Upgrade to Windows XP SP3 - Comments Page 4

I installed Windows XP SP3 with the large 300MB+ installer into an AMD Athlon 64 x 2 Dual Core processor 3800+ , Gigabyte Motherboard , OEM Windows Pro and my system works better than before.

I did read SP3 whitepapers and uninstalled programs/ windows-updates as recommended before installation. Since the SP3 upgrade, finally Windows or I should say "Microsoft updates" are able to automatically work! Usually (almost always) I (this is me) get into trouble when hurried into a quick fix, without the proper preparation.

I do not believe a console recovery such a good idea if install fails, rather a Win XP installation repair, install from CD boot, wait after the recovery console option, select install windows, "Then Hit the R key" so as not to format your Hard Drive or partition.

I've installed SP3 twice and didn't really notice any improvements. I'm running a homebuilt P4 3.0GHz with 2 gig memory. One thing that did disappoint me was losing my Vista style start button that I had and wasn't able to get it back. I like the round Vista style button as opposed to the tired green rectangular one. Haven't re-installed it although auto-updates keeps reminding me to.

Just a quick update on all the problems of upgrading to XP SP3. Just got this from PC Pitstop.com. They are recommending that you do NOT upgrade, at this point. People are not finding out, that initially they were not having any problems, only to have their PC's go 'dead' on them later and there is NO RESTORING point available, since SP3 'wiped it out'. Read the many, many complaints here: http://techtalk.pcpitstop.com/2008/05/25/pitstop-news-flash-sp3-still-no-go-flash-xp-sp3-still-not-ready-news-flash-do-not-install/

I have a Dell PC (Pentium 4) and was unable to complete the Windows XP service pack 3 update. Almost to the end of the update, a pop-up message appeared that states: "Access Denied". The update failed and Windows reversed the updates that had been installed. When finished, a message appeared that indicated some Windows components had been removed and Windows might not work correctly!

I discovered that Internet Explorer indeed did not work, but I am not sure what else. I used Windows Restore to revert to a known good configuration. After 4-5 attempts with the same results, I discovered that Microsoft has an XP Service Pack 3 bulletin board for user questions and problems. On the bulletin board there are numerous user problems listed including the "Access Denied" problem.

Unfortunately, the Microsoft patch for the "Access Denied" problem is a generic patch that didn't work on my PC. In fact when the SP3 updates were uninstalled, more Windows problems appeared. Because of these problems, I had serious concerns that the System Restore might not work this time. After a little effort I was able to restore my system again. However, I decided to never attempt XP SP 3 again. So all is not well in Microsoft land with the XP SP 3 update.

I downloaded XP3 When it first came out, Have no Problems. I am running Windows XP on A Sony Vaio. It did not speed the PC up But I am using DSL.

I updated to SP3 a while ago (once it went to mfg). on an ECS K7VTA3 XP 2200+ system and had no problems what-so-ever. Of course, as fate would have it, the ECS board crashed and I replaced it recently w/a Biostar K8M800 micro M2 w/64 X2 4600 and 2GB of memory. I was surprised how easy it was to bring up the existing WinXP Pro install (which was why I bought the board :) However, what I've noticed is that I can't get the system to recognize (make that utilize) both cores of the X2.

I see the 2 cores w/drivers in Device Manager/Processors (boot also indicates an X2) and have installed the AMD drivers, but on a number of programs (CPUZ, AMD CPUInfo, and wPrime) while they indicate a dual core, it's not clear they see a 2nd core in the device. When I bring up task manager, and look at performance, I only see 1 processor graph (under view/CPU History the only option is "One graph per CPU"). Does this seem right to anyone? My sense is it's at the operating system level, but can't seem to find the key to unlock it...anyone seen this and been able to fix it? Or, do I not have a problem and only a lack of programs capable of utilizing an X2....Thanks.

I downloaded Windows XP SP3 update. My computer ran excellent, but I had no drives. I had to format to get my drives back. All those tricks to make them reappear did'nt work. I even downloaded Windows XP SP3 from the Microsoft website to disc and it took my drives again. I won't ever download that program again. My computer runs excellent with Windows XP SP2.

EDITOR'S NOTE: By "drives" do you mean your hard drives, such as C: and D: drives? Or CDROM drives, or something else?

If you download service pack 3 It will Cause Device Manager in Windows XP to opean with blank window.I can not find a fix for this from Microsoft.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Obviously not all (or even most) people have this problem. But thanks for reporting it here, so folks can be aware. Let us know if you find a fix, other than System Restore.

I also have an HP with XP Media Edition and an AMD Athlon Processor. I tried several times to download SP3. Each time my pc crashed and I had to do a system recovery. Finally even that didn't work and I couldn't bring my pc up at all. Not even in safe mode. I contacted HP Tech Support and they had me send my pc to them to repair (at their cost). Turns out when I tried to download SP3 it did something to my motherboard and HP installed a brand new one for free. My guess is I'm not the only one this happened to.

If you have a blank Device window and blank network connections window after downloading SP3.Go to Microsoft Help and Support and download the Hot Fix for this.It works!