Windows XP SP3 now available... just kidding

Attention XP'ers -- your wildest fantasies are coming to fruition. Word on the street is that Service Pack 3 is now available for download all over the World Wide Web. When we say "all over" what we really mean is via Windows Update and the Microsoft Download Center, though we doubt it will stay in one place for too long. Apparently, the new pack offers 1,100 hotfixes and patches, so maybe your obscure, cheapo soundcard will now function in stereo.

Update: Apparently due to a "glitch" in the latest SP, Microsoft has delayed the release of the update, now aiming for a May 2nd street date. Thanks commenters and tipsters, and no thanks to you, Microsoft.

[Ryan @ Apr 29th 2008 9:31AM]

I'm afraid to try.

[Pochi @ Apr 29th 2008 9:39AM]

Pussy.

[Seth @ Apr 29th 2008 9:45AM]

Only "real men" go for a brand new Microsoft update! Seriously, what can it do? Fry your computer to an utter abyss?

[tom @ Apr 29th 2008 9:49AM]

unless your xp sp2 is pirated

[OneLove @ Apr 29th 2008 10:52AM]

just back yo shit up before.

[Asher69 @ Apr 29th 2008 11:37AM]

This is why Virtual PC (free from MS) is your friend. :D

[Wayde @ Apr 29th 2008 12:24PM]

Microsoft's Virtual PC is nobody's friend.
VM Ware on the other hand is.

[Pochi @ Apr 29th 2008 2:50PM]

Responding here because it's near the top of the comments...

XP SP3 is apparently delayed.

http://www.crn.com/software/207403064

HMPH.

[josejuan05 @ Apr 29th 2008 2:56PM]

@Wade...
We use VirtualPC in our electronics lab because it lets you access serial ports. Certainly the free version of VM Ware does not (we tried, it was fraught with errors)...

[Neoprimal @ Apr 29th 2008 3:08PM]

I installed it in Virtualbox on a fresh SP2 install and it worked fine, so I slipstreamed it with SP2 and put it on the one machine in my household that still has XP as well as a few other virtual installs and all is well. There are no super huge change - if you update regularly then it's not a big deal, but where it matters MOST is on fresh installs. After you install it, naturally you only have a few updates from MS update left...it def. shaves time on clean installs and even 'felt' like the slipstreamed CD installed faster (probably mind over matter).

All my licenses are legal though, so I have no idea how it works on pirated copies.

[Seth @ Apr 29th 2008 4:34PM]

Looks like my warning was sadly foreseen. Ahh well, another day, another Microsoft mess over.

[JJV @ Apr 29th 2008 9:31AM]

yeah

[Hashbrown Hunter @ Apr 29th 2008 1:21PM]

totally

[kevin @ Apr 29th 2008 9:31AM]

I haven't had any problems with XP2...why would I want this?

[kastonie @ Apr 29th 2008 9:38AM]

man that was also going through my mind too.... well i tried it on one of my non essential boxes here at home, and it works great...i had no problems so i think i may try it on my laptop now...

the wierd thing is, i remember back in the day when windows 98 came out and 98SE and then xp came out, everyone i knew was all about upgrading and trying the newest thing out...even if the upgrade broke the computer...nowadays everyone is scared (including me) to upgrade major OS software like this if anything isnt broken about the version you are currently using...

times have changed i guess....
i feel old....give me my walker...

[wrabbit @ Apr 29th 2008 9:41AM]

Why wouldn't you upgrade? SP3 is just like your usual windows update just with more fixes and maybe couple of new features (that 99.9% of the users don't use anyway) - I don't see a reason not to update. Unless you're one of those people that just refuse to update their windows or something.

Really, with all the hoopla about SP3, like Chaj says (3 posts down), if you kept up with regular updates SP3 isn't a big deal at all.

[bondsbw @ Apr 29th 2008 10:34AM]

@wrabbit:

Just remember not every update is good for 100% of people. I've had at least 2 or 3 updates (off the Windows Update site) break different computers I've owned in the past.

A service pack, by definition, is a bundle of updates, and each one increases the likelihood that something could fail. Hopefully this will not happen, but there's no guarantee. So, some people just want to wait and let early adopters find the bugs and let Microsoft fix them before getting such a large update.

[TravisO @ Apr 29th 2008 12:50PM]

Posting news about a file but not the link isn't reporting news, it's reporting bullsh.t, great job Engadget.

[duke @ Apr 29th 2008 5:19PM]

@wrabbit: why wouldn't we upgrade?? don't you feel like a moron now. oh look, theres a problem. now its delayed. that's why you wait to upgrade, ya noob. microsoft always finds some way to screw it up. its more than just some simple updates. more like an overhaul. some people......wow.

[Fox318 @ Apr 29th 2008 9:31AM]

If only Vista was XP...

[Steffen Jobbs @ Apr 29th 2008 10:16AM]

If only XP was Vista.

[Hashbrown Hunter @ Apr 29th 2008 1:24PM]

If only Vista were a cheap rip-off of Mac OSX

...oh wait

[YoMomma @ Apr 29th 2008 4:04PM]

If only your face was a OS X ripoff.

[Jarhead2012 @ Jun 17th 2008 10:14AM]

@ Hashbrown Hunter

Screw you apple fanboys.

[Hashbrown Hunter @ Apr 29th 2008 4:28PM]

Actually I'm not an Apple fanboy. I'm not on engadget much, but I usually end up bashing Apple more than praising it. I'm glad that they accomplished the advancements they've made, but in all honesty they're extremely cocky right now. They think they're the hottest technology company in the business when thats just not true.

The only reason I made that comment is that there's no denying OSX did have the visual refinement Vista has now for quite some time, and OSX is much better organized. But I actually like Vista more. It has a gigantic list of problems, but I'm more comfortable in a Windows environment than an Apple one.

...and don't EVEN get me started on engadget's fairly obvious bias towards Apple. I remember reading the Microsoft Keynote at CES and almost every single line would include some kind of bash on Microsoft and promoting Apple. But thats all I'm gonna say, because I still respect engadget, but now I just avoid any article that has the word 'apple' 'iphone' 'ipod' or 'mac' in it.

Now Apple is just trying to shove itself in to the limelight and their gray hairs are starting to show, which leads me to believe Apple will be running out of steam soon.

[Quikboy @ Apr 29th 2008 6:30PM]

@Hashbrown Hunter : Well one could say that Apple might have copied Vista as well.

I can remember Microsoft showing their Longhorn stuff at PDC 2003, for anyone to watch. They showed off desktop search, widgets, AERO interface, all before Tiger came out in 2005. (hey, it's Tiger's b-day today!).

And I don't know why people keep saying it's a rip-off as it's a bad thing. Adding functionality that people want integrated in their OS, is a good thing. Who cares if someone got it (out to the market) first? I can say that Leopard is a rip-off of what many other companies have had for quite a while. Though I could care less.

[Loonie @ Apr 29th 2008 7:03PM]

How dare you, Hashbrown Hunter! Vista isn't cheap.

[Dolemite @ Apr 29th 2008 9:35AM]

Dude, what happened to your post on Woz and The Thing breaking up?

I sure this thing can be slipstreamed easily....

[Chaj @ Apr 29th 2008 9:36AM]

If you've kept your computer up-to-date on all the patches then SP3 should just be a 'minor' upgrade. No reason to be afraid...

[trumpton @ Apr 29th 2008 9:38AM]

Oh dearie me. It's taken over 2 hours to install on my XP SP2 machine (with nowt else running) and it's not finished installing yet - and there's no 'cancel' button ato get the hell out.

WHAT HAVE I DONE?

[trumpton @ Apr 29th 2008 11:28AM]

Quick update: it finally all installed and everything seems to working OK.

Phew!

[DSeaver @ Apr 29th 2008 9:38AM]

I tried installing it via a link to one of the microsoft download sites that had the final release, and my computer went into an eternal loop of reboots and splash screens. I then decided to wait til it was officially released before I tried again, and will be trying once I get home. Hopefully I will have different results tonight

[stardash @ Apr 29th 2008 9:54AM]

I am sorry to hear that. May I suggest a boot disc and the good old format c:.I am surprised that vista does not whow up in virus scans as a HUGE risk.

[DSeaver @ Apr 29th 2008 10:13AM]

I just recovered it (using the install CD), and everything is fine.

[Jason @ Apr 29th 2008 9:47AM]

No need...... I'M SPORTING WEENDOWS VEEEEEEEEEESTAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!

[Steffen Jobbs @ Apr 29th 2008 10:17AM]

You have our condolences.

[Esat Dedezade @ Apr 29th 2008 10:22AM]

So you do Mr. Job.

So do you.

[Kobutah @ Apr 29th 2008 10:25AM]

And you think that is a good thing??????

[vdogg89 @ Apr 29th 2008 11:51AM]

shhhh... dont yell it out loud. Don't you know its not cool to show your love for Vista anymore? Instead, you should bash vista like everyone else and you could be as cool as the other fanbois.

[Dan @ Apr 29th 2008 8:29PM]

@vdogg

I hate to fullfill your anti-vista "fanboi" stereotype, but Vista just isn't that impressive.
spell as epic fail?

[Seth @ Apr 29th 2008 4:38PM]

Seems like the fanboys are bored because of no new Apple news today. So, what do they do? Go and bash Vista. Seriously? Vista is great to me, and I feel that XP or Leopard are not as comfortable.

[sk @ Apr 29th 2008 9:48AM]

I have it on my system since last week, downloaded it from technet. It took care of some hiccups I had for the last 2-3 month with my network. Now everything is back to normal again. I recommend this upgrade.

[Lawrence Connor @ Apr 29th 2008 9:49AM]

I just checked both at Microsoft Update and at Microsoft Download Center, and have been doing so several times in the past couple hours, I still haven't gotten it yet, and I just finished checking just a minute ago at both places again just now.

[Pochi @ Apr 29th 2008 9:50AM]

I don't see it on Windows Update, nor do I see it at the Microsoft Download Center.

[IGotTheMondays @ Apr 29th 2008 9:52AM]

It's on TechNet

[Pochi @ Apr 29th 2008 10:30AM]

No, it isn't.

[Rob @ Apr 29th 2008 12:02PM]

Yeah, Technet talks about it but doesn't off the download anywhere. What the hell is up with that?

[justus87 @ Apr 29th 2008 9:55AM]

But seriously, what benefit is there in installing this on an SP2 machine with all the latest updates already installed?

[IGotTheMondays @ Apr 29th 2008 9:58AM]

Didn't they say a while back that it had a slight performance increase or something?

[mmh @ Apr 29th 2008 9:59AM]

SP3 sounds way more 2008.