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Hey All -

This morning Microsoft FINALLY released the long-awaited XP SP3.

Come and get it ! ! !   (Visions of the farm mom banging her triangle outside the front door)

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/thankyou.aspx?familyId=5b33b5a8-5e76-401f-be08-1e1555d4f3d4&displayLang=en (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/thankyou.aspx?familyId=5b33b5a8-5e76-401f-be08-1e1555d4f3d4&displayLang=en)

This is the "redistributable" version - good for downloading once and burning to cd-rom or copying to memory stick and applying to many PC's.  I tried to get this "redistributable" version earlier today but the "redistributable" version was not available - UNTIL NOW ! !

I downloaded and installed SP3 on 5 PC's at work today and had no issues afterward... 

Enjoy!

Wouldn't it be installed in 'Automatic Updates,' or do I have to install it manually ?

It's hanging in automatic updates this morning. Just click start, all programs and update at the top of the list.

They really mean 25 minutes too

Thanks for the heads up RG

If you find the Windows Automatic Updates to be slow then try downloading the redistributable version. ;)

I downloaded the redistributable.  It's on my server now. 

With as many PC's as I do support for I don't have the time to wait for the download to each one...

I use Windows Update Server here at the office.  It already had the service pack downloaded and in the list of updates waiting for admin approval.

Don't forget to do complete backups before installing this baby in case it hangs or crashes -- :8- :37-  -- especially home users who probably haven't backed up in 5 years anyway!  :127- :125-

Reading the white papers and cautions and downloading the pages that tell you what to do when it bombs before you run the upgrade is always a good idea. If you have only one computer, you might want to print them out since you won't be able to read them on your crashed computer. :25-

Installing on a single test machine as we speak.

I've learned to not trust these service packs any farther than I can throw them... :25- :72-

In my case, I've learned not to trust these service packs any further than I can throw my computer.  :25- :52- :7- :7-

I wish Bill Gates gave me a dollar every time Windows shattered (crashed) or an upgrade broke the operating system.  :56-
I'd settle for $20 for each rebuild/repair that was necessary.

Okay, it took 2 hours and 19 minutes to download even on my DSL (I know its slow).

Now I don't have the balls to launch it until I read some more success stories (and no horror stories).

So, how do we keep Auto Update from installing it.  Usually, that happens when I shut down my XP machines?

CJ

when you shutdown, there's a link to just shutdown without installing the update.  Or you could just hibernate the machine.

Make sure you've set your auto update to only download updates and to ask you if you want them installed. The MicroCrap default is to download and install automatically and silently - until it tells you to reboot. :37-

For regular updates I always select the custom button so that I can see what's being installed and de-select anything I don't want.

<EDIT> To change the settings, open the control panel and click on Automatic Updates. Choose the second radio button down from the top. Be prepared for MicroCrap to nag you about the setting, especially when you go to the online update site.

I keep my home pc's with the "download upadates but let me choose when to install them."  The issue I come accross from time to time is that it never shows me the little shield icon on the systray and only gives me the option to installing the updates during shutdown, which won't let me pick which ones to install.  I've never been able to figure out why it does this sometimes and other times it does not.  :103- :103- :103-

Well, that's the setting that I use and suggested above, but I've never encountered that problem. Just another reason to hate microsoft.  :47-
My computer will prompt me to install the updates on shutdown if I haven't done so, but I always get the little shield. If you say "no" to the updates at shutdown, does the shield come back on reboot?

Downloaded and installed this morning.

No problems so far.


Ed

I was burning a DVD last weekend and Microsux convienently restarted my PC - mid-burn...

Needless to say "my afterburners were lit" after the PC came up and spit out my sparkling brand-new coaster...  :25- :25-

My desktop is set to download automatically and notify me when updates are ready.  When I get the notification I choose "Custom" install - just so I can see what Microsux is trying to load on my PC.

I've had to uncheck IE7 and choose "don't show again" two or three times.

4 computers installed.. no problems .. yet

Only 5 more to go. Don't ask why I have so many computers, you can only use 2 at a time

No the shield does not come back.  In fact I have to manually delete the downloaded updates and edit the log file so it downloads them again and then I hope for the shield to show up, but it does not show up all the time.  It's weird.

My Dad asked me how he can make a cd autorun that he burned with only the SP3 executable.

Is it as simple as taking an 'autorun.inf' file from a commercial cd-rom and editing it like this?

Original 'autorun.inf'
[AutoRun]
Open=AutoRun.exe
Icon=AutoRun.exe,0

modified 'autorun.inf'
[AutoRun]
open=WindowsXP-KB936929-sp3-x86-ENU.exe
icon=WindowsXP-KB936929-sp3-x86-ENU.exe,0

Or do I need to do something else? Hmmm - just tested it...  Seems that's all you have to do - burn the SP3 executable and the modified "autorun.inf".

When I put the custom cdrom in it immediately started extracting SP3.  Sweet!

Isn't command line execution wonderful? The last remnants of DOS. I still use DOS for batch renames of my picture files because winDo'hs   :118- never adopted this powerful tool. With a single simple command I can change the 4th character in every picture file in a directory and it's subs from "_" to "1". I do this because I've exceeded 10k pictures and my camera only uses 4 digits for the file number.

One of these days I'll switch to Unix. :79-

10k pictures of what?  ?-?-? :117- :124- :106-

Let's see... Cats - mine and others, Dogs - not mine :5- and others, Wild Animals both in nature and zoos/parks etc., Scenic, Artistic, Macro, Family events, Corvette club events & cars, Astronomy club events, other events with friends, Friends  :96-, Long exposure night shots, Astronomy pictures (no scope. I have a special CCD imager for that, but I often put the camera on top of the scope for tracking), SLOT hits, More Slot Hits  :97-, Parts & other pics for NLG site posts :76- :31-, Travel/Vacation shots, deleted shots :96- ...

Oh, the 10k is only from my D70 which I bought in 6/05. I hit 10k just around New Years '08 which averages out to 4k per year. Actually, that makes me a light-medium weight. On the Nikon and other sites people (amateurs) shoot 10k pics in as little as 3-5 months. I'm drooling over the D300  :131-. (D3 is waaaaaay too expensive for non-pros.)

I'm a Canon fan myself, and I've been drooling over a 1D MkIII, but I just can't justify the 3K for what I use it for.  So I'm waiting for the price on the 40D to scale down a bit to upgrade my 10D.

Both are excellent companies with great glass. At the end of the day it comes down to which camera has the ergonomics that you prefer and whether you already have an extensive collection of glass for one or the other. :71-  What counts is getting the shot. :31-

I love being able to shoot like a pro. In the film days I was always holding back on pressing the shutter because I couldn't afford the film and development. Now I can shoot hundreds of shots, take the picks of the litter (pun intended) and ignore the rest.

I often like to find the picture within the picture after the fact and that requires lots of megapixels and large sensors. I believe that DX is going to go the way of the Dinosaur as the cost of the sensors comes down. I can't wait until we get to prosumer cameras with FX sensors and 50 megapixels. Then I will have the option of cropping 20% x 20% (5% coverage) and blowing it up to 11x17.

I have a shot of some snow crystals on my car's weather stripping that I took several years ago. I took a close up shot which wasn't particularly interesting, but I found the shot in the shot. The final image is an extreme closeup of just a few crystals and is beautiful (I think). Unfortunately at the time all I had was a 3MP P&S Olympus Dimage Z1, so the image, printed at 8.5 x 11, is quite pixelated. I still have it hanging anyway. :71-

I have a 20D and am waiting for the 6D to be announced.

I was this [] close to getting the 5D, but at the last minute I decided against it.  The full frame sensor sure makes it tempting, but being the first of it's kind and all, I wanted to wait and see what the 2nd gen version would offer.  At the time the price was in the $2,600's or so, now I think it can be hand for close to $2K.  But the 40D at this point is good enough for my shots, until my kid grows up and if he gets into sports, then I might consider the then availablae 1D Mkxxx for the speed shots.