The First Update for XP SP3 RTM
Although it was released to manufacturing on April 21, 2008, the third and last service pack for Windows XP has yet to make it to end users. Despite this, Microsoft has already made available the first update tailored on XP SP3.
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22.4.2008
XP SP3: Now on Windows Update
A week after deciding not to release Windows XP Service Pack (SP) 3 via Windows Update and the Microsoft Download site as planned, Microsoft has begun pushing the collection of updates and fixes through those channels again.
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6.5.2008
XP SP3 Can Kill All Update Installations
Deploying Service Pack 3 directly on top of a fresh installation of Windows XP Service Pack 2 will kill all subsequent updates from Microsoft's servers.
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4.8.2008
Microsoft Halts XP SP3 Update to HP PCs Running AMD Processors
The recent Windows XP Service Pack 3 update has left certain AMD-based PCs manufactured by Hewlett-Packard caught in an endless reboot cycle caused by an Intel-specific disk image mistakenly being used with AMD hardware.
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20.5.2008
Major Update Coming to Vista SP1 and XP SP3, but Users Won't Feel a Thing
A major update is coming to Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows XP Service Pack 3, but Microsoft guarantees that end users won't feel a thing.
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6.7.2008
The Vista SP1 and XP SP3 WU Refresh Impacts the Entire Update Infrastructure
At the end of the past week, Microsoft announced a refresh to the Windows Update agent in Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows XP Service Pack 3.
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8.7.2008
Windows XP SP3 Update Breaks Windows Home Server Remote Access
Windows Home Server users are reporting Remote Access problems after updating their home computers to Windows XP Service Pack 3.
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18.5.2008
Microsoft to Kill Pirated Windows XP Professional
Having dealt with the SoftMod Windows Vista activation crack, Microsoft will start hunting down and “killing” pirated copies of Windows XP Professional, the flavor of the operating system labeled by the company as most popular with pirates.
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25.3.2009
Tweak-XP Pro v4.0.8 Download
The original tuning and optimization software for Windows XP. Tweak hundreds of hidden features of Windows XP, optimize your machine and customize it to your needs.
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13.12.2006
Windows XP SP3 now available via Windows Update
Windows XP SP3 is finally here for those that use Windows Update, and here is a direct link to the stand-alone version of SP3 for x86 XP systems (32 bit).
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29.4.2008
Pirates Offered Windows XP Pro Retail at $100 Discount
Users running illegal copies of Windows XP are being offered discounted purchase prices.
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15.5.2006
Microsoft to target Windows XP Pro users with Genuine nagware notifications
Microsoft is stepping up its war on software pirates by rolling out new Windows Genuine notification software for what it is calling its most pirated version of Windows: Windows XP Professional.
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26.8.2008
Windows Vista SP1 outperforms Windows XP SP2 in file copy
"Its interesting that people seem to think that Vista under performs in every area of the system which is quite an incorrect perception.
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27.5.2008
It's Time to Face the Ugly Truth, SP3 or No SP3, the Clock Is Ticking for Windows XP
As 2008 has kicked in, it's now time to face the ugly truth. The clock is ticking for Windows XP. And while Microsoft may view this as a natural stage in the evolution of a product introduced all the way in 2001, a healthy proportion of end-users and businesses will fail to see eye to eye with the company on this one.
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5.1.2008
Hotfix Update Pack (WinXP SP3) No. 5 to be released soon!
After a long wait, TheHotfix Update Pack (WinXP SP3) #5 will be released soon with 30+ new unreleased hotfixes that will most likely be in WindowsXP Service Pack 3! We're sorry it took so long for us to put it together, but we've finally pulled it together thanks in large part to the help of the forum members and community.
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5.2.2006
Vista SP1 RC Leaves XP SP2 in the Dust, but What About XP SP3?
Although Microsoft has indicated a strong disapproval of benchmarking tests involving development milestones of Windows Vista Service Pack 1, the temptation is simply too big to ignore.
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17.1.2008
Microsoft Makes Its Own Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2, Leaves XP SP3 Out
Ever since the advent of Window Vista, at the end of November 2006 for businesses and in January 2007 for the general public, Microsoft has virtually invited the comparison between the two operating systems.
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8.5.2008
Microsoft Hands out XP SP3 beta – Final SP for XP
In an email sent to selected testers telling them they have been accepted to begin testing XP SP3, Microsoft has also informed them that this will be the final Service Pack for the now aging OS.
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5.10.2007
XP SP3 Does Not Support Windows XP
Believe it or not, but Microsoft does not support Windows XP with XP SP3. Well, maybe that's not entire true. But it is true nonetheless. End users will find they they are unable to deploy XP SP3 on top of XP. What is the catch?
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16.1.2008
Windows 7 Already Pirated, Not Even Out
Just came back from our usual family weekend outing when I chanced upon a stall in one of the supermarkets here in the Philippines.
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2.3.2009
Pirated Windows 7 Just $3
Windows 7 might officially be just two days away from becoming available for purchase to customers worldwide, but fact is that the operating system is already available for free, almost free, or at a reduced price compared to what Microsoft is charging for the product.
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20.10.2009
Update for Windows XP (KB900485)
Install this update to resolve an issue in which you receive a ?stop 0x7e in aec.sys? error message on a computer that is running Windows XP Service Pack 2. The error may occur during startup, or after the system has started. AEC.SYS is the acoustic echo canceling driver. After you install this update, you may have to restart your computer.
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9.1.2006
Update for Windows XP (KB904412) - English
Install this update to address several possible issues associated with connecting a Serial Bus Protocol 2 (SBP-2) device, such as an IEEE 1394 device, to a Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2-based computer. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.
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Pirated Vista may be useless, Microsoft says
Microsoft said supposedly pirated copies of its new Vista computer operating system "will be of limited value" to those who use them.
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15.11.2006
Half of pirated Vista is malware
Alleged "cracked" versions of Vista appearing on peer-to-peer networks often turn out to be Trojan horses. About half of the downloads claiming to be free versions of Microsoft's Vista operating system are actually malicious Trojan horse software, security vendor DriveSentry warned Thursday.
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26.1.2007
Windows XP Service Pack 3 Timeline Update
The build number for the final version of SP3 is 5512. Nick MacKechnie: Windows XP SP3 has been released to manufacturing as of April 21st (US Time) with the release to web planned for April 29th (US Time).
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22.4.2008
2 Year Old Pirated Keys Defeats WGA
On July 18, Microsoft's WGA team promised to send me a disk with a product key from their blocked list. It was supposed to arrive via overnight service, but it was never sent.
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9.8.2006
Why pirated Vista has Microsoft champing at the BitTorrent
As Microsoft Corp. gets ready to launch Windows Vista and Office 2007 to consumers, it claims a formidable new foe it lacked at its last major consumer software launch five years ago: the popular filesharing network known as BitTorrent. This third-generation peer-to-peer (P2P) service, already used by tens of millions of Internet users to swap digital music and movies for free, is becoming a popular mechanism for those looking to obtain pirated software.
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26.1.2007
Does Microsoft Actually Want Windows Vista SP1 to Be Pirated?
Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is currently in its final stages of development in Redmond Utero, and heading for the first release candidate stage.
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6.12.2007
Is your copy of Windows genuine?
How to Tell helps you verify that your Microsoft products are genuine.
To begin, choose the product category that best describes your Microsoft product. On the following product category page you will be able to select your specific product and the method by which you acquired it to learn more about genuine Microsoft products.
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Windows XP SP3 Not Until Late
2007
According to an update on
Microsoft's support lifecycle
Web site, the next service
pack for Windows XP isn't due
out until the second half of
2007 -- one full year after
Windows Vista launches. XP SP3
will likely serve as a
cumulative update for what
will soon become Microsoft's
legacy operating system...
betanews.com -
18.01.2006Windows SP3 officially released
The wait is over!
Legitimate Windows XP SP3 (Service Pack 3) is now available for downloading! Any of you who were waiting for a
non-pirated version (like so many people have resorted to) it can now be downloaded, officially, via windows update.
Click for download jcxp.net -
29.04.2008Windows XP SP3 Release Candidate 2 via Windows Update
Microsoft yesterday made Service Pack 3 RC2 available to both testers and the general public. They have provided a small script to run on your XP SP2
machine that will allow for SP3 to be available through Windows Update.
The build, now at v3311, cannot be installed over previous SP3
betas. Versions of Windows XP Service Pack 3 prior to Release Candidate 2 should be removed before attempting to use the registry key. Windows Update
will not offer Release Candidate 2 to machines with previous versions of the Windows XP Service Pack 3 beta.
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20.02.2008Windows XP SP3 release just around the bend?
Though we expected, or rather hoped; for Windows XP SP3 late last month it seems that it may arrive before May. According to an "internal schedule"
obtained over at Engadget, OEMs, volume license, Connect, MSDN and TechNet subscribers will have access to the update on April 21st, while everyone
else won't notice it until April 29th when it hits the Microsoft / Windows Update download center. For those who are too busy to download it and
install it, they might have to wait until June 10th when it hits the Automatic updates.
For those who don't know; Windows XP SP3
(Service Pack 3) will be the third and last major update for Microsoft's Windows XP operating system. The company released a nearly final beta build
of SP3 called Release Candidate 2 Refresh last month to the public. The latest beta version added support for the HD Audio high-definition audio
format and fixes for some issues with the Windows Update service. Microsoft to date has said only that it expects to roll out a final version of
Windows XP SP3 in the first half of 2008.
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16.04.2008Windows XP SP3 Now Available on Windows Update and Microsoft Download Center
Microsoft Update Team: Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) is now available on Windows Update (and the Microsoft Download Center)!
If you'd like to install it via WU today, you'll need to visit the Windows Update website. To do this, go to
Windows Update and perform an express or custom install, make sure you see the service
pack selected, and proceed with the install. After it downloads, you'll see a series of screens and you'll be asked to make a few clicks before the
install will begin.
If you're not in a rush, we recommend you use Automatic Updates to install Windows XP SP3. It provides the
best experience because the download will happen in the background. We're planning to begin automatically distributing Windows XP SP3 over AU
sometime in the next few months.
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07.05.2008Microsoft to ease XP activation with SP3
Microsoft Corp. will change how users activate Windows XP when Service Pack 3 launches in the first half of 2008, a company white paper said.
New installations of Windows XP SP3 will give users the same 30-day grace period currently offered to Windows Vista customers before they're
required to enter a product activation key, the 25-character code that proves the copy is legitimate.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
28.12.2007Daylight Saving Time Update Available For XP SP2 & SP3
Looks like we've got our first XP SP3 update although this was expected as Microsoft had
previously announced that the DST update would not be included with
SP3.
Installing this update enables your computer to automatically adjust the computer clock on the correct date in 2007 and
2008 due to revised Daylight Saving Time laws in many countries. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.
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22.04.2008XP SP3: TechNet and MSDN subscribers to get beta in two weeks
Microsoft provided an update on the timing for Windows XP Service Pack (SP) 3 on August 29.
Company officials said on Wednesday
that the Windows team plans to deliver a near-public beta of XP SP3 (its going to all TechNet and Microsoft Developer Network subscribers) by
mid-September.
The final version of XP SP3 is slated to hit some time in the first half of calendar 2008, officials said. (Thats
the same date the Softies have been promising officially for a while now. Microsoft wont be any more specific on XP SP3 timing.)
Company officials did not release a feature set for XP SP3 on August 29. The only new piece of information available was the public-beta due
date.
Microsoft made available to a set of private testers a preview of XP SP3 earlier in August. I saw an alleged fix list at
that time: It consisted of nearly 1,000 items.
The last time Microsoft provided a cumulative update to Windows XP was in 2004,
when it released XP SP2.
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29.08.2007Expiration dates for Vista SP1 and XP SP3 blocks announced
If you're an IT professional and currently using Microsoft's Service Pack Blocker, the software giant recently announced that the current
blocks for Vista SP1 and XP SP3 are going to expire in a few months. The Service Pack Blocker Tool only temporarily prevents Windows from the
installation of a Service Pack via Windows Update, and the block is only effective for one year after the Service pack is released to the market via
Windows Update. Effective April 28th, 2009, Windows Vista SP1 will no longer be blocked by the tool and will be delivered via Windows Update. The
same goes for Windows XP SP3, but the block will be lifted on May 19th, 2009.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
30.01.2009Windows XP SP3 available for Windows Embedded for Point of Service and WinFLP
This download is a Service Pack 3 (SP3) update for Windows Embedded for Point of Service (WEPOS) and Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs (WinFLP).
This SP3 update includes all previously released Windows XP security updates, hotfixes, and select out-of-band releases that are applicable to systems
running the WEPOS and WinFLP operating systems.
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08.10.2008Microsoft: XP SP3 an 'Update Roll-up'
Although Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is the big news of the day, Microsoft is concurrently preparing the third service pack for Windows XP. But SP3
won't introduce much of anything new for XP users, and will simply serve as a roll-up of already released fixes, Microsoft says...
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30.08.2007Windows XP SP3 RC2 Standalone Packages Available (English, German, Japanese)
Note that this is the same exact build (3311) Microsoft previously released as a Windows Update only download
last week.
Microsoft is allowing Windows XP
Service Pack 2 machines to be offered Windows XP Service Pack 3 Release Candidate 2 via Windows Update. You may also download standalone update
packages for Windows XP SP3 RC2, in English, German, and/or Japanese. Windows XP Service Pack 3 will be offered on Windows Update when Service Pack 3
releases in the first half of 2008.
Windows Service Pack 2 is required in order to install this preview. Please uninstall any
previous beta release of Service Pack 3 before installing SP3 RC2.
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28.02.2008Windows XP SP3 Released to Manufacturing
According to a Microsoft representative at the
TechNet Forums, Windows XP Service Pack 3 has now been released to manufacturing (RTM), and XP SP3 bits are working their way
through Microsoft's manufacturing channels to be available to OEM and Enterprise customers.
Microsoft are also in the final stages of
preparing the release to web, which is scheduled for the 29th of April, and will be distributed via Windows Update and the Microsoft Download Center.
Online documentation for Windows XP SP3, such as Microsoft Knowledge Base articles and the Microsoft TechNet Windows XP TechCenter, will be updated
then.
For customers who use Windows XP at home, Windows XP SP3 Automatic Update distribution will begin in early summer.
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22.04.2008XP SP3 Goes on Automatic Updates This Thursday
Although a Microsoft manager had mentioned that XP SP3 would arrive "shortly" to Automatic Updates on Monday, the timetable became specific as the
company quietly said today it would release the upgrade on Thursday at 10 a.m. PDT. Microsoft will add Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) to Windows
Update at that time, and trigger its automatic download and installation for users who have left the operating system's update service at its
default "Automatic (recommended)" setting.
" Updated applicability rules and updated metadata to target the update to Automatic
Update channel, " read a Microsoft support document revised Tuesday after the company unveiled its monthly security patches . " The Automatic
Update change will be published at 10:00 A.M. on July 10. " Microsoft delayed the distribution of Windows XP SP3 twice this spring, but the July
10 date seems firm; it was included in the cumulative list of all updates available via Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), the server-side update
tool many businesses use, as well as via the client-side Windows Update (WU) and Microsoft Update Web-based services. A Microsoft spokeswoman,
however, was not able to immediately confirm that July 10 will, in fact, be XP SP3's automatic update debut.
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09.07.2008Microsoft Changes Tune on
Windows XP SP3
The software giant now says
that when Vista ships, the XP
update will follow...
pcworld.com -
07.10.2005Wanted: New information on XP SP3
If Microsoft officials don't
want you to know about Vista
Service Pack (SP) 1, you can
be darn well sure they really
don't want to talk about
Windows XP Service Pack (SP)
3. But customers definitely
want to discuss it.
XP users who still
aren’t crazy about the
idea of moving to Vista are
quite interested in the status
of the long-promised update to
Windows XP. (Microsoft
released the most recent XP
update, XP SP2, way back in
the summer of 2004.) I get
queries from readers weekly
about when XP SP3 will hit and
what it will likely include.
There was a flap
earlier this year regarding
Microsoft
possibly changing the due date
for XP SP3. Microsoft
officials have been saying for
the past few months that the
company would not provide the
final XP SP3 until some time
in the first half of 2008. In
late May, however, there was
a
mention in a Microsoft press
release that XP SP3 would ship
"some time later this
year." Microsoft's
official response was that the
2007 date was a typo. (Yeah,
tha
t "typo" defense again.)
winbeta.org -
19.07.2007Windows XP SP3 Update Breaks Home Server Remote Access
Windows Home Server users are reporting Remote Access problems after updating their home computers to Windows XP Service Pack 3.
Following
the update, attempting to access those home computers via Windows Home Server’s Remote Access features brings up a dialog asking the user to add
their homeserver.com domain to the Trusted Sites list in Internet Explorer. However, after doing so, users are still not able to access those PCs.
The issue arises due to security changes in XP SP3 - namely, that the Terminal Services ActiveX control in Internet Explorer is disabled by
default.
neowin.net -
19.05.2008Windows XP SP3 update causing endless reboots in AMD machines
An issue with how the Service Pack 3 update handles AMD chips will cause some Windows XP computers to continuously reboot. Microsoft says it is
investigating...
betanews.com -
12.05.2008Windows XP Service Pack 3 RC2 via Windows Update (Public Availability Program)
Windows XP Service Pack 3 Release Candidate 2 is available to the public. Specific registry settings will allow you to be offered SP3 via Windows
Update.
Download the script and run it on a machine currently running Windows XP Service Pack 2. The script sets a registry key
on your system. The registry key is required for Windows Update to recognize your machine as a valid target for Windows XP Service Pack 3 RC2.
Versions of Windows XP Service Pack 3 prior to Release Candidate 2 should be removed before attempting to use the registry key.
Windows Update will not offer Release Candidate 2 to machines with previous versions of the Windows XP Service Pack 3 beta.
It is
recommended that you apply the resulting update package to an activated, genuine copy of Windows XP, in a test environment. As with any pre-release
software, it is also recommended that you back up files and settings on your machine before applying this update package.
winbeta.org -
20.02.2008Despite rumors, Windows XP SP3 still not quite ready
With Windows Vista Service Pack 1 out the door, Microsoft was largely expected to release Windows XP SP3 last week or this week. It didn't, instead
making public a refresh build of SP3 Release Candidate 2...
betanews.com -
26.03.2008