| 2 Jan 2008 |
Windows XP service pack 3 Review after usage |
Remember my glorious post where i said that service pack 3 is great and it increased the speed of Windows XP.
I installed Service Pack 3 almost a month ago and now the conclusion is: Windows XP service pack 3 DOES speed up your XP and stuff, but overall its crap .
Heck, it has conflicts with almost all programs installed like: nero, yahoo messenger, even with Internet Explorer 6(check image). It freezes sometimes and photoshop isn’t running as smoothly as it ran on Service pack 2.
Today it pulled the plug, finally my Disciples 2 game arrived with the latest expansion, so i start installing it, everything ran fine till the end when i got the cool error message: “setup has encountered an error and needs to close” so i said to myself: maybe i messed something up, i’ll reinstall it.
I took Easy Cleaner and removed registry entries(it couldn’t be uninstalled, it said some file is missing) and i reinstalled it. Surpirse! Same error!
I went over to my other PC(i have service pack 2 there), installed it and the game got installed without any problems.
Most probably next week i’ll format the hard drive in this PC and will reinstall windows XP with service pack 2.
What i got from installing service pack 3:
- increased speed of the OS
- lots of errors
- incompatibility with softwares
- killed lots of my neurons because i got pissed because of it every day
If you want to enjoy the “great enjoyment” service pack 3 will offer you feel free to download it and install it on your PC.
Did you find this information helpful? Buy me a coffee.
Hello i am speaking from The small island of Cyprus. One month ago i have installed the service pack 3 .I can say that i am really happy.it did speed up my computer without any conflicts.i know that this service pack is better than sp2.
I dont know what happend with my friend that says that he has a lot of problems.i had some problems with Xp and then when i installed Sp3 everything was ok.
I installed XP SP3 and everything is ok.. better and faster
I have to agree with this post, as I have had no end of hassle since installing sp3, and I have found the exact same, my previously bullet proof stablility is now shot, and the PC keeps freezing, and throwing up random application ‘needs to close’ errors. Sometimes the PC will stay up fine, other times, it will error applications at start-up, other times, mid gaming….
Doign my head in tbh.
Can this service pack be safely removed, without corrupting the OS installation? As I have it installed on a raid 0 configuration, with 2×500gb discs.
well you have the UNINSTALL button in the add/remove programs, but i wouldn’t trust it
just backup your files on a separate partition and format the drive on which the OS is installed
cheers,
Tom
Keep in mind too that RC3 is still a beta product; not something you want to install on your main system unless you don’t mind having problems. If you don’t have backups, I would wait till it’s official.
That said, I’ve had pretty good results with it. It is noticeably faster. Not quite as fast as 2003 Server (that’s after “tricking it out” to work as a desktop, not a default install), but pretty close. Once SP3 is official I may have to get rid of my 2003 install and go back to XP. There are a few bugs to work out yet; not going to keep the beta around.
On the other hand, Vista is still pretty disappointing with the SP1 beta. It’s not bad on my system, but the minor improvements don’t justify the performance hit. (Not a little hit from say 2K to XP, but a pretty big one, and that’s on a dual core system with 4GB of memory.)
Great! i hope it speeds up my laptop cause im switching back to xp, vistas network connections are crap and drops me out all the time and vista just eats too much ram memory on boot and while tasking,not only that but shadow copy is ridiculous for hd memory usage,and the digital rights management is the worst! ..windows xperience is the best. bar none.
Installed service pack3 rc1
mostly worked perfect, but internet explorer does not start always.
checked and running in background 3 times or more.
Tried to uninstall, after 1/2 hours got message file not found
Anyone suggestions how to get rid of the rc1 version and install the RC2 version
backup the important data from the partition where windows is located and format it
setup windows xp SP2 and don’t install SP3 until the final version is out
cheers,
Tom
We’ve been testing and updating our customers pc’s since the final release of xp sp3 and we’re very happy with the new security features and the speed improvement of the system. it’s about time.
That’s good to know PC tech…
I have not installed SP3 yet.. I wanted to research first before putting myself though the hassle of having to reformat. I remember SP2 would cause problems when being installed if Windows had issue already.
Based on past experiences working on PCs I would probably reinstall my Windows XP before applying the new SP3 to avoid any problems that may arise do to older applications or any bugs that are not noticeable with SP2.
I haven’t reinstalled my XP in over 2 years.. I guess I have an excuse to do so!
grrrrrrrrr, i just had this sinking feeling while i considered installing.
conflicts, error messages, freezeups, incomprehensible trouble with anything plugged into usb ports (!i know this sounds like it must be some other dumb thing, but of course it started suddenly for the first time ever the morning after)
and i am positive the sp3 “update now” did NOT say beta anywhere on it.
in desperation i sys restored to the day before, and it ran a copious uninstall of “mystery files” about 60 meg worth. when i went to add and remove programs on a later day, still going nuts with errors, frozen mouse, off/on/offline, messenger bounces…
no program appeared there called sp3 or anything like it.
searching file by file for anything that was installed that day, or modified.
Hi guys, all I want to say is if you are using a pirated copy then you will definitely land up with lots of problems, so please use the legal copy of windows and have fun, and also in case if you encounter in any problem please do fresh installation of windows and then install the service pack 3. I hope this will clear to all.
the thing is that ive never had these probs with service pack 2 either and I just dont understand why its causing me probs and it shouldnt be at all.
i think its just gon be better to go back to service pack 2 period, i mean, my system entirelly ran better than what it is now.
and that when I fire up my computer, it takes for ever after I get to my desktop and to even do simple things of getting onto internet explorer and here on messenger and that tooo alone is another story and then after a few minutes, my computer finally clears up and its like its just tryin to wake up like its had its burst of caffene and just jitters right along ya know??? I really think that mircrosoft screwed up with this new service pack 3 update and that service pack 2 is just way better and for now on, I dont think I’ll ever be updating again from microsoft specially that I found out that possibly that service pack 3 is a possible 3rd party issue and not meant to work with programs on the computer period and just slows things down and takes for ever just to catch up even with a system thats got 2gigs of ram which …… come one now, thats messed up. but as for that, i am thouroughly not happy with service pack 3 at all and wont ever go back to it no matter what people say.
thanks, great post, installed it and everything worked fine..
I installed it, it took forever to install. I didn’t have any of the compatibility issues but once installed it didn’t want to work! My computer froze and it did not want to get online, so my husband had to uninstall it. My mom had the exact same problems as we did, and she had no compatibility issues as well. Her computer froze up and she couldn’t get online. So I don’t know what the problem with it was. I was really look forward to all the fixes and some of the features that were added on. We both Have Windows XP home edition with Service Pack 2 and the manufacured computers are both DELL. So if anyone has any suggestions why it maybe having these problems please let me know!!
My wife and i also have had problems with SP3, errors galore, as died hard gamers, we have the latest hardware / high-end rigs, have had no problems with conflicts under SP2 until a recent patch, prior to SP3, where we noticed a steep drop off in performance.
Sadly, we cant help but wonder if this is Microsoft’s way of forcing people into Vista or the new OS due for announcement soon, as we have no trust in Microsoft due to their lack of Transparency .
Great to hear that some users are having no problems, and could all stem from system specs, however, not many posts that mention “no problems with SP3″, have stated what they use their comps for e.g. Games, 3D applications, Web Surfing, Office etc.
Any new information on Performance issues with SP3 from users would be greatly appreciated, as Microsoft cant give us any explanation for these issues, after speaking with them on the phone and online via email etc, except to say we need to pay them for anymore info on SP3?! (nice people)
Good Luck,
Good Gaming
The latest Windows XP service pack 3 causes problems with Microsoft Internet Explorer such as causing it to crash and causing problems with trying to upgrade to IE7. It also kills the remote desktop connection feature and I have been suspicious of it cauing various other errors! I know because I work on computers for a living and have tried both SP3 updates and manually installing updates and have had problems only with Windows XP service pack 3! Great going Microsoft!!
Hi all, 98% of the posts r correct. The SP3 is just crap. I wasted my time downloading it and installing it. Both my laptops went phut !!!!!! Lucky enough had made the an entire backup of both the hard disks onto an external hard disk. Main problems were Internet Explorer would open then kaboom it would freeze, compatibility issues with some S/W, driver problems etc. Gave me a nightmare fixing it. Finally decided to just format and reinstall with SP2. Back to normal. One good thing : speeds up the OS but messes up the rest. And last but not the least talking to Microsoft has been so helpful. They just would’nt bat an eyelid to look at ur problem without speaking regarding their monetary gains. Very very lovely people indeed.
ADVICE : Stick to SP2 folks and inform Microsoft to roll up SP3 & shove it up their ***.
hi every one i want to say that when i instituted the sp3 onto my computer my computer started to act real funny and have a lot or problems like the blue screen of death.it’s got to a stag where now it wants to just reinstated windows xp so i put in the disk and it says 34 mins reaming never 34 before that the computer caches how can this be fix
thanks guys
Service Pack 3 is really crappy! It let install 3 game but thats it. Now its screwed up. Everytime… BLUE SCREEN. Then I have to wait 2 hours to turn it back on I never had a problem wit Service pack 2. Yes I used to have computer problems. That was with my old on. Now I just spent 1,000 Dollars on a new computer. Now it is worse!
Problems with SP3? How could that possibly be? This MICROSOFT we are talking about???
Ok, so everyone is supposed to admire Bill Gates because he is donating millions of his billions to charity. But remember this as your computer crashes and you spend hours fixing all the problems Gates crap software created: the money Gates is donating IS MONEY HE STOLE FROM YOU BECAUSE YOU BOUGHT THE GARBAGE THAT COMES FROM MICROSOFT.
God, I would love 5 minutes alone in a room that asshole.
My next computer is a MAC
Agree.
SP3 caused Internet Ixplorer to hang and it overall gave a bad impact on the computer behaviour.
At first it really seemed like it boosts performance a bit but … eventually it is CRAP.
i ve installed sp3 for a while now. and i use it for gaming, office, 3d applications, web browsing, everything. i have had NO problems at all so far! i ve seen a slight improvement in speed, my IE which used to crash all the time earlier now works grt! and i have had no conflicts at all. i had installed the beta sometime back which gave me issues with IE7 and some compatibility issues, but the final release has been great for me. and Larry, I m not a MS fan, but give the guy credit where its due.
Well,
I have been waiting for reviews on SP3 and i think i came to the right place. I have read issues on the Beta. Now the stable one has just released. I will visit here again to see if there are changes on the stable version.
See yah around.
I’m normally a great fan of upgrades and updates of software. My machine automatically gave me the option of updating Windows XP SP3 as it is set to ask before any update installation. As any software professional would appreciate, this is a major upgrade and there followed a bit of my research to find out my fellow Widow XP users taste and experience of this major upgrade. The general consensus I got from this site is DO NOT UPDGRADE YOUR XP WITH SP3 BUT STICK TO SP2. BIG THANKS to all who have contributed their experience which helped me to decide BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY as I currently do not have an extra system to play with! So, I’m not installing SP3 at least for now and the near future
XP SP3 breaks the ability to use the “/console” switch in windows XP. It also makes all RDP sessions very laggy and unresponsive.
Im scared i have a a copy of SP2
if i install SP3 would every thing stay ok
Any ways i already LOVE SP2
CUZ there are no problems
why do we need a new update, if the old one is working GOOD.
I installed SP3 because I have my computer set to download updates automatically. When I saw SP3 I thought Great, I can get the lateset service pack. I let it install. After the install it rebooted, of course. But then it would not start up. Just the Windows logo for a long time. So I figured it is just writing a lot of data so I gave it time. After about 30 minutes I came back, at the same place. So I forced a reboot again. When it stuck at the startup screen with the line at the bottom with the moving hash marks, I decided to leave it to run it’s course. Well to my surprise by the next morning it was still doing the same thing. So I figured it was crap so I rebooted in safe mode, did a restore to an earlier system checkpoint. It started back up the way it had always done before. I had not had any problems with anything before and since I restored back to before hte SP3 install, I have not experienced any problems. As far as Vista, I bought a new laptop with dual core processors and 2gb ram Vista installed. SLOOOOOOOOW. I partitioned, installed XP on seperate partition and use that. FAAAAAAST. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Well i downloaded sp3 and i had no problem until about yesterday i can’t F*&king play warcraft III no more, something about i need a higher version than 8.1 but i got 9.0 dx version. And a nother thing my computer doesnt start the same, it goes into the option screen for safe mode or previse started windows. And thats because Outlook Express 6 is missing one file or some shit like that so im n pretty pissed off, but wondering would everything go back to normal if i just system restore back to sp2
use system restore, it will set back your OS to SP2, however i would recommend a fresh install to ensure everything will run smoothly
Gosh, wish i had a chance to read all of this before I ‘ve installed the SP3 on my pc last night.
The same as many, the windows’ve updated itself automatically, and I thought, wow, it’d be great to have an update.
It’s my personal PC at home — Bless me then.
I have to say, I was really unsure about this SP3 – I am not as tech savvy as many of you on this site, but based on what I have read, I am glad I have not yet installed it. I remembered the nonsense with the first version of SP2 – so I have not yet installed SP3, and it sounds like the problems far outway the benifits. However, everytime I start my computer, I get an alert to install SP3 – does anyone know how to deny that install permenantly?
PS – as far as I can tell with all of my research, this version of SP3 is the final, official version, not a beta test.
I posted “grrrrrrrrr, i just had this sinking feeling while i considered installing.” on May 12.
Notice how you cannot bury SP3 in “updates you don’t want”? every time you go to update Windows, they “strongly suggest” this ultimate doggy, and you have to tippy toe around it.
Heaven forbid i should ever unconsciously let that 60 Meg pooch in again.
Since my instant sys restore, and deleting all the files i could find, still some errors and interruptions (as people say, mid-game, or if i advance or backup in IE browser too fast), but i think i beat the reaper on SP3.
Just checked this site and I keep getting the “update to install” window, too, from my auto update on both computers here at home.
Like Sean, I want to get rid of that alert as I’m sure not going to install SP3 after reading all these stories!
How do we get rid of this alert? Thanks.
Same here. I’ve had nothing but problems from SP3. I can’t scroll down on the EULA for WAR. I can’t scroll down on “all progams” from the start menu. My ventrilo program isn’t working. All in all, I wish I never installed the thing. Now, I will have to reformat because system restore won’t remove SP3. I’ve had the same problem on the laptop.
hi,i am abhishek solanki i usage windows vista business and ultimate original.win.xp 3 is not batter of ultimate vista .sp 3 no have a all facilitys and many more.i not like sp 3.not batter.
?…..sorry……?
installed Service pack 3, after a day crashes down my pc, reinstall and update for about 3 times more and have the same result. the last time i recovered my pc, didnt update for the SP3 and voila the computer back to how it was before. SP3 SUCKS!!!
Hey!
thank God I read this blog post right now…
you know !
as soon as i finished the reading i stopped downloading!!
I think I am better or enough claver to make my PC fast
thanks for this post…
Regards
Sushant Danekar
thanks everybody
I read it before installing and now I am nt going to install it
thanks again
Hi All,
I was also just researching about this, as the SP3 auto-update keeps prompting me to install, but I found this in the meantime to stop auto-update, I’ve not tried it myself but for those interested maybe you can give it ago if the auto-update is really bugging you so much – http://windowssecrets.com/2008/09/11/02-Dont-let-XP-Service-Pack-3-hose-your-system
Thanks for all those that gave reviews about SP3, I too will wait for better reviews before installing.
Sp3 is not worth it! let me tell you
I tried to avoid dowmloading SP 3 via automatic updates as I have heard bad things about it. One day, out of the blue, my laptop starting making extremely strange noises as if it was straining to work. Then, the blue screen of death came up and when I restarted the computer; all I got was “Hard Disk Error Press Ctl-alt-delete.” I used recovery console from the CD to get it working again but it would happen over and over. I was almost about to buy a new laptop but decided to check it one last time. Lo and behold, looking through add-remove programs, I saw that SP 3 had been installed and I wasn’t even aware of it. Needless to say, I removed it from the laptop and have not had a problem since.
SP3 sounds like a real nightmare! Will def not install this monster of a headache service pack, thanks 2 all and their feedback.
Are people STILL holding out on SP3? I read that SP2 will be supported until at least 2010 which leads me to think staying on SP2 is just fine for now. I am waiting till Windows 7 comes out to make any big moves, but does anyone actually recommend installing SP3 right now? I’ve read more horror stories than good stories around the web.
Originally had my system set to automatic update, so got SP3 automatically. Then IE stopped working, would start, then freeze. Had the mobile computer doc come by and I am now back to SP2 and no problems. If you want a faster browser than IE, may I suggest you do as I did and go with Mozilla Firefox?
I keep getting the message that SP3 is ready for install but decline to do so – look at what is suggested for update first, don’t go with automatic updates would be my advice. I am, however, only 2years old as far as being a PC owner goes – so what do I know?!
i tires to install sp3 and it crashed my computer. i had to reinstall sp2. my brother had the same problem
well i guess i’m not gonna install it sp3 sucks!
thanks alot!
hi all,
Windows Service Pack 3 [for xp pro] is uber not coolio!
In fact I believe it is part of a master plan to remove users from using Windows XP period! Don’t belive the hype, and whatever you do DON’T download the update. All my automatic updates are off, and have been since around I’d say 2006…
Please, stick with Windows XP Service Pack 2, why update? Ask yourself, why on earth do I need to update my computer anyway?? It is just silly to kamakazie your machine, which this update certainly will.
But if you want to support Microsoft, and the private computer fixing services [computer repair busnesis] then go for it lol.
i really don’t understand all the bitch’n about SP3. got mine installed with windows since the day i bought my new pc. hadn’t had any problems with my software or system, everything work just fine. i’m running intel dual core 1.7G, geforce 7300, and 2G of RAM on my lenovo N200.
my advice is get a winxp+SP3 install disc, or if reinstaling win install SP3 the first thing after the wins are fully installed.
b-bye
With wich software does it give problems?
CROboy i wana update because some new games needs SP 3.Like the new GTA 4.
Hello all:
I installed SP3 end everything looks fine, exepct for some problems with internet explorer, especially when I need to use activex….
it crashed my computer. it’s definitely crap.it takes three hours for me to download, now includig how many times it freezes and i have to reinstall it
win sp3 sucksssssssss……i have got lot of problems in sp3 than sp2 like very slow shutdown automatically and leads to damage of many hardware problems.so friends it is better to use win sp2.
Sometimes faster mean crashing faster…
Heh.. thanks alot for the reviews and comments above me
.
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I had a notification about sp3 on my desktop and i googled reviews about it and it brought me here…
.
Overall what i read: sp3 sucks!
service pack 3 works fine on my pc sp3 on many a cations it depends on your ram for it to run smoothley i think it i deal to have aorund 1 gb of ram.
secound reason make sure before you install sp3 that you have no viruses and malware and much more
Thats right window sp3 full of sh-it…..am using it now and every day i hav 2 install it coz its not starting up if i shut down it.
i even try many thing downloading many spyware anti virus think “hey! mabe am the idiot ” and replacing a bigger HDD and Higher ram’s but i still got the problem….. and for ur records if u use it for a while ur HDD will fucked up and hav badsectors.
EVERYTHING WILL HAPPENED BY TIME
btw am running now sp3 in safemode coz the fu-cken windows wont start up AGAIN
FUCK You Microsoft !
Is sp2 equal to xp3
Was the SP3 pre-integrated or added later on? Are the people facing problems only those whose sp3 was upgraded?