Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Latest News

      Microsoft Preps for the Next SP2 Wave

      Written by

      eWEEK EDITORS
      Published August 24, 2004
      Share
      Facebook
      Twitter
      Linkedin

        eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

        Microsoft is bracing for the next phase of its rollout of its Windows XP SP2 (Service Pack 2), which kicks off Wednesday.

        Microsoft is set to begin pushing the service pack to Windows XP Professional users tomorrow via Windows Update/Automatic Update. A week ago, Microsoft began delivering SP2 to Windows XP Home users via its Windows Update/Automatic Update patching facility. Microsoft pushed back its Automatic Update rollout dates in order to allow customers who werent ready for SP2 to block the update.

        Users can block the update in several ways, two of which involve new, downloadable tools from Microsoft. A week ago, it posted a tool that temporarily blocks SP2 from being delivered via Automatic Update. More recently, the company also posted to its TechNet Web site for IT professionals Visual Basic scripts that will block SP2 for users who arent yet ready for it.

        The new scripts, developed by a handful of Microsoft developers known as “The Scripting Guys,” can block SP2 from downloading to an individual computer or to multiple machines. The scripts are “officially unsupported,” however, according to a description of them on Microsofts site.

        Microsoft also posted for download on Monday night an “Application Compatibility Testing and Mitigation Guide for Windows XP Service Pack 2.” The guide summarizes some of the steps customers can take to alleviate the myriad compatibility problems that users have begun encountering when attempting to apply SP2.

        “Because system security becomes more restrictive upon initial installation, SP2 may also expose application-compatibility issues,” Microsoft notes on the download site for the SP2 compatibility guide. “It is important that an investigation into possible application-compatibility issues takes place prior to full deployment.”

        Indeed, a number of SP2 downloaders have been plagued by application incompatibilities between SP2 and software from both Microsoft and third-party vendors. Microsoft last week posted a list of nearly 50 applications that “seem to stop working” once SP2 is applied, and another set of about 200 applications that “behave differently” upon application of the service pack.

        Microsoft has posted to its Knowledge Base myriad how-to articles designed to help users fix these incompatibilities.

        More Windows XP SP2 resources are on the way, as well.

        According to the NeoWin Windows enthusiast site, Microsoft also is set to launch on Wednesday its official Windows XP Service Pack 2 Web site, geared to individual SP2 users. Users who are having trouble downloading the nearly 300 MB service pack due to slow network connections are expected to be able to order CD versions of SP2 from this site.

        A Microsoft spokesman said Microsoft is on track to go live with the new SP2 site sometime in late August. He would not confirm that the site will go live Wednesday, however.

        Academic institutions already can order the CD version of SP2 from the Microsoft Education site. Alongside the SP2 CDs, Microsoft is providing educational institutions with CDs bearing a 90-day-free copy of McAfee VirusScan and McAfee Personal Firewall Plus. Microsoft is advising universities to distribute the CDs to students before they attempt to connect to campus networks.

        “We heard from the higher-education community a while ago about their [SP2] downloading concerns,” a Microsoft spokesman acknowledged, “ranging from system capacity, to unprotected machines logging on, to insufficient time for [application] testing.” The bottom line: “They mostly wanted the ability to control the distribution of [SP2],” the spokesman said.

        Microsoft also is set to roll out an SP2 PSDK (platform software development kit) sometime soon that is designed to provide developers with supplementary SP2 information, such as Windows API documentation, samples, tools, headers and libraries.

        Check out eWEEK.coms Windows Center at http://windows.eweek.com for Microsoft and Windows news, views and analysis.

        Be sure to add our eWEEK.com Windows news feed to your RSS newsreader or My Yahoo page

        eWEEK EDITORS
        eWEEK EDITORS
        eWeek editors publish top thought leaders and leading experts in emerging technology across a wide variety of Enterprise B2B sectors. Our focus is providing actionable information for today’s technology decision makers.

        Get the Free Newsletter!

        Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

        Get the Free Newsletter!

        Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

        MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

        Artificial Intelligence

        9 Best AI 3D Generators You Need...

        Sam Rinko - June 25, 2024 0
        AI 3D Generators are powerful tools for many different industries. Discover the best AI 3D Generators, and learn which is best for your specific use case.
        Read more
        Cloud

        RingCentral Expands Its Collaboration Platform

        Zeus Kerravala - November 22, 2023 0
        RingCentral adds AI-enabled contact center and hybrid event products to its suite of collaboration services.
        Read more
        Artificial Intelligence

        8 Best AI Data Analytics Software &...

        Aminu Abdullahi - January 18, 2024 0
        Learn the top AI data analytics software to use. Compare AI data analytics solutions & features to make the best choice for your business.
        Read more
        Latest News

        Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

        James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
        I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
        Read more
        Video

        Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

        James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
        I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
        Read more
        Logo

        eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

        Facebook
        Linkedin
        RSS
        Twitter
        Youtube

        Advertisers

        Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

        Advertise with Us

        Menu

        • About eWeek
        • Subscribe to our Newsletter
        • Latest News

        Our Brands

        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms
        • About
        • Contact
        • Advertise
        • Sitemap
        • California – Do Not Sell My Information

        Property of TechnologyAdvice.
        © 2024 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

        Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

        ×