XP SP2

suicidal_monkey · August 09, 2004, 05:53:24 PM

I'm a little confused... got a general email from the IT dept recently saying that XP-SP2 was out and they were testing it before rolling it out to the uni network, but not to update our machines ourselves and to be careful backing up at home etc. Thing is, ...I can't see SP2 as an option on the windows update site yet...

I'm guessing that registered network-admin types might get advance copies or something?

Anyway, I'm thinking it must be time for SP2 to arrive to whack our remaining working systems... :ph34r:

Anonymous · August 09, 2004, 06:12:46 PM

SP2 is available to people who are members of MSDN (Microsoft Developer Network). It will not be available to the general public until later this month.

Please be advised to exercise caution when installing it. It contains many new features (popup blockers etc) not the least of which is an overhauled firewall which may well stop lots of your favourite apps from working properly.

I'm not saying don't install just think about what you are doing and that this might be one of the times to actually read the release notes prior to installing it

Dr Sadako · August 09, 2004, 06:53:05 PM

... and IBM have told all their employees (400 0000) not to install SP2. :unsure:

smilodon · August 09, 2004, 06:59:26 PM

It's also rumoured to use Automatic Update to install. If you have Windows Automatic Update switched on, you might want to switch it off and do manual updates for a while? Until you decide to install it at least.

Anonymous · August 09, 2004, 07:37:55 PM

If you have automatic update enabled then on your own head be it. Yeuch!!!

lost · August 09, 2004, 07:47:11 PM

service pack 2 is available for mass consumption now.
also lots of mirrors at filemirrors.com.

md5 checksum is: 59a98f181fe383907e520a391d75b5a7

FATAL · August 09, 2004, 07:50:00 PM

THATS THE FIRST THING U SWITCH OFF (ITS A PAIN IN THE AR** ANYWAYS) :woot2:

Anonymous · August 09, 2004, 07:59:31 PM

BBs word of caution.

Downloading it is OK but as with all things new don't be too tempted to install until we see if there are any issues coming to light from around the bazaars.

If you have no backups of your current installation may I suggest that you hold tight until others have "boldly gone" as it were.

Maybe it will be fine but MS have released kak SPs in the past :eyebrow:

Rabbi Bob · August 09, 2004, 08:05:18 PM

Any of you seen the RC size? 267MB when last I looked. I feel for the dialuppers

I went back to skim, but didnt see the RC download link this time (in a hurry), but here are some reads:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechn...y/relsprc2.mspx

One of the products we deal with uses FTP and TCP/IP transfers to get work to transcriptionists that work from home. I'm dreading the flood of calls when SP2 is installed and the firewall gets activated (by default as last told by MS).

:blink:

Anonymous · August 09, 2004, 08:09:57 PM

Anybody planning to install it should look here before they do. It will give you a heads up on what to expect and possible implications. In particular check out the security area to bottom left of page. HTH?

Me waits for floods of posts asking how to play CS/CZ with SP2 installed

(Assuming of course you can post through the firewall :devil: )

Anonymous · August 09, 2004, 08:33:32 PM

From the Steam Forums before anyone asks:

QuoteIf you're sure that your 'Net connectivity is functioning but you are still unable to log in to Steam, it may be because the required ports are blocked by a device on your network (such as a router).

The following ports must be "open":
UDP 1200
UDP 27000 to 27015 inclusive
TCP 27030 to 27039 inclusive

Persoannly I think that is a bit too much (especially as the MS Firewall is meant to support SPI (Stateful Packet Inspection - like how much drag is that going to put on the CPU) so you may not need as many ports as that open.

My recommendation? Try as few ports as poss and see how it goes

Anonymous · August 10, 2004, 03:28:40 PM

Microsoft SP2 Support Tools - recommended for advanced users only.

Some brief info on what's in SP2 - link

How to create a bootable Installation CD with SP2 pre-installed

suicidal_monkey · August 10, 2004, 04:13:23 PM

QuoteOriginally posted by BlueBall@Aug 10 2004, 02:28 PM
How to create a bootable Installation CD with SP2 pre-installed

now that is the sort of thing I like to see

Rabbi Bob · August 10, 2004, 05:16:29 PM

QuoteThe final preparation I always make is adding my WPA.DBL file to the CD. The WPA.DBL is the activated file for your PC & Hardware. It is unique to your machine so you don't have to worry about it being stolen or used anywhere else, It will only work on the machine you activated it on.
The benefit of backing this up to CD is that you can "activate" windows without actually needing to connect to or telephone Microsoft. This means you can re-install without having to worry about the limited times you can activate before calling a Microsoft representative.

I had no idea... that is so nice to know!

Barley · August 10, 2004, 05:41:47 PM

Dumb ass question, but does SP2 include SP1 too?