[Tfug] Windows XP SP3 Released!! Download your update now!

[Angus Scott-Fleming]

On 9 May 2008 at 0:00, John Mc  wrote:

> Windows XP SP3 Released!! Download your update now!
> http://www.informationweek.com/news/windows/operatingsystems/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=207600950
> 
>       Within hours of its release, Microsoft's Service Pack 3 for
>       Windows XP began drawing hundreds of complaints from users who
>       claim the update is wreaking havoc on their PCs.
> 
>       The problems with XP SP3, according to posters on Microsoft's
>       Windows XP message board, range from spontaneous reboots to
>       outright system crashes.
> 
> Ooooh ... never mind.
> 
> ...
> 
> Windows XP SP3 Creating Havoc
> Posted by kdawson on Friday May 09, @09:40AM
> from the shun-the-frumious-bandersnatch dept.
> http://tech.slashdot.org/tech/08/05/09/1258229.shtml

OT for this list, but for those here who also support Windows users and who 
want to hold SP3 off for a while, this blocking tool from Microsoft works well:   

    Download details: Windows Service Pack Blocker Tool Kit
    http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=D7C9A07A-5267
    -4BD6-87D0-E2A72099EDB7 or here if the above wraps unusably:
    http://preview.tinyurl.com/4t3lql

It contains a batch-file, an executable program, and an ADM template.  

I saw an interesting write-up on problems with SP3 and AMD-processor machines 
with OEM install images here:  

  Windows XP Service Pack 3 endless reboots 
  Posted by woody on 08 May 2008 - 17:47:16 Windows Patches/Security  
  http://www.askwoody.com/newscomments.php?newsid=2087   

    Do you have an HP computer with an AMD processor?  

    If so, and you have Windows XP's Automatic Updates turned on, you may be 
    in for an unpleasant surprise.   

    Long-time Microsoft observer and MVP Jesper Johansson got bit:   

    "Last night WSUS deployed XP Service Pack 3 to the sole remaining computer 
    running XP that I have. This morning, I came down and was greeted with 
    incessant reboots. The computer booted, apologized for not being able to 
    boot properly, asked if I wanted to boot into safe mode, defaulted to 
    normal boot, rebooted, and so on and so on.   

    It would boot into safe mode fine, so I did that. Not knowing what it was, 
    I ran a disk check, which turned out to be a real mistake. Once I 
    configured the computer to run a disk check at startup it would not even 
    boot into safe mode.   

    Fortunately, I know Bill Castner, another Microsoft MVP, and he pointed me 
    to a solution. It turns out that this computer is running an OEM OS image 
    from HP. HP, apparently along other OEMs, deploy the same image to Intel-
    based computers that they do to AMD-based computers. That means they all 
    have the intelppm.sys driver installed and running. That driver provides 
    power management on Intel-based computers. On an AMD-based computer, 
    amdk8.sys provides the same functionality.   

    Ordinarily, having intelppm.sys running appears to cause no problems. 
    However, on the first reboot after a service pack installation, it causes 
    a big problem. The computer either fails to boot, as in my case, or 
    crashes with a STOP error code of 0x0000007e. It will boot into safe mode 
    because the drivers are disabled there. ....    

I checked and my Lenovo running an AMD Athlon 64 X2 does NOT have
amdk8.sys, it  has the intelppm.sys driver.  I have NOT applied SP3 to
this box, but on my lone SP3 test box, which has a Celeron processor, SP3
applied fine.

--
Angus Scott-Fleming
GeoApps, Tucson, Arizona
1-520-290-5038
+-----------------------------------+