Will XP's Service Pack Cause Chaos?

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June 29th, 2004, 12:31 PM
moxnix

Will XP's Service Pack Cause Chaos?

Microsoft is even admitting that the SP2 Service Pack will send users into a panic.

Quote:

The major changes to Windows XP (news - web sites) brought by Service Pack 2 are bound to cause support headaches. Analysts, users, PC makers, and Microsoft all expect a spike in help desk calls.

SP2 is due out in the third quarter, so it could be out as soon as next month. The service pack will be downloaded automatically into many PCs through Microsoft's Windows Update service and could create problems, including breaking current applications, disrupting networking set-ups, and prompting non-technical users to make PC configuration decisions that may be beyond their grasp.

They are also saying that it is more of an upgrade instead of a service pack.

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Although Microsoft has deemed Windows XP SP2 a service pack, the update really is more comparable to a Windows upgrade. SP2 contains bug fixes and updates, but it also offers new features and makes significant changes to the Windows software in four main areas: network protection, memory protection, e-mail security, and browsing security.

Microsoft will have to treat SP2 like a new operating system release, says Rob Helm, a director of research with Directions on Microsoft, an industry research company based in Kirkland, Washington. "It is that level of change," Helm says.

And as usual Microsoft is still coming out with their famous understatements.

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Microsoft recognizes that there will be an increase in support demand. "I definitely think we will see ramped up support requests," Microsoft's Pilla says. "What we have here is a security-focused service pack release that is going to have some significant impact on people's systems."

Source
June 29th, 2004, 02:25 PM
SDK

Sometime, you need a step back to take 2-3 steps forward.
June 29th, 2004, 03:07 PM
Mark_Anderson

I recently had SP2 Release Candidate 2 installed on XP Pro a few days ago. I thought it was a great service pack until I found out the SPI firewall had a glitch or two not to mention it breaking plenty of my apps as I later found out. MS claims that the apps that will be broken weren't coded safely to begin with. I say it's not up to them to decide. If anything, it should be up to the end-users. Breaking apps that weren't coded safely according to how they see it is assanine.

On a positive note the increased wireless networking support is nice. Comes with a Wi-Fi connection setup wizard now and some other nice stuff like blocking active-x controls and all "active" parts of the websites that you visit (even @ the default level zone). You have the ability to load the active parts of the pages or keep them blocked. For 264MB's in size though you can only expect those improvements plus many more.
June 29th, 2004, 06:18 PM
Maverick811

It's going to be a trade-off, but I believe it to be beneficial in the long run. If an increase in support calls is the by-product of having more secure systems, home users and business users alike, then I'm all for it. It's better than letting the average, blind home user run around the Internet with a PC just waiting to be taken over. In the long run, it will be a worthwhile upgrade, even taking into account any extra support that will be required. Now, the issue, as always, will be to make sure that users are upgrading to the SP.

I haven't tested any of the RC's, but I've heard some mention system slowdown's and such - that I'm not looking forward to, but...........that's how it goes. Whether there is truth to that statement or not, I'll be ugprading when the SP is officially out, so I'll find out then.
June 29th, 2004, 07:00 PM
moxnix

I'm using SP2 RC2 and I haven't experenced any slow downs. In fact, I haven't had any problems at all.

I even tried the built in firewall for a couple of days to see how it would do, and after a couple of wrong turns with configuring it right, it worked alright also (for what it was). I wanted more out going control though, so I went back to a 3rd party firewall.
June 29th, 2004, 08:22 PM
Maverick811

Quote:

Originally posted here by moxnix
I'm using SP2 RC2 and I haven't experenced any slow downs. In fact, I haven't had any problems at all.

Well that's certainly good to hear, hopefully that will be the case when the final version is released.
June 29th, 2004, 09:03 PM
phishphreek

I just got a successful install today. I had several fail before this install.

Looks like everything is working properly. A slight slowdown from when I first installed... but seems like its back to normal. :)