After delays, Windows Security Update Ready To Go

edited August 2004 in Science & Tech
Microsoft on Friday wrapped up development on a long-awaited security update to Windows XP, paving the way for businesses and consumers to upgrade in the coming days and months.
The company said it has released Windows XP Service Pack 2 to manufacturing, following a series of delays. Microsoft will make the free update available via download and via CD, but it is recommending that customers turn on Windows' automatic upgrade feature and get the update that way. The update should be distributed to approximately 100 million PCs through automatic updates during the next two months, Microsoft said. Customers who choose to download manually will be able to do so by the end of August.
Someone pass the corporate IT managers some Tylenol and Tums for the firewall being turned on. -KF

Source: c|net

Comments

  • GobblesGobbles Ventura California
    edited August 2004
    If the IT persons let the users install the service pack on their own.. then the resulting headaches are deserved...


    Gobbles
  • SputnikSputnik Worcester, MA
    edited August 2004
    does it have the compatability issues (certain programs not running) that some reports have commented on?
  • edited August 2004
    There are reports that it conflicts with some of Microsoft's own programs. There are also reports of conflicts with other programs. Smart strategy would be to delay installing it when it first comes out and see if there any conflicts with your programs and get the solutions beforehand. Some insiders have reported a rough transition with the changes in SP2.

    KF
  • Omega65Omega65 Philadelphia, Pa
    edited August 2004
    It always smart to wait and let the early adoptees try out new software, patches and hardware.

    You can avoid a lot of headaches while the bugs are being worked out.
  • Straight_ManStraight_Man Geeky, in my own way Naples, FL Icrontian
    edited August 2004
    KingFish wrote:
    There are reports that it conflicts with some of Microsoft's own programs. There are also reports of conflicts with other programs. Smart strategy would be to delay installing it when it first comes out and see if there any conflicts with your programs and get the solutions beforehand. Some insiders have reported a rough transition with the changes in SP2.

    KF

    Here are some of the things I have run into:

    Some programs use graphics from the web, and\or remote fed help files, and security settings can break this becasue Local Access by remote things have been tightened down in SP2.

    Example:

    Adobe PhotoShop Elements partly works, it uses ActiveX and IE default web access settings to get help in some cases from the web-- GRAPHICAL Help. The graphic buttons show as broken graphics.

    I have other apps that do this also. They can't get to the web for help content updates that are autolinked and show graphics from those links.

    Microsoft.com, some portions of its major doamin interlinkings, have content that come from Akamai.net servers. Some of that content shows broken graphics symbols. I can still get support motsly working, but some shows blank frames with heavy security setttings in IE after an SP2 install and uninstall. Sites that do not use ActiveX are unbroken.

    Another example, partly having to do with drivers as it only happens on boxes with SOME hardware AND drivers in them:

    Windows Media Player 9.0 can sometimes break after an SP2 install-- there is a patch that undoes a particular SP2 rework that helps some boxes then use Windows Media Player. Other times the patch will fix, and on many boxes, WMP 9.0 works without a patch need.

    What I would say is this-- back up your system in full before installing SP2. The installer does NOT fully back up things before installing, nor does it fully roll back afterwards to purely what you had. Microsoft says not to use SP2 installer withotu a full backup present and verified first. I'm still fixing some subfunctionality here, sometimes with reloading of subsystems. I do not wish to roll back to a backup snapshot.

    OTOH, I get NO BSODs after an install of SP2. I have seen boxes that will not start after an SP2 RC2 install, though, and part of this is drivers including video drivers. You need a video driver set that is fully 9.0b compliatn and 9.0 of some verison installed as a prereq for SP2 as of now, BEFORE you apply it. Some folks have installed it without that present, and the only fix for some was a safe mode boot, installation of a complete DX9 .cab set, and in some cases a new video driver also, then in soem cases an SP2 RELOAD once back in normal mode.

    Also, the Windows Internet Connection Firewall defaults active, and if you use another Firewall you might have Firewall conflicts.

    The Windows Security Center that comes with SP2 does not know my AV, F-Prot, so it kept yelling at me to install AV until I turned its check of AV presence OFF. I know it knows Symantec\Norton, McAfee, and Trend Micro AV. AV still works, though, its just you get to tell Windows not to check for this AV Software presence-- if it does not know the AV Software, it also will not be able to tell you if the AV is disabled. THIS might be fixed in the final SP2, and I hope more kinds of AV are recognized right when SP2 is released or the reg entires to tell it what the AV software is are doced.

    If you use IE, AND do not have a video card that conflicts with DirectX 9.0, you can do a full backup and try it. BUT, have a full system backup first, or try it on a base install of XP SP1 that has been fully security packed successfully first-- on your hardware set. Run the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer of version 1.2 before installing this service pack, PLEASE!

    When Microsoft says a test pack should NOT be loaded on a production box, they mean it. And for SP2, unless I see an RC3 that works better here, I will be scratch building a new XP install up from base for an SP2 install on my hardware here. The existing working install will NOT be used. I need it intact, it IS a production install (an install used to accomplish the making of work product) and it will serve as my backup.
  • GobblesGobbles Ventura California
    edited August 2004
    Ive been running it on my laptop for along time now... and have had no problems..

    kinda....

    Here is what I mean. I did a fresh install. loaded all my drivers and then loaded sp2. Everything works perfectly.

    I slipstreamed sp2 and created a xp cd with sp2. I then wiped my system and reloaded it. I received about 6 missing file notices. I also received a unsigned driver notice for every driver it tried to install. Other than that and massive instabilities, due to the missing files it went ok. NOW that was sp2 rc 2 build 2149, NOT the final version which released today.

    Gobbles
  • gtghmgtghm New
    edited August 2004
    Gobbles wrote:
    Other than that and massive instabilities, due to the missing files it went ok.

    Gobbles


    LOL, thats a classic statement...
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