The Release Of Microsoft Windows Xp Sp3

Published May 9th, 2008 in OnTheStreets

The long awaited services pack from microsoft for their famous windows xp has finally ended. Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) has been uploaded to Microsoft’s servers. Currently, the final build is only available on the download.windowsupdate domain. Service Pack 3 (SP3) build 5512 was released to manufacturing on April 21, 2008 It will be automatically pushed out to users in the early summer. Due to a compatibility issue with Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System, Microsoft recommends that SP3 not be applied to systems using Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System until a hotfix is available. The service pack contains 1,174 individual patches and hotfixes, essentially every one that Microsoft’s issued since it rolled out XP SP2 in 2004.

However there will be no x64 version of SP3 released; Windows XP x64 will be updated at the same time Windows Server 2003 is updated. Before start installing the services pack you might want to take a look at the check list provided by the microsoft, The list talks about prerequisites and hard disk requirements, mentions (but doesn’t recommend) disabling anti-virus protection and suggests several other moves, including making a full backup before you begin.

Bunch of a new features found in Windows XP SP3. Network Access Protection compatibility(NAP) was introduced to enables users to better protect their network by evaluating the connected system’s health status, for example, the antivirus pattern level and the patch level of the respective machine, with additional Black hole router detection integrated into the SP3, black holes refer to places in the network where incoming traffic is silently discarded, without informing the source that the data did not reach its intended recipient.

Kernel Mode Cryptographic Module also introduced to incorporates cryptographic algorithms in a single module other kernel mode drivers are capable of hooking into and accessing. This feature is going to be used to better enhance how XP handles crypto requests at the application layer. Withe WPA2, more security for wireless communication is a true relief as natively XP lacked the ability to do this without a third party component. Taskbar Address Bar is no longer included in SP3, this probably refers to the US lawsuit regarding bundling Windows and Internet Explorer and possibly the EU lawsuit regarding competition.

The new Product Activation module allows users to install XP without entering a product key at installation as with Windows Vista, XP SP3 installs can proceed without entering a product key during setup. But keep it somewhere you can easily find, as it will ask you the key 30 days after you got SP3 installed.