Windows XP SP2: Be Advised!
 

People are running into problems after running the SP2 update. Apparently this service pack is breaking applications, keeping them from working. The latest delay was caused by the service pack breaking one of microsoft's own programs. IBM is even advising its own employees to not update. Be careful when updating. Personally, I'd wait it out a while before I updated. I don't run windows, however, so it's not a problem for me.

http://www.techworld.com/opsys/news/...fm?NewsID=2056

I was waiting yesterday for a story like this to break. This is just typical of microsoft, people should just expect it by now.

read my other post where i say wait a month after all the suckers get all the problems...

Further proof you shouldn't "upgrade" to SP2. There is now a list of known programs that don't work the way they did before SP2.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=884130

Look how many of microsoft's own programs have been broken by this "upgrade." Nobody does software like microsoft. :chair:

Great, and just to name a few on that list that I run...

Nero 6
Unreal Tournament Game of the Year Edition
StarCraft
Diskeeper
Cute FTP 5.0
Outlook 2000

They best get this resolved soon, as they had planned on it being up the auto update and Windows Update page by the end of the month.

I have a thread started here also with info from Cnet on it.

Wow, I didn't realize that there were so many programs that could have issues with SP2. I don't gmae but I do run the Office 2k3 suite, so I'll be on the lookout for issues. As for AOL 9, I have to use it when I travel (AT&T Worldnet has a lack of numbers in smaller cities) and it seems to be running okay so far, was on line last night with it after I upgraded.

xp sp2
 

I installed sp2 on my laptop to test out its compatiblity before i installed it on my workstation. So far, I personally havent run into any problems like I have with the beta versions (Im a microsoft beta tester). Some of the applications I run are as follows:

Office 2003 Professional Suite
Macromedia MX studio
Visual Studio .NET
Adobe Creative Suit

I don't have any issues with the 5-6 machines that are in my direct care - at least none that I can't "fix" withouta couple of clicks.

I _have_ seen the firewall and DEP create "issues" by working as designed. This is going to cause a lot of people to have to stop, read the screen and interact with some dialog boxes. Personally, I don't like software firewalls in the first place, and DEP is just too anal for my tastes so I have it disabled.


There are _real_ concerns though in how some of the apps on that MS list (and others) run. Programmers have been cheating for a while in certain ways which DEP now has a chance to catch and trap. That's gonna stop some folks in their tracks until they either create an exception for the application or get an update from the vendor.


fwiw #1, here's a different set of babble on the topic:
http://www.betanews.com/article/1092697959

fwiw #2, I'm running the following apps off of that MS list without trouble:

• Nero 6 Ultra
• Nero Burning ROM
• Unreal II
• Citrix ICA client
• eTrust 7
• eTrust 6
• DivXPlayer
• SimCity 4
• Cute FTP 5.0
• InstallShield
• VirusScan 7
• Excel
• MSN 7 & 9 beta
• Office
• Office XP
• Outlook 2003
• SMS
• Virtual PC
• Visual Basic 6
• Visual C++
• Visual Studio 7
• Visual Studio 97
• Visual Studio .NET Enterprise 2003
• Visual Studio 98
• Word
• Musicmatch Jukebox
• SonicWALL
• PCAnywhere 11
• WinGate
• Yahoo Messenger
• PC Magazine Business Winstone Benchmark

SP2 is huge, and while the testing went on for a long time, there will of course be holes.

Also note that the MS list of apps is based around things that "may not work like the did before". In most cases, the apps in question trigger the firewall to pop up and alert you that someone is trying to talk to a server outside of the normal ports. This is a good thing... it _could_ be a virus. If you know the app is "safe", then a couple of clicks will create an exception for the app and you're done. If you don't want to use the feature in general, then turn it off (which you can do even during install) and you'll never see a dialog box.


Don't take me wrong here... I'm not a fan, but there's another side to the story that the press is laying out.


Side comment... "IBM is even advising its own employees to not update." yeup... as SHOULD any company that has mission critical applications that run on Windows. It just makes sense. That's such a negative press spin! You wouldn't drop the latest Linux distribution onto your servers without testing first, would you?

My version of XP was prompting me to auto update today.
No thanks, I think I'll wait it out ;)

me also :roll:

...that's probably a good idea.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. :)

I attempted the upgrade and I kep getting errors popping up. I reverted back to SP1. Since then, the rules in my Outlook 2003 that filters mail to my personal folders stopped working, works fine on rules that filter rules to folders in my exchange mailbox, just not ones in my personal mailbox...weird!

If you think you want to try SP2 again, then make sure that you have the latest Office updates installed on BEFORE installing SP2. You can check that from here:

http://office.microsoft.com/officeup...inCatalog.aspx

You guys who are griping about SP2 "breaking" crap need to quit your whining... I've been running SP2 since pre-RC1, and haven't had any real problems. Like Mark said, I ain't found nothin' that couldn't be fixed with just a couple of clicks.

...just like the general public... gripe about lack of security in Windows, then gripe when it's added... I'll have it on all of my machines as soon as I can get my hands on it.

ChrisCo

Hahaha. I guess I'm th elucky one so far. It broke almost all of our competitor's software but not ours. :rockin:

I didn't think anyone was still clueless enough to apply a major update or new OS from Microsoft until a few months have passed. I waited almost 6mo before moving to WinXP from Win2k, and I waited 3mo to apply SP1.

BTW, I bought a 1999 4Runner. By far the most well refined 4Runner model out there. IMHO. :booty:

Just because it hasn't affected anything you use doesn't mean there are not problems out there. Even microsoft has admitted it has screwed up a lot of things. As for whining, I could care less if SP2 erased entire hard drives. I've come to my senses and I no longer run windows. I'm just giving a heads up to some of the people out there that aren't as familiar with microsoft's shady programming.

Yep. Issues before and Issues after.

I'm glad you've come to your senses... Now, if I were able to see on which aspect you've come to those senses, I might understand your comments a bit better. 90% (just a guesstimate, as I have not done any sort of scientific studies on the subject) of today's computer users have no idea how to setup, let alone productively run, *nix systems. Geez, most users don't have a clue how to even secure their own systems, which is (IMHO) part of the reason why SP2 was created to begin with. Mac? Yeah, I'd agree that it may be a viable option for them...

If enabling security features is breaking other applications, then I think (again, IMHO) those other applications were written poorly to begin with. And, if adding security (i.e.: the firewall that the articles provided are yacking about) is breaking stuff, it isn't all that hard to modify to make the applications work. Granted, I'm sure that's not all there is to SP2, but that's a major component.

My point is, don't blame MS for some other software company's problems (just like you wouldn't blame Toyota for the fact that Hummer's suck). And, yes, I'll admit, if the firewall broke one of MS's own applications, (IMHO) then that application was written poorly to begin with (this thread is the first I've heard about it).

I've got to go to work now, to support internal apps for several thousand users (most of whom are running SP2 without a problem, I might add), but I'll wrap up asking this (mostly out of curiosity)... How exactly are you familiar with Microsoft's "shady programming"? Were you involved in the development of Windows, or any other MS product for that matter, or are you just repeating the typical anti-Microsoft banter you've heard/read elsewhere? I know nothing of "shady programming". Instead, I know of a bunch of developers and testers that work their butts off to produce good OSes, and also I know that the world is full of sensationalists that like to blow anything they can out of per portion to make a buck.

ChrisCo

Since this discussion is centered around my employer, I'd better wrap up by putting a bit of a disclaimer in here, which isn't typical of me:

This message, or any others produced by the author of this message, are of the author's own opinion, and are not to be misconstrued as official commentary from Microsoft Corporation. Period. If you somehow manage to take what the author says as Microsoft commentary, you should see a shrink ASAP. The contents of this message may not be reproduced outside of this thread, in part or in whole, without written consent from the author.

You say that like it's a bad thing. :laugh:




Micro$oft has reached out and touched my XP box and I have to keep telling my firewall to leave me alone. It's really insisting that I download and install. How do I get rid of the prompts and the little blue ball in my systray?

FWIW, I love MS and their OS's. :)

Does that make anyone feel better?

Has SP2 been officially released, or is it still in the beta stage? I saw it on Microsoft's website for download, so i'm not sure. Will my automatic update tell me when to install it?