starwitnessforums.com :: View topic - Important: Do NOT Install Windows XP SP3 Yet!

ChadGulzow · Forensic Video User

As many of you have no doubt heard, Microsoft has recently released the long-awaited Service Pack 3 for the Windows XP operating systems. And as with most Microsoft products, there were a plethora of new bugs released in the update.

I'm not trying to be anti-Microsoft here; let's face it, bugs in software are an expected part of the development cycle. And programming an operating system is a lot different than programming a simple one-use application.

The purpose of this post is to make you aware that we highly recommend that you hold off on installing Win XP SP3 until it has gone through some more bug fixes.

Some issues reported with the new Service Pack 3 include random system rebooting and blue screening, especially on systems with Athlon processors. Other issues include loss of internal network connectivity and even crashing during the install process.

Here is a link to a PC World article on SP3: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/146059/users_report_more_trouble_with_windows_xp_sp3.html
Please feel free to post questions and concerns here. Also, we will let you know when we feel it is safe to install the latest Windows Service Pack.

I will leave you with a final note: you can turn off Windows Automatic Updates. As Steve Peterson has told me many times around the office here, "If it's not broke, don't fix it." If your system is running fine now, then you shouldn't need to install any additional Windows patches to it. Wink

(That said, if your StarWitness system is connected to the internet, always maintain a security process to keep from downloading viruses and spyware!)

Brian Rudick · Forensic Video User

Any update to the thread? SP3 has been out for some time now. Thanks!