XP SP3
Perhaps this article should be titled "Power of Monopoly". On the kadaitcha.cx XP Compatibility page you will find a comment about the XP Upgrade Adviser being withdrawn and users being redirected to the Vista Upgrade Adviser because Microsoft don't want you to upgrade your Windows 98 to XP; they want you to buy Vista.
Microsoft's documentation for XP Service Pack 3 states, "Windows XP SP3 fills gaps in the updates they might have missed—for example, by declining individual updates when using Windows Update."
You know that troublesome update that caused your system to hang? Well, guess what? You have no choice in the matter if you install XP SP3. And in the very next sentence, Microsoft take an opportunity to plug Vista, "Windows Vista provides the most advanced security and management capability, but for PCs that cannot be upgraded to Windows Vista right now, Windows XP SP3..."
Have no fear if you've avoided installing Internet Exploder 7. XP SP3 doesn't include IE 7. The service pack will update whichever version (6 or 7) of IE that you have installed.
There are some, not many, additions and changes to functionality in SP3. For previously released functionality there's a new MMC (Management Console) that brings the MMC up to par with Server 2008 and Vista so that a consistent interface is available across all current Windows platforms. MSXML6 is new, and there's an updated Windows Installer, an upgraded BITS (background intelligent transfer service), IPSec filtering got an upgrade, DIMS is added, which is for machines on a domain and allows silent access to certificates and private keys, support for PNRP 2.1 (Peer Name Resolution Protocol) has been added, along with updated internals to use PNRP, and WPA2, which is Microsoft's interpretation of IEEE 802.11i wireless security.
As for completely new functionality "Black Hole" router detection is installed and turned on by default. NAP (Network Access Protection) is a security platform that allows XP to use NAP policies that may be enabled on Vista and Server 2008. The Security Options control panel has had a help text improvement, and there's enhanced security for Administrator and Service policy entries. There's also an updated cryptographic module. Other than that, there's not much new, except...
Finally! Microsoft have dimly seen the light. In Windows Vista, you can install the product without specifying a product key, which is desirable for developers, experimenters and other tech-types the world over. The documentations for XP SP3 says "...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."
It remains to be seen if a slipstreamed SP3 will exhibit this behaviour.
XP SP3 is for 32-bit Windows. Microsoft's x64 editions of Windows XP are covered by the release of Windows Server 2003 SP2.
And to top it all off, the Microsoft documentation for XP SP3 has yet another go at convincing you to buy Vista by repeating, "Windows Vista provides the most advanced security and management capability, but for PCs that cannot be upgraded to Windows Vista right now, Windows XP SP3...".
It must be a mantra.
Microsoft's documentation for XP Service Pack 3 states, "Windows XP SP3 fills gaps in the updates they might have missed—for example, by declining individual updates when using Windows Update."
You know that troublesome update that caused your system to hang? Well, guess what? You have no choice in the matter if you install XP SP3. And in the very next sentence, Microsoft take an opportunity to plug Vista, "Windows Vista provides the most advanced security and management capability, but for PCs that cannot be upgraded to Windows Vista right now, Windows XP SP3..."
Have no fear if you've avoided installing Internet Exploder 7. XP SP3 doesn't include IE 7. The service pack will update whichever version (6 or 7) of IE that you have installed.
There are some, not many, additions and changes to functionality in SP3. For previously released functionality there's a new MMC (Management Console) that brings the MMC up to par with Server 2008 and Vista so that a consistent interface is available across all current Windows platforms. MSXML6 is new, and there's an updated Windows Installer, an upgraded BITS (background intelligent transfer service), IPSec filtering got an upgrade, DIMS is added, which is for machines on a domain and allows silent access to certificates and private keys, support for PNRP 2.1 (Peer Name Resolution Protocol) has been added, along with updated internals to use PNRP, and WPA2, which is Microsoft's interpretation of IEEE 802.11i wireless security.
As for completely new functionality "Black Hole" router detection is installed and turned on by default. NAP (Network Access Protection) is a security platform that allows XP to use NAP policies that may be enabled on Vista and Server 2008. The Security Options control panel has had a help text improvement, and there's enhanced security for Administrator and Service policy entries. There's also an updated cryptographic module. Other than that, there's not much new, except...
Finally! Microsoft have dimly seen the light. In Windows Vista, you can install the product without specifying a product key, which is desirable for developers, experimenters and other tech-types the world over. The documentations for XP SP3 says "...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."
It remains to be seen if a slipstreamed SP3 will exhibit this behaviour.
XP SP3 is for 32-bit Windows. Microsoft's x64 editions of Windows XP are covered by the release of Windows Server 2003 SP2.
And to top it all off, the Microsoft documentation for XP SP3 has yet another go at convincing you to buy Vista by repeating, "Windows Vista provides the most advanced security and management capability, but for PCs that cannot be upgraded to Windows Vista right now, Windows XP SP3...".
It must be a mantra.
1 Comments:
I have seen feedback on the SP3 RC1 & RC2 that claim the "XP Slowdown over time" went back to full speed after installing SP3.
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