# Microsoft embarrasses itself over XP SP2 delay



## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Microsoft's Windows XP Service Pack Two (SP2) is looking increasingly cursed after the release date appears to have slipped again - if only by a few days.

The software giant had set itself an internal deadline of releasing the new service pack, designed to significantly improve the operating system's security, to manufacturers on 4 August.

But the company said that it decided to hold off because it wanted to make final improvements to the code.

Paul Randle, product marketing manager for the release, said: "The Wednesday schedule was an internal deadline for release to manufacture and we were not happy enough with the product to release it on that day.

"Our internal deadline got communicated by the Australian office and was withdrawn almost immediately."

http://www.vnunet.com/news/1157161


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## Lee L (Aug 15, 2002)

Weel, there may be a few issues but all in all, based on the beta, it seems to be much better and has the potential of being much more secure for everyone in the long run. 

Or so I hear.


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## invaliduser88 (Apr 23, 2002)

The other big question is, what will it break?


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## MikeSoltis (Aug 1, 2003)

invaliduser88 said:


> The other big question is, what will it break?


Antitrust laws?


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## kwajr (Apr 7, 2004)

http://www.geeknewz.com/comments.php?catid=1&id=531 get sp2 beta


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## Mark Holtz (Mar 23, 2002)

The XP service pack is being released Dish-style. You will need to turn on auto-updates.


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## CoriBright (May 30, 2002)

It will be available on MSDN for subscribers on Monday.

Everyone else turn on Automatic Updates and you'll see it shortly:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=windowsxpsp2


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

kwajr said:


> http://www.geeknewz.com/comments.php?catid=1&id=531 get sp2 beta


Thanks for the link to geeknewz, Ken. Looks like it will be an interesting and helpful site. I just registered there and I suppose that makes me an official "geek" now.

I noticed that they have a forum called "Geek Humor". Isn't that an oxymoron?


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## MikeSoltis (Aug 1, 2003)

Seriously, I've had SP2 RC2 for a couple weeks now, and it does do some things better. Still not 100% with the wireless, it likes to knock me off my own network if I leave the laptop on for too long (7 or 8 hours) and I have to restart windoze to reconnect.
This is with 802.11g, and WPA in case you're interested.
The SP2 built in wireless does connect to my Netgear faster than does the Netgear software.


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

Starband. released a warning that SP2 beta does not yet work with them and that it should not be loaded until their testing has been completed and approved.


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## cdru (Dec 4, 2003)

Attached is a torrent for getting it now. SP2 build 2180 is the final build that was released recently for betatesters. This is what is being shipped to OEMs as well as will be released Monday.

The total file size for the SP is 266 megs. As a point of reference, I beleive the first release of 95 took 16 1.44 meg floppy disks. Windows 3.1 was 5 disks.


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## TBenning (Mar 8, 2004)

CoriBright said:


> It will be available on MSDN for subscribers on Monday.
> 
> Everyone else turn on Automatic Updates and you'll see it shortly:
> 
> http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=windowsxpsp2


Actually it was on MSDN Subscriber downloads yesterday. I got it there yesterday afternoon.


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## HappyGoLucky (Jan 11, 2004)

I've been running the RC2 candidate for several weeks now, ever since it became available on WinUpdate 5. It has been exceptionally stable and I've not had any problem with any software incompatibilities. The final version as gone RTM, the Windows Update version should be available around the 10th or shortly thereafter. Microsoft is also making available a FREE CD-ROM version which you can order directly from Microsoft, I believe they'll even pay the shipping.


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

cdru said:


> ...The total file size for the SP is 266 megs. As a point of reference, I beleive the first release of 95 took 16 1.44 meg floppy disks. Windows 3.1 was 5 disks.


I still have two sets of 3.1, five floppies each - those were the days! I 'spose it's too late to go back there. Back in the day I was a whiz on WordPerfect 5.0 for DOS, kb shortcuts were hardwired into my brain. Then it went graphical before it went away. I never recovered.

_"Simple times called for simple people; difficult times call for difficult people. 
That's probably why your boss is a p.i.t.a."_

Hard to believe SP2 is _that_ big.  Amazing!


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## kwajr (Apr 7, 2004)

TBenning said:


> Actually it was on MSDN Subscriber downloads yesterday. I got it there yesterday afternoon.


i got it from tech net a couple months back


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## kwajr (Apr 7, 2004)

HappyGoLucky said:


> I've been running the RC2 candidate for several weeks now, ever since it became available on WinUpdate 5. It has been exceptionally stable and I've not had any problem with any software incompatibilities. The final version as gone RTM, the Windows Update version should be available around the 10th or shortly thereafter. Microsoft is also making available a FREE CD-ROM version which you can order directly from Microsoft, I believe they'll even pay the shipping.


yep i got the last one that covered all updates all oss until feb 04 somew one please post a link to that site i lost it


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## kwajr (Apr 7, 2004)

by the way if it fails instal or hangs for a while its ok you have a bad key you know you downloaded it


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## CoriBright (May 30, 2002)

The RC1 and RC2 candidates were withdrawn when SP2 went RTM on Friday. The SP2 update is on MSDN, the ISO Windows XP with integrated SP2 will be on MSDN on Monday.

I've had no problems with either of my two wireless PCs disconnecting themselves from the network, it sounds like your router is requiring renewal of the IP address every 8 hours. 

The other three PCs are wired. No problems with them either. Three PCs running XP Pro with SP2, one running XP Pro with the Tablet superset with SP2.. the other runs Windows Server 2003 Standard edition.


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## CoriBright (May 30, 2002)

kwajr said:


> i got it from tech net a couple months back


That was either RC1 or RC2. You still need the final RTM.


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

From the Kim Komando weekly newsletter, August 8, 2004 --

--> XP SERVICE PACK IS READY, AT LAST

Microsoft released Service Pack 2 on Friday. This massive update,
which can be downloaded in an 80 megabyte compressed file,
includes security features and other enhancements.

Millions of people will be downloading SP2. Obviously, traffic jams
are more than likely. Microsoft suggests that customers let Windows
XP download the file automatically.

Automatic downloads should work for people with dial-ups, too. The
update will download in the background. It has a resume feature, so
if the user shuts down before the download completes, it will pick
up at the same spot when the user is next online.

You can set that up by clicking Start>>Control Panel. Double-click
System. Select the Automatic Updates tab. Check "Keep my computer 
up to date." Click "Automatically download the updates..." Click OK.

Manual downloads will not be available until the end of August.
To download manually, go online and open Internet Explorer. Click
Tools>>Windows Update. Let Microsoft scan your computer, then
download everything under Critical Updates and Service Packs.

SP2 will include an enhanced firewall, which will be enabled by
default. If you are already running a firewall, one of them must
be disabled. To find controls for the Windows XP firewall, go to
Control Panel. Double-click Network Connections. Right-click your
network connection and click Properties. Select the Advanced tab.
Check the box to turn on the firewall, or clear it to turn it off.

Copyright © 2004 WestStar TalkRadio Network. Reprinted with permission. 
No further republication or redistribution is permitted without the written consent of WestStar TalkRadio Network. 
Visit Kim Komando and sign up for her free e-mail newsletters at: www.komando.com


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## DonLandis (Dec 17, 2003)

Oh boy! Comcast just sent me a letter stating my account is ready to receive a new upgrade in the next week - Fixed 4.0 Mbs down 384kbs up. I am regulated at 512kbs down and 256kbs up now so this should be one heck of an increase. ( I have a business account that I pay extra for to have my own node but in the past 6 months consumer accounts have been increased to up to 3.0 Mbs and 128kbs upload on shared nodes)


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## HappyGoLucky (Jan 11, 2004)

DonLandis said:


> Oh boy! Comcast just sent me a letter stating my account is ready to receive a new upgrade in the next week - Fixed 4.0 Mbs down 384kbs up. I am regulated at 512kbs down and 256kbs up now so this should be one heck of an increase. ( I have a business account that I pay extra for to have my own node but in the past 6 months consumer accounts have been increased to up to 3.0 Mbs and 128kbs upload on shared nodes)


It's too bad that Comcast also has a policy limiting how much you can use all that nifty speed. If you go over their unpublished limit on downloading or uploading during an unpublished time-frame, they will either throttle your speed or cut you off completely (similar to DirecPC/DirecWay "fair use policy"). Several cable companies have begun implimenting similar policies. Perhaps with a business account they don't have such limits, or the limits are higher.


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## kwajr (Apr 7, 2004)

CoriBright said:


> That was either RC1 or RC2. You still need the final RTM.


yes i know


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## DonLandis (Dec 17, 2003)

HappyGoLucky-

I haven't heard about Comcast throttling back on the consumer accounts but I can tell you that the business account is THE way for any business to use cable modem effectively. Here in Jacksonville the cost of the new consumer account is $59 a month. I pay $89 plus a $5 a month for the modem rent. But it's all lumped together on the bill. The consumers got upgraded to 3Mb/s variable and on a shared node about 6 months ago with sometimes several hundred people on a node. Tech support is a bingo game to get through and the contract says they will respond to trouble ticket within 10 days.
Business account is just now being upgraded to 4 Mb/s fixed rate, I get my own account rep I call directly to his desk and rarely do I get Voice mail. He knows my account, me by name, and their trouble ticket response has averaged 4 hours with service truck response of 24 hours as stated in the contract.
The bandwidth is stated as unlimited and I did use close to 30 Gb of file transfers one month. It can run up fast when you are uploading 30 min TV shows many times a day. My normal month is about 4-6 Gb. The only notice they gave in this latest letter was that of a disclaimer nature, that the 4Mb/s was based on a single computer access. Lans and several computers connected at the same time off your modem will have that bandwidth speed distributed. Thanks for the heads up on this, if I begin to upload a bunch of video again and get cut off, I'll definitly be on the phone to my rep.

Just curious, do you have any idea what the consumer limits are?


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## HappyGoLucky (Jan 11, 2004)

DonLandis said:


> HappyGoLucky-
> 
> I haven't heard about Comcast throttling back on the consumer accounts....
> 
> Just curious, do you have any idea what the consumer limits are?


Over on the DSLReports site, there have been NUMEROUS heated discussions about Comcast and Cox cutting people off and sending out threatening letters for "overuse" of their service. And they refuse to say what the trigger amounts are, saying that is "proprietary information", so there is no way for one to know how much they can download before getting the ax. This has been a problem on DirecPC/DirecWAY for years, but is now becoming the norm for cable systems, too. DSL, because of it's inherent structure difference, so far doesn't appear to have drawn the same policies from its providers. I'm using BellSouth's ExtremeDSL, with 3Mbps down/300Kbps up and believe me, I do a LOT of downloading and haven't had a problem.


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## HappyGoLucky (Jan 11, 2004)

BTW, you can now download the full SP2 package (the RTM version) directly from Microsoft here:

http://download.microsoft.com/downl...0-73cf11fdcdf8/WindowsXP-KB835935-SP2-ENU.exe

Note: this is the FULL package (266MB) that will contain everything to update all versions of Windows XP. If you wait until available on Windows Update, your download would be smaller, around 70MB for XP Home and 92MB for XP Pro.


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## MarkA (Mar 23, 2002)

I'm downloading the whole thing right now (for my Windows system). I don't really care about the size, it's a 12 minute download on my cable connection


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## kwajr (Apr 7, 2004)

maybe ten here not bad 266mb file in ten min how far have we come


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## HappyGoLucky (Jan 11, 2004)

I just upgraded my wireless machines with SP2. So far I'm very impressed. The Wireless Configuration utility is far superior than original XP or SP1. I'm getting rock-solid connections with no fuss to my 802.11g network using WPA-PSK encryption.

Norton Antivirus hasn't been updated to cooperate with the new Security applet, but Symantec says an update should be released today (the 10th). The updated Windows Firewall is much nicer and more powerful. If you already have another firewall such as ZoneAlarm or Norton, etc., the install of SP2 will disable the Windows Firewall automatically, otherwise it will be enabled by default.

Oh, and the small delay on the release of SP2 was so Microsoft could remove the invalid key protections that they had inserted into the Release Candidates. They had been waffling for a while on whether to allow illegal copies of XP to be able to be updated with SP2. The release candidates would not update installations with bogus CD Keys. Microsoft relented at the last minute and removed the protections from the final release because they decided it was more important that the full installed base of Windows XP be updated for security reasons rather than have some installs out there still open for corruption and possible use as attack bases.


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## invaliduser88 (Apr 23, 2002)

Latest update of Norton Internet Security (Firewall & Antivirus) now plays nice with the xp sp2 security center.


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