them). We're steering clear of it as I can't see any benefit and it has the potential to break things which I don't have time to sort.
However, that's in a business environment. My home pc is running sp3 with no glitches. A lot of the initial problems people had have been solved and a lot of others had problems due to using the pre-release or beta versions. If your Windows Update is enabled and working then I would expect your pc to have it by now, you can double check by clicking on Start, select Run and type in "winver" without the quotes and hit enter. The screen that pops up will look like http://www.wellesley.edu/Computing/ResNet/images/winver.jpg and will tell you what service pack is installed.
As with any major updates (which sp3 definitely is) backup all of your data, photos, music etc. to cd or usb stick or something before doing it. Takes 10 minutes but can be a lifesaver.
I'd recommend doing it on home pc's, but only after backing up. You can use System Restore to revert back if necessary providing it is enabled.
However, that's in a business environment. My home pc is running sp3 with no glitches. A lot of the initial problems people had have been solved and a lot of others had problems due to using the pre-release or beta versions. If your Windows Update is enabled and working then I would expect your pc to have it by now, you can double check by clicking on Start, select Run and type in "winver" without the quotes and hit enter. The screen that pops up will look like http://www.wellesley.edu/Computing/ResNet/images/winver.jpg and will tell you what service pack is installed.
As with any major updates (which sp3 definitely is) backup all of your data, photos, music etc. to cd or usb stick or something before doing it. Takes 10 minutes but can be a lifesaver.
I'd recommend doing it on home pc's, but only after backing up. You can use System Restore to revert back if necessary providing it is enabled.
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A plug to get some disk imaging software at this point maybe. It doesn't half save a great deal of trouble if you have a backup of the entire OS saved on another partition or disk (external or internal). If something awful happens to the computer, the image can be used to revert the OS back to a good condition.
It's always difficult to be sure the OS is just how it was before when uninstalling an update (or program) and then using System Restore. A disk image just overwrites everything though and you can be sure the system is exactly how it was before anything was done.
It's always difficult to be sure the OS is just how it was before when uninstalling an update (or program) and then using System Restore. A disk image just overwrites everything though and you can be sure the system is exactly how it was before anything was done.
I agree, I picked up a copy of norton ghost a while back off ebuyer.co.uk for under a tenner. Well worth it.
