Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Got Win XP SP-2 .. should I install it?

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Posted by Ron Yost (Member # 1850) on 09-02-2004, 05:15 PM:

Got it from MS on a free CD. Is it worth it to install it? Has anyone here done it?? Any problems experienced with it, or wise precautions to take prior to install?? Oh, I'm running XP Pro.

I have a fairly new (1-yr.) computer with large (and almost FULL) [Eek!]

hd's, and don't really want to backup everything. I do backup work-in-progress on a regular basis, tho.

Thanks for any tips, folks! [Big Grin]

Ron Yost

Posted by Jason Burroughs (Member # 68) on 09-02-2004, 05:33 PM:

Honestly, I wouldn't install it. Sure there are several security fixes, but SP does have some known issues with it.

If you are happy with your computer's performance and behavoir leave it be. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Posted by Ken McFall (Member # 845) on 09-02-2004, 05:40 PM:

I've installed it on three XP Pro systems with no problems. The service pack is useful if you've not been able to keep all the updates up to scratch.

That said I installed it on another XP Pro system running AOL 9 and it broke AOL. AOL 8 would work but AOL9 just won't play ball.... connectivity service problem! AOL don't seem to have any idea what the problem is or how to fix it. Their advice is to use AOL 8 or to stick with SP1 for now!

I would suggest you backup your system drive with something like Norton Ghost, which is quite painless and quick. That way you can install SP2 and try it for a couple of days. If you're not happy you can just reinstall the image and be back where you started.

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 09-02-2004, 06:35 PM:

There's a lot of software out there that has issues with XP SP2. AOL isn't the only ISP having troubles with it. SBC warns users SP2 may cause problems with the Yahoo! web browser they offer. I forget if Enternet300 (this DSL modem software) has issues with it as well.

We have a number of expensive industry-specific graphics programs at our shop that could get broken by stuff in SP2. With XP Service Pack 1, graphics people got hit with a Postscript Type 1 font problem. Any app that didn't generate its own authentic Postscript (which includes the majority of apps out there) would not be able to access the fonts. Microsoft and Adobe had to work together to solve that problem.

While security updates to Windows are pretty important, I think I would wait for at least a month or two to allow Microsoft to patch this SP2 patch.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 09-02-2004, 10:25 PM:

I downloaded it and installed it a week and a half ago. No problems at all here on AOL or Yahoo and I use both all the time. The only thing I can say that it did was to really fragment the crap out of the HD. De-fraging doesn't totally take care of it either but then I can't see any difference in how this thing is running so that shouldn't matter. I want to say that it was about a 280mb download, took a while even on DSL.

Mark

Posted by Joshua Waaland (Member # 287) on 09-02-2004, 11:19 PM:

I still have the old dial-up service (I use my employers dial-up name and password so it's free to me) and it took me 3-4 different nights to completely download it. I finally let it run all night the last night.

I haven't seen any real problems here since installation. I personally don't use AOL (never have, never will) so that is not an issue for me. I have known several people with AOL and it is such a pain in the rear end on it's own merit. It doesn't need service pack 2 to screw it up. I just got a disc from them in the mail yesterday. I use the discs for frisbees and then keep the nifty little cases that they send them in. That is one area I have to hand to the people at AOL. Their never ending array of different packaging boggles my mind. I have gotten cd cases from them that were totally made from wood. Pretty neat. They should just stick to making cd cases and leave the web browsers to someone else.

Posted by Ron Yost (Member # 1850) on 09-03-2004, 12:31 AM:

A big Thank You to all who responded. [Smile]

Think I'll let the CD lie for a while as I have a good firewall and virus protection and I can't see where the 'upgrade' is worth it if there's nothing to be gained. Let sleeping dogs lie. [Wink]

For those who want it it's probably easier to go to the MS website and order it on CD than download it. It's completely free of charge, and only took a week to arrive in the mail.

Thanks again!
Ron Yost

Posted by Jeff Stricker (Member # 224) on 09-03-2004, 07:03 AM:

I downloaded SP2 last week and installed it on my XP home system. No obvious problems. Even with my cable modem, it took one heck of a long time to download and install!

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 09-03-2004, 08:16 AM:

SP2 is probably OK for "most" home users. That damn built-in-and-turned-on-by-default firewall has some major issues with the default configuration (blocks all types of ICMP traffic by default, for example), but can be modified or turned off as needed.

I definitely wouldn't install it on anything "critical" without a full (and verified) backup, of course.

Be careful if you use any software that requires license service (FlexLM, LUM, etc.).

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 09-03-2004, 09:39 AM:

After some careful testing where I work, we rolled it out on all machines (around 25). No problems whatsoever. As far as the firewall, it will tell you if something is knocking at the door and give you the opportunity to allow it or not allow it through. No issues with FlexLM license service for us. The only significant issue was a secure tunnel service from Juniper Networks that stopped working. It was something to do with SP2 not permitting any address for localhost/loopback except 127.0.0.1. MS has a hotfix for that.

Posted by Ron Yost (Member # 1850) on 09-03-2004, 11:17 AM:

Scott .. what does it do to FlexLM? That has me concerned, as I do have two programs that use it. Interesting that David experienced no problems in that area. Wonder why??

Thanks!
Ron Yost

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 09-03-2004, 02:02 PM:

As an alternative to SP2 and if you haven't kept up to date with the WXP+SP1 patches, installing Autopatcher is an alternative for whacking all the patches on in one operation. The last version I used is from May, so there'll be a few more to install through Windows Update after you're done, but it'll be a fraction of the number needed for a 'virgin' SP1 installation. Autopatcher is about 250mb so you'll need a high-speed connection to download it, though.

Posted by Adam Wilbert (Member # 1184) on 09-03-2004, 07:00 PM:

sp2 changes the black loading screen. It no longer says Home Edition or Professional Edition. Totally worth the 280mb. [Roll Eyes]

There are also issues with Nero 6, but a 60mb patch is available on aheads website. I had and continue to have zero problems on both my desktop and my notebook.

edit: if your hard drives are full, it may not let you install. The installer backs up a ton of system files. I'm not sure of the exact requirements though.

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 09-03-2004, 10:06 PM:

FlexLM actually _does_ work fine, once you tell the annoying firewalling "feature" that you want to allow the traffic. The ICMP blocking by default is a much bigger issue that is likely to cause all sorts of problems.

Posted by Ron Yost (Member # 1850) on 09-03-2004, 11:16 PM:

Thanks Scott [Smile]

I figured it would be some potential conflict between the FlexLM license-server and SPII's new firewall.

Still going to avoid the install. Especially since, according to the read-me on the SPII disc, I -barely- have enough drive space to install it.

Ron Yost .. Have a GREAT Labor Day Weekend, everyone. [beer]

Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 09-05-2004, 06:15 PM:

Although I was skeptical, I just upgraded to XP Pro SP2 on one of my personal machines. The system upgraded had all of the latest patches already installed.

Installation went well, and I've had no problems running anything so far. BUT, don't be in a hurry. It took almost 2 hours to do everything (this is not a state of the art machine I'm using here!) It did back up a LOT of files.

I'm running all stock software, though (Office and Adobe packages), and I'd be very wary of installing this if my job depended on software from one of the smaller companies that might not have access to Microsofts developer information. I would try it on an unimportant machine first in a large shop. I don't totally trust Microsoft for anything.

I have heard from some reputable experts that some shops have reported a 15% failure rate. Also there seems to be a very BIG problem with some Dell Inspiron laptops, where the processor speed seems to drop to 300-mHz.

So far, the firewall hasn't gotten in my way. I heard that software might load a little faster, but I haven't found that to be true yet.

[ 09-06-2004, 08:27 AM: Message edited by: Mark Lensenmayer ]

Posted by Adam Martin (Member # 641) on 09-05-2004, 06:31 PM:

No problems on my Dell Inspiron 8100.

Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 09-06-2004, 08:31 AM:

Glad your's worked OK, Adam. Others aren't so lucky

Inspiron Slowdown

quote:
Owners of Dell Inspiron notebooks running Windows XP Home Edition say Service Pack 2 is drastically slowing down their systems

Owners of Dell Inspiron notebooks have reported that Microsoft's Windows Service Pack 2 is cutting their system speeds dramatically -- in some cases by a factor of almost ten, from 2.6GHz to 300MHz.

According to postings on Dell's support forums this week, owners of the notebooks experienced the slowdown after installing the update for Windows XP Home Edition. One owner reported similar problems at work. "I tested SP2 for a week or two before it came out and before I deployed it on my network," wrote a correspondent identified as Blane. "I was prepared for [almost] anything except this issue," said Blane, who found that deleting and reinstalling printer drivers helped.

Blane added that scanners should be removed and reinstalled as well, noting: "it seems that SP2 moves or removes some of the required dll files for these peripherals. Reinstalling them replaces the missing dlls and everything seems to run fine."

Dell did not immediately respond to requests for comment for this article, but one correspondent, Ron Colverson, posted the response that Dell sent him: "Dell does not validate any externally loaded software and can therefore make no representations as to their effectiveness, stability, appropriateness, or safety," it said. "Any problems encountered with this kind of software should be addressed to the respective manufacturer."

This response appeared to spark incredulity among other forum users.

Covlerson later posted a fix apparently provided by US-based PC seller Campustech, which involves rolling back the processor driver. But many owners were left asking why Dell doesn't support Microsoft patches.