Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) provides an enhanced security infrastructure that defends against viruses, worms, and hackers, along with increased manageability and control for IT professionals and an improved experience for users. To aid IT professionals in planning and testing for the deployment of Windows XP SP2, Microsoft is making available this preview, based on RC1 of the SP2.
Windows XP Service Pack 2 Technology Preview Available
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Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
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I think it is a good idea for Microsoft to have public testing of this considering how many changes have been made.
Not sure if I want to beta test a service pack. I sincerely doubt that there will be a way to upgrade from the RC to the release version of SP2 (or more likely SP2a).
I haven’t had any problems with betas of SP2. I installed build 2082 on my system. After testing for awhile, I simply removed it via Add/Remove programs. Everything is back to normal without any problems.
This is a good move by Microsoft. Currently
downloading it fo a quick test.
What particular problems did you have, I have been testing this for qute som time and never had to many problems (the problems i have had were mostly in Internet Explorer and a really old build)
Mlenko9000
Hi
Mouse kept hanging, messenger service crashed sporadically and IE rendering was slow. I cant list all of them
Mars
Is there a full download not the network download?
I doubt as this beta service pack isn’t meant for massive deployment but rather for testing purposes.
Does it came with source code like SP1 ? :-))
I couldn’t get it to install. Windows kept telling me it’s not a win32 app. I downloaded it twice and both times I got this error. Anyone else have this problem?
I believe your download failed. The file should be about 273MBs.
I find it hard to believe that the file woudl fail to download properly three times.
Anyone know if it’ll be possible to buy Windows XP slipstreamed with SP2 once it is released ?
I don’t see why it wouldn’t… but you can always make your own slipstreamed CD. To my knowledge, it’s legal as long as you own your legal copy (or you have a licence).
How do you make a slipstreamed CD?
Check out this page. It has a good tutorial on how to slipstream.
http://www.windows-help.net/WindowsXP/winxp-sp1-bootcd.html
@Darius: yes for oem, dont know for retail
@wrawrat: do you know how to make a bootable cd like a microsoft made cd?
Thanks
Gareth
Slip Stream
http://www.windows-help.net/WindowsXP/winxp-sp1-bootcd.html this is for SP 1a .. but it’s the same deal ..
or
http://www.google.ca/search?q=Slipstream+Service+Pack&ie=UTF-8&oe=U…
—–
Md5sum of the Service Pack 2 English. (Unofficial)
36778649395b5413416a7e8ad49e0586 *xpsp2.exe
My download failed at first too. I had to download it with flashget because it need to keep retrying the server.
like there was with the SP1.
Since MS hasn’t provided a virusscanner until now(to my knowledge), the third party market took care of the issue. Now this servicepack won’t make companies like Symantec happy as this will pretty much eliminate them from that market.
While I think that it’s good that MS does include one, I think that they should have done that many years ago, before the market became this large. Crushing third party developers like this might once again count as abusive monopoly actions. Or did they actually license a third party app this time?
It’s nice that MS is trying to shape up, but they are always too late.
The low latency audio issue is another fine example. Now semipro/pro audio card developers has to write drivers for several interfaces since MS didn’t care about that market. So they forced third parties to come up with a solution and things like ASIO and GSIF were invented. This left both developers and users with a big mess. Now, many years later they have included a better audio interface in Windows, but it’s way to late since the other interfaces are integrated into dozens of apps allready.
Hi, Has anyone here tried it out on a computer running Novell Client for Windows? I wanted to check before I give it a shot, as I wouldnt want to lose the ability to logon to the Novell Network. Thanks!
That is cool! Now I don’t have to go and ifnd warez versions with service packs .. I can just slipstream my legal copy
Is it possible to do the same thing with MS Office ?
http://unattended.msfn.org/
Gein
“I find it hard to believe that the file woudl fail to download properly three times.”
I’ve had it fail twice already
>>> I’ve had it fail twice already <<<
Go to your Internet Explorer Settings, first empty the temporary internet files, then change the size of the Temporary Internet Files folder to something more than the 273Mb file you’re trying to download (300Mb+?).
“Since MS hasn’t provided a virusscanner until now(to my knowledge), the third party market took care of the issue. Now this servicepack won’t make companies like Symantec happy as this will pretty much eliminate them from that market.”
Windows 3.1 was the last version of Windows to include a virus scanner but it was written by a third party. Windows XPSP2 does not change this trend either as it does not include a virus scanner.
What it does include is a new Security Center that highlights three areas users need to focus on to improve security of their systems; 1) Firewall, 2) Automatic Updates, and 3) Virus Protection.
The first item covers the software based Windows Firewall. It’s simple to use and allows users to open ports based on applications and use not by port numbers. If a program tries to communicate on a closed port they will be notified and offered options as to what to do. The second item offers access to the updated Windows Update site and allows users to set how they want Automatic Updated to arrive and install. The only new things here is the updated Windows Update site.
The last item does not offer Virus Protection, it only notifies users as to the status of any virus software they have on their systems. It lets users know if their virus software is running and if the signature files are up to date. If users have no AV software or software that is not recognized by the Security Center then there are links to point users at software that works with the new interface.
I suggest you check your facts in the future before writing a ridiculous rant like this one again.
There is no AV solution in sp2. Guess who started it….. the ever reliable, unbiased, popular /.
For real, if you ever do anything in your life, at the very least please don’t go to /. for microsoft related news. Their credibility and reliability is so not funny in anything related to ms.
If you haven’t seen it yet, here are two screenshots:
Security center (pops up after installing SP2)
http://www.brokenwatch.net/images/temp/securitycenter.jpg
Firewall (activated automatically)
http://www.brokenwatch.net/images/temp/firewall.jpg
The popup blocking is nice as well.
http://business.newsforge.com/business/04/03/19/1743241.shtml?tid=2…
“For real, if you ever do anything in your life, at the very least please don’t go to /. for microsoft related news. Their credibility and reliability is so not funny in anything related to ms.”
Maybe you should take noteson how /. works. You see, if you read forum posts as news you are off your rocker anyway, on any site. Slashdot merely posts links to news from actual news organizations. Slashdot is mostly a listing and a forum, so if you stick to the real news you will do fine there.
So those of us without broadband will be paying MS to send us another CD while the broadband people download it for free. Just can’t tell you how ecstatic I am to be a Windows user.
I tried a few times to get it but it won’t fully download. Sure does seem like MS could send update CD’s to the stores that sell MS products. A CD seems to make sense if you might have to re-install (who knows).
/. is full of Linux Zealouts with nothing better to do than bash ms. Nothing new there.
Your link doesn’t work (well, it doesn’t work here) but here’s another link for slipstreaming MS Office XP:
http://www.petri.co.il/office_xp_sp_slipstreaming.htm
I don’t have a link for Office 2003 but it should probably be done the same way.
No need to describe yourself as a Linux user with your posted name, your words show it perfectly.
Actually im a MAC user. I do have yellow dog installed however configured as a dual boot.
I laugh at you lack of insight. Now go away and patch/reboot your computer or something. j/k :-]
Fortunately, there are no patches for my operating system. I am using the tried and proven Windows For Workgroups. It has solid, tried and true codebase that has been under maintenance for over a decade. No sweeping changes, no rewrites of hardware interfaces every 3 months, no protected memory, no wasted memory in case i decide to plug in some whiz-bang camera- just a stable, rock solid operating system. Linux could learn a lot from the development cycles WFW.
Slashdot merely posts links to news from actual news organizations. Slashdot is mostly a listing and a forum, so if you stick to the real news you will do fine there.
I know that posts in any community can be full of junk, but I’m serious when I say that /. is an unreliable news site for anything microsoft related because their news listings are misleading. For example, awhile ago they had news about how microsoft re-released a patch for office. In reality, the previous patched worked perfectly fine and all ms did was add a client update and up the warning level. Their news listing of microsoft related news can’t be relied upon as true. They decide not to check their source, AND in that case, the news site said the opposite of what /. was posting.
Here it is.
AbdullahHaydar writes “From CRN: ‘One day after releasing a fix for an Office XP flaw, Microsoft upgraded the severity of the vulnerability to critical and re-issued a new patch to address a new attack scenario discovered in the last 24 hours.’ The funny thing is that the second bug they missed with the first fix is ‘critical’ whereas the original bug the fix was for is ‘important.'”
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/03/11/2339223&mode=thread&tid…
Link from crn
http://www.crn.com/sections/BreakingNews/dailyarchives.asp?ArticleI…
CRN doesn’t say anything about the re-release of a patch.
Here’s the offical link from microsoft.
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms04-009.mspx
If you look under technical detail, it says …Microsoft has re-released this bulletin… not re-released a patch.
This has nothing to do with their community, this has to do with either not reading the original article or deliberate distortion of facts. It’s the first obviously, but you never know as microsoft hatred can run deep, right?
jk
Just wanted to point out how /. sometimes screws up their news when it comes to microsoft. You misread my comment. I _am_ talking about their news, not their community/posts. Did you really believe I would read forum posts as news?
LOL I have a copy of Windows for Workgroup 3.1
What kind of h/w are you running?
Totally offtopic, but the way /. really works is to post Flamebait stories with many of them having the political bent of head flamebaiter Michael Simms. This way they can get more hits from slashbot kiddies who tend to follow the slashdweeb groupthink anyway.
I suggest you check your facts in the future before writing a ridiculous rant like this one again.
I was way to tired to check any sources, sorry. But the purpose of my post was not to rant but to losely speculate about the matter and try to get an informative reply. And actually, I would have been happy if they did include one, I just wanted to know if they weren’t in for any legal issues by doing so.
Ok, I hate MS as a company, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t see the things they are doing right. I wasn’t bashing MS regarding the AV (which doesn’t seem to exist anyway). I was bashing then for the audio interface issue though, because they should be ashamed of that. But I was OT there, I just saw the parralell and wanted to rant a bit about it since it still bothers me that companies put up with that.
But one could ask the same question regarding the firewall though? Your description of it sounds exactly like Norton Personal Firewall.
“Go to your Internet Explorer Settings, first empty the temporary internet files, then change the size of the Temporary Internet Files folder to something more than the 273Mb file you’re trying to download (300Mb+?).”
That woulb be great only I’m using Firefox.
>That woulb be great only I’m using Firefox.
File bug report to Mozilla. Do it now while this huge download is still on MS Web site- so that Mozilla team can verify your findings.
You know what “technology preview” means, right? You know what “not recommended for critical tasks” means?
FireFox is not even 1.0. You use beta, you should live like beta tester. Really, spend you time to write bug report, give back to Mozilla team.
In the meantime, if you really want to try SP2, how about using IE to download it? Makes sense to me, and thanks Microsoft for insisting to have IE embedded to the OS so that anyone and his beta browser can manage to download critical Windows updates and patches.
Does this test release of a service pack work with localized versions of Windows XP? I’m using the Finnish version.
“File bug report to Mozilla. Do it now while this huge download is still on MS Web site- so that Mozilla team can verify your findings.
You know what “technology preview” means, right? You know what “not recommended for critical tasks” means?”
This download has tanked multiple times on me with Firefox and IE. Go figure. I think the problem is with the MS site losing the connections.
“Totally offtopic, but the way /. really works is to post Flamebait stories with many of them having the political bent of head flamebaiter Michael Simms.”
It just hurts your feelings when they’re ‘mean’ to Microsoft, doesn’t it? Slashdot is for people who don’t need to be told what to think by Gates and Balmer as opposed to the mindless zombies of the WinBeta forum who do what they’re told, and send their money and express warm and fuzzy feelings to Redmond.
Doing a yum/urpmi/apt/etc. update on a system under some of the major linux distributions can be just as time consuming. By the time SP2 goes live you will be able to pick up one of the Windows-centric periodicals with a cd or dvd attatched. It will contain a cumulative update.
I feel your pain though. I have been back and forth between dialup and broadband 3 times in the last 3 years. It really can be worth packing up your system, and going to visit a friend with dsl.
SP2 seemed to work wonderfully, but after getting a few of the updates afterwards, my tv tuner app ceased to have sound. However, an issue I’ve had with (the evil) OE and messenger did get resolved by SP2.
Beta service packs are almost as fun as beta OSs
Yes, you’re not told what to do think by Bill Gates (Btw, personalizing a figurehead of a company is soooooooooo immature, but expected of a slashdotter), you’re told what to think by your mindless group think at Slashdot. Ooh +5 Funny, I must tell this joke at my next LUG meeting while we all make fun of Bill Gates and wonder why our DVD Cameras don’t work!
It just hurts your feelings when they’re ‘mean’ to Microsoft, doesn’t it? Slashdot is for people who don’t need to be told what to think by Gates and Balmer as opposed to the mindless zombies of the WinBeta forum who do what they’re told, and send their money and express warm and fuzzy feelings to Redmond.
Was that for me, or Roy?
Anyways, lol, mean to _microsoft_? Oh, my feelings are so hurt and their hurting my beloved _microsoft_. I could care less if they hated microsoft, but they’re so blinded by their hatred they can’t even get their news right. Talk about mindless zombies.
>>>This is a good move by Microsoft. Currently
>>>downloading it fo a quick test.
This service pack should be good. The only problems so far
is…
The security tool keeps prompting you too often.
The boot up has got alot longer.
The sp2 too 2 hours to install (P3 600mhz with 256MB ram)
The Windows product activtion has not been removed.
The good side…
Better fire wall.
After booting the system it seems nippier.
IE6.0.2900.2096 has a good pop up blocker
No more strange long pauses (dont know why this happend
befor)
This RC1 version of the service pack did not kill my AV
software.
It seems strange but I still like the good old days of
DOS 7.1 and Windows 98. But for me this is the end of the
line for Windows and will be switch to Suse 9.1/10 when
it comes out.
It seems strange but I still like the good old days of
DOS 7.1 and Windows 98
I can’t believe you just said that! Windows 98 is the atrocity that forced me into the open source world to begin with! Egads! I thought that people who liked Windows 98 were entirely ficticious!
after a day of using it, i had to un-install since i can’t get jdk/jre 1.3.1 to load any apps.
1.4 works perfectly however i need 1.3
after removing sp2 jdk 1.3.1 works
another strage thing if you disable the firewall on one interface it disables the firewall completely
overall pretty good,
This is a nice release, for a preview. Microsoft may be late to the game with some of these features, but they are welcome. I had good luck with the install, and am just getting into poking around at the features. The full blown SP will be interesting to see. I am especially interested in checking out the flexibility of the enhanced firewall.
@Bakra Slashdot used to be about freedom and innovation, with a little “let’s stick it to tha man,” thrown in. Now it’s all
about following the party line. I used to enjoy it very much. But they have just traded one master for another =(
Just to add to the download debate – I had trouble downloading in IE 6/Win XP with plenty of disk space and again in Mozilla 1.6/Linux with plenty of disk space. On a 1Mb ADSL, generally very fast.
Guess there was a bit of demand for the preview, but got it after a few tries. 🙂