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Why update to SP3?

Why update to SP3?

Submitted in Windows XP within the Operating System category.

None

#21 (permalink)

03-14-2010, 04:44 PM

JoeSpareBedroom

“ <snip>

Ignorance is often *not* bliss. ;-)

A computer is not a toaster - but people treat it like many of the other
appliances they have in their home they believe require no maintenance. I
have also seen people throw away plain old toasters because they did not
seem to heat like they used to - when all they had to do was empty the
crumbs so that the heating element didn't get switched off so fast because
of so little room/so much reflected heat. ;-)

A computer is still a sophisticated piece of equipment - although most
just want what they always want: it should just work. Real world -
things do not work that way.

I would say - given the age of SP3 and the number of complaints I have
seen since its release - the number of customers that have had issues
versus those who did not... the number without issues is much larger.
One could argue that most just don't know where to complain - but
honestly - if it affected enough people, the mass media would be involved
much more heavily than I ever noticed with SP3.

*shrug*

Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP

I forget which update it was that "fixed" OE so that people couldn't view
attachments without an extra step. Good idea, but it would've been lovely if
the MS kiddies figured out a way to put a HUGE dialog box on the screen to
inform users of the change. I recall hundreds of messages in one of the MS
newsgroups....

Meanwhile, in Redmond, I'm sure there was much laughter and merriment about
the prank.

#22 (permalink)

03-14-2010, 04:44 PM

Shenan Stanley

<snip>

“
Originally Posted by JoeSpareBedroom

I forget which update it was that "fixed" OE so that people
couldn't view attachments without an extra step. Good idea, but it
would've been lovely if the MS kiddies figured out a way to put a
HUGE dialog box on the screen to inform users of the change. I
recall hundreds of messages in one of the MS newsgroups....

Meanwhile, in Redmond, I'm sure there was much laughter and
merriment about the prank.

Doubtful - but whatever conspiracy theory floats your boat. ;-)

Mistakes can/do and will happen. If anyone ever invents anything that
satisfies everyone all the time - this will all be moot. ;-)

Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

#23 (permalink)

03-14-2010, 04:44 PM

JoeSpareBedroom

“ <snip>

Doubtful - but whatever conspiracy theory floats your boat. ;-)

Mistakes can/do and will happen. If anyone ever invents anything that
satisfies everyone all the time - this will all be moot. ;-)

Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP

When a mistake as simple as the one above is made, do you guys report the
unbelievable number of complaints to Redmond? It must get monotonous cutting
& pasting the same explanation 649 billion times.

Some of the errors remind me of a beauty which myspace is famous for: "An
unknown error has occurred. Technical services has been informed." Uh....no.
Clicking on "Home" does not produce an "unknown error" for two years
running, unless the myspace founder spent all of Rupert Murdoch's buyout
money on beer instead of hiring some real programmers.

#24 (permalink)

03-14-2010, 04:44 PM

SC Tom

“
Originally Posted by JoeSpareBedroom

<snip>

“
The web page says "helps you to completely clone your current system drive
onto your new WD hard drive." Do you happen to know if it'll place the
image onto a drive OTHER THAN a new WD HD? Like a Seagate external HD?

It will clone it to anywhere you want. I have a Hitachi HDD in my notebook
that I clone on a regular basis to a WD My Book external drive using ATI for
WD.
SC Tom

#25 (permalink)

03-14-2010, 04:44 PM

Daave

“

Aside from the disadvantage of the disk space it occupies, would
setting a restore point before the update achieve the same thing?

Although highly recommended, setting a Restore Point won't achieve the
same thing. It's possible that an update or piece of malware or bad
piece of hardware would cause a situation where the PC can't boot.
Without being able to boot into Windows, System Restore is useless.

That being said, SR has helped me tremendously a few times (and it's
*much* quicker than restoring an image!). Always a good tool to have in
the arsenal...

#26 (permalink)

03-14-2010, 04:44 PM

Bill in Co.

“

Aside from the disadvantage of the disk space it occupies, would setting a
restore point before the update achieve the same thing?

No. System Restore is much more limited in what it can and cannot do.
(that said, it's still a good idea to have it available as an option).

Imaging or cloning are the only true solutions for a backup, should anything
go wrong, or should you wish to revert back to a clean system. And the
cost for such programs is minimal, in the final analysis.

#27 (permalink)

03-14-2010, 04:44 PM

JoeSpareBedroom

“

<snip>
It will clone it to anywhere you want. I have a Hitachi HDD in my notebook
that I clone on a regular basis to a WD My Book external drive using ATI
for WD.
SC Tom

This is too good to be true. I have a WD hard drive. I see the web site.
There's gotta be a catch. No downloads on Sunday for anyone with a beard,
maybe?

#28 (permalink)

03-14-2010, 04:44 PM

Shenan Stanley

“ When a mistake as simple as the one above is made, do you guys
report the unbelievable number of complaints to Redmond? It must
get monotonous cutting & pasting the same explanation 649 billion
times.
Some of the errors remind me of a beauty which myspace is famous
for: "An unknown error has occurred. Technical services has been
informed." Uh....no. Clicking on "Home" does not produce an
"unknown error" for two years running, unless the myspace founder
spent all of Rupert Murdoch's buyout money on beer instead of
hiring some real programmers.

Not only do those at Microsoft notice, but yes - some of us report it as
well. Not like we have any more pull than everyone else reporting it
though... Do you report it? ;-)

As far as tiring and cutting & pasting - to this day because people don't
listen to detailed instructions but make up their own - I copy/paste the
same answers each day - even though I may have done the same response in the
same conversation already.

Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

#29 (permalink)

03-14-2010, 04:44 PM

Jose

“ SP-3 is listed in the updates in Add/Remove programs, so it can be easily
uninstalled.

I'm sitting here eating a nice bagel and reading a Microsoft white paper
which what's contained in SP3:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...d=68C48DAD-BC3....

I've just gotten some bugs OUT of my desktop machine as of a day or two ago.
It's running beautifully. I don't see anything in the white paper which
applies to my computing situation. Desktop machine, not wireless, never will
be. As close as I get to "networked" (other than the internetZ) is using
some VPN software once a month to connect with my employer's system. If a
service pack messed with that situation, I'd have to travel to Redmond with
a rifle.

Is there a favorite fix in SP3 which any of you would like to mention?
Something you think NO user should be without?

How about anything BROKEN by SP3 which any of you would like to describe?
Remember, please, that you are under oath.

What bugs did you get rid of?

What system problems did you resolve that were the result of your own
hand?

Wasn't your last problem "resolved" by uninstalling software that you
chose to install yourself - wasn't it uninstalling ZoneAlarm that
brought back your snappiness?

ZA can be fairly complicated and if not configured properly, it can be
an issue. If you get it tuned up for your system it works great, but
usually not out of the box. That's what happens when you download a
good product and don't know how to use it properly or bother to figure
it out.

Here is the list of SP3 updates you can read and see if they might be
useful to you.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/946480

If you install SP3 and other items on your system are out of date or
incompatible with the updates you may indeed have some issues, but it
is probably not the "fault" of SP3.

Since the new issues seem to come after the SP3 update, SP3 usually
ends up being the fall guy. It is easy to blame.

I predict you will have a batch of new issues on or about 1/13/10.

#30 (permalink)

03-14-2010, 04:44 PM

JoeSpareBedroom

“
Not only do those at Microsoft notice, but yes - some of us report it as
well. Not like we have any more pull than everyone else reporting it
though... Do you report it? ;-)

As far as tiring and cutting & pasting - to this day because people don't
listen to detailed instructions but make up their own - I copy/paste the
same answers each day - even though I may have done the same response in
the same conversation already.

I noticed. :-)