I tried it, it slowed my system down. It fortunately can be uninstalled via ADD/REMOVE programs, but it leaves shortcuts, icons and files scattered all over the place. It has some interesting features, like the new Windows Update and the Security Center, but I'll wait for the final release. Fortunately I had an image to restore my system. Be afraid, be very afraid....

x) cant really tell any difference. i downloaded at microsoft.com and still getting all these popups, viruses, all that unwanted junk. it is a testing version and is okay. affected my com speed though

i would bet that it would run better slipstreamed.
 

Alec.
 
There is no time limit. It behaves like a normal service pack in that regard. It adds the Windows XP security center, which includes a few updates to the firewall and automatic update. It also adds rather useless AV support that try's to detect the AV software you have installed. Speed wise, most reports I have read claim if anything, a general increase in OS speed and more noticeably, IE speed. I think the RC2 is worth the install. I doubt very much the final will be changed much if at all. No problems here. I have tried a few builds of the service pack and finally this one fixes the problem with viewing DIVX files.
 
No app problems yet, and Symantec AV corporate 9.0 finally works correctly.
 
Good luck, though you won't need it.
 
- Card

Generally, I've heard pretty good things about SP2 and although I'd normally make the jump and install it now (release candidate an' all), I am going to wait until it goes gold, slipstream it and take it from there.
 
The new improved firewall is the biggest plus point, but the first thing I'll do will be to turn that off as I have the necessary security on my server. I also don't have any need for IE's new ad pop up/blocking as I use Firefox.
 
I think that Microsoft is targeting SP2 towards home users, especially those with dial-up. They really don't want to get involved with the technical aspects of firewalls (I've always liked the no nonsense approach with the ICS firewall - everything out, nothing in) which suits my girlfriend's computer 'experience' perfectly. I know that some would call this half arsed protection, but you don't want to be hassled by every non-savvy user asking if they should let NTOSKRNL.EXE access the internet!
 
But anyhoo, having these features, plus all the latest windows updates rolled into one can only be good news... after all, has there been a 'bad' service pack to date!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

i gave that quick answer a few days ago and forgot all about this thread. it has been about a week(?) Here are a few of the programs I am running:
 
Lotus Notes 6.51, Administrator and Designer
Novell Client and Admin Tools (Console One, NWAdmin etc...)
Nortel Contivity VPN
Office 2000 Professional
Total Commander 6.03a
Cygwin
Norton Antivirus 2004 Professional
IBM ISeries Access for Windows
PGP 8.02
Mozilla 1.7b (i use IE only when necessary)
Checkpoint NG Firewall Admin Tools
Various Network Tools (ethereal, nmap, nessus...etc)
ICQ Lite (not 4.0) Mirc
And a potpourri of Video / Audio Tools
Windows XP German Language Version and all software is
German when possible.
 
My Laptop is an IBM R50 1.5ghz Centrino w/ 1gb RAM and Radeon 9000.I have had no issues...even my Quakeworld runs great ;-)
 
Hope this helps

Well it looks like everyboby is puttin' in their 2 cents worth for this latest "s-pack" so why not me ...
 
First of all, system specs ...
- P4 3.2G (just tickled a bit to just over 3.5)
- Gigabyte 8KNXP (a brilliant mobo i might add)
- 2 x 160gig Seagate SATA's on raid 0
- 2 x 512mb Corsair XMS 3200 (matched pair)
- Leadtek FX5700 256mb VIVO
- Thermaltake Lanfire with a RAIDMAX 500w psu
and the rest is the usual "run of the mill"
 
The first thing i noticed was the slight increase in system speed especially converting from the big sys hungry Norton AV to Avast! AV Pro. But the biggest shock came from the drop in system temp. Idle temp from previous was 43celcius to 49celcius when encoding, now the sys runs at 31celcius idle to 39celcius when encoding (go figure cos i can't). Apart from a few gui issues, mainly DC clients, i can't complain as the system has never run better.
 
cheers,
Scruffy ...
 
Note: I tried both ways, upgrading and with a slipstream i made with no difference in performance (except the bulk of backup files the upgrade left)

i installed a slippy sp2.
it's clean it's fast
popup blocker works great
many security settings are off by default so it might be a problem for the laymen.
 
i went to websites that usually have malicious coding and popups galore.
no hijack, no popups, no "do u want to install this piece of crap software" active x prompt.
 
but...
i went to hp to d/l printer drivers and the xp default security settings wouldnt allow it and didnt notify me. even windows update wouldnt run.
after some looking around i found the switches and viola'
 
since i have a decent router firewall i turned xp's off but i will play with that soon.

When you slipstream a beta SP, it becomes time-bombed for 180 days.
 
RC2 (and the prior beta builds I have had access to as a tester) have been more or less error-free in my test environments.

i have installed xp pro service pack 2 (beta) on several systems with very good results. only on one system have i detected something that may (or may not) stem from the sp-2 install - when i try to share, via ics, the cable internet connection, as soon as i configure the connection to be shared, it can no longer "dial up" (here in israel, even broadband cable internet connections require an L2TP OR PPTP "dialer" in order to connect). the moment i unshare the connection, it connects fine as usual. but if i choose to "allow other computers on my local network connect thru this connection" i get an "unable to reach specified destination" error - no connection! as i said, this may not be a service pack 2-related problem, as i am sharing my internet (ADSL) connection perfectly well on another network i have using sp-2. i'm suspecting that it could be something in the cable isp's config preventing ics from working on this particular connection or type of connection (cable vs ADSL). i'd welcome anybody's expertise or opinion on this topic. meanwhile, as far as service pack 2 goes, i've had no performance problems, slowdowns, crashes, freezes or any other types of system problems after installing it on a number of systems.
 
beau

Encountered a pretty big regression in 2162 today, our VB6 frontend for SQL would randomly QTD.
 
Uninstallation of SP2/2162 resolved this issue.
 
Note, I have filed the appropriate bug details to Microsoft.

I've heard there was an update in DirectX in WinXP SP2.
Directx 9.0c (9.1?) which supports Pixel Shader 3.0.
FarCry, I believe, supports DX9.0c when it is patched.
But this was found only in WinXP SP2, not available for other MS operating systems at this time (beta?).

QTD=Quit to desktop
 
Yes, SP2 has DirectX 9.0c, I suspect Microsoft will release a stand-alone installation for older operating systems shortly after the release of SP2.

How do I get SP2 for Xp? Mine is XP SP 1 and I have ran Windows Update but SP2 was not listed for download...?
 
EuriMouse

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/sp2preview.mspx
 
Or you could just wait a few weeks until the final version is released.

Yeah, I think I will wait!
 
EuriMouse

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/sp2preview.mspx
 
Did you connect to the Windows Update v5 site?
 
http://v5.windowsupdate.microsoft.com
 
Note that you'll have to install the BITS2 update first (as well as the HTTP 5.1, I think).
 
Reboot after installing those updates, rescan at Windows Update, choose advanced/custom install, and it's in there.
 
Note that it *IS* supported to upgrade from the RC2 build to the RTM/RTW (final) when it is released.
 
Or here's a direct link to the full (offline/network) install package for English:
 
http://download.microsoft.com/download/C/1/6/C169BA60-E2D6-4C5F-B4F2-23DA024C9FA8/xpSP2.exe
 
264MB
 
 
Edit: Just realized that I responded to the wrong message, I didn't see the 2nd page of posts. Anyway, maybe someone else can find this info useful.

Is this v5 of WU going to be releasing soon?
 
EuriMouse

Originally posted by eurimouse:

Quote:Is this v5 of WU going to be releasing soon? 
EuriMouse
 
That's what I've heard, but of course, that's completely unofficial. ;-)