XP Service Pack 2 - Done and RTM 1

[bcastner]

8/6/2004 Release to Manufacturing

So all of those betting on 8/2 or 8/2 or 8/5, your are out of luck. Sorry.

Monday 8/9/2004 will have SP2 full for download. This is the "network" full version, and what I intend to use.

If you have any release candidate of Service Pack 2 installed, the Windows Update service should handle the upgrade beginning August 10, and if your machine is configured for automatic updates. If you have not installed any release candidates of SP2, Windows update will begin showing Service Pack 2 as a "Critical Update" beginning August 16 for those with automatic updates configured or are using the SuS server. For those clients not configured to automaticly download and install updates, the Windows Update site will show Service Pack 2 later in the month.

Several questions I had have been answered:

. If you have a Release Candidate of SP2 installed, do you have to remove and then install SP2 final? No. It will upgrade.

Having said this, my intention is to slipstream Service Pack 2 and do a reinstall. This is absolutely unecessary to do, but it makes me happy. Particularly if I feel the urge to do an sfc /Scannow.

. How big?

266mb. You can order a CD:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/sp2/cdorder/en_us/default810.mspx

And expect to see CDs from other sources as well. Your local computer store should be able to provide you one. MSFT encourages the sharing of a CD version of the software.

. My XP had a tough time with Service Pack 1 getting authorized, can I expect the same for Service Pack 2?

I do not know. My own read was that they wre going to be much tougher. Other analysts argue that it will be less restrictive than Service Pack 1. I do not know what the final decision was.

. Is this XP Reloaded, essentially a new OS?

There is nothing trivial about Service Pack 2. Because the replacement of .EXE and .DLLs is so extensive, to me it is a new OS version. This is not a Hotfix, but an incredible update. But it does not have Avalon or Whidbey (the Longhorn GUI/Shell and filestore enhancements), and other than the some new features you have to look for the new features.

. Service Pack 1 was such a headache, I am reluctant to go through that again with Service Pack 2.

Just do it. I did not have any serious issues with Service Pack 1, although I am aware many did. This Service Pack has had the benefit of more testing, and a broad installed base to report problems back to Microsoft. Just do it. If there is an issue, it is a good idea to have Service Pack 2 bring it to the surface so you and your hardware vendor can deal with it directly. Do it.

, Any other thoughts?

You should find SP2 everywhere by the end of the month. Those with dial-up connections will be pleased to find that they really do not have to download the thing. This should be an easy Service Pack to find on CD, and Microsoft encourages its distribution.

 

[bcastner]

Time for bed.
It has been a long week.

mlichstein,

I do not want to appear here trying to give you a hard time.
You have raised an important issue.

This statement by Microsoft is just not true: "Software-enforced DEP runs on any processor which is capable of running Windows XP SP2."

 

[bcastner]

And I will hold to my original thought:

mlicstein,

There essentially is no software DEP.

 

[bcastner]

At the moment, Intel only supports DEP with its iTanium 64-bit processor,.

 

[mlichstein]

This statement by Microsoft is just not true: "Software-enforced DEP runs on any processor which is capable of running Windows XP SP2."

Um, what? Software based DEP runs on any x86 processor that does not support hardware based DEP (NX).

I'm not sure if you are just not aware of the specifics of software-based DEP and what it does, but there most certainly is software-based DEP in SP2. And it provides protection for critical system files from certain malware. Again, it works with all x86 processors that do not support hardware-based DEP.

 

[bcastner]

I do not argue that SP2 fails in support for both hardware and software DEP.

It does support both.

My contention is that the feature requires processors that few users are likely to own.

 

[mlichstein]

Hardware-based DEP yes. That is only supported on certain processors.

But I stand by my statement that software-based DEP is supported by all other x86 processors that can run XP.

I have yet to see anything that proves that our documentation is wrong.

 

[bcastner]

mlichstein,

You have made repeated refernces to imply that your are a Microsft employee.

As an MVP I asked my lead to check this for me, and usernames are a bit tough. But it does not appear to my MVP lead that you are in any position to speak for Microsoft.

Please contact Emily Freed, Microsoft, emilyf@microsoft.com

 

[bcastner]

By the way, the above is a point of clarification, not a personal attack.

 

[bcastner]

I have been re-reading

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/sp2mempr.mspx

And I want to apologize to mlichstein above.

He is absolutely right that my understanding of software DEP was wrong.

Thank you mlichstein.
Bill

 

[bcastner]

For the curious, Control Panel, System, Advanced, Performance (settings), Data Execution Prevention.

Windows supports four system-wide configurations for both hardware-enforced and software-enforced DEP.

Configuration Description
OptIn

(default configuration)
On systems with processors capable of hardware-enforced DEP, DEP is enabled by default for limited system binaries and applications that “opt-in,”

With this option, only Windows system binaries are covered by DEP by default. Applications that choose to enable DEP protection may do so during their installation.

OptOut
DEP is enabled by default for all processes. Users can manually create a list of specific applications which do not have DEP applied using System in Control Panel. IT Pros and Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) can use the Application Compatibility Toolkit to opt-out one or more applications from DEP protection. System Compatibility Fixes (“shims”) for DEP do take effect.

AlwaysOn
This provides full DEP coverage for the entire system. All processes always run with DEP applied. The exceptions list for exempting specific applications from DEP protection is not available. System Compatibility Fixes (“shims”) for DEP do not take effect. Applications which have been opted-out using the Application Compatibility Toolkit run with DEP applied.

AlwaysOff
This does not provide any DEP coverage for any part of the system, regardless of hardware DEP support. The processor does not run in PAE mode unless the /PAE option is present in the boot entry.


Hardware-enforced and software-enforced DEP are configured in the same manner. If the system-wide DEP policy is set to Opt-In, the same Windows core binaries and applications will be protected by both hardware and software-enforced DEP. If the system is not capable of hardware-enforced DEP, the Windows core binaries and applications will only be protected by software-enforced DEP.

 

[Gaudenz]

Chopsy,
if you still are looking for the registry entry for blocking the installation of sp2, you can find all the information here:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...BA-EA5D-4425-89C1-C1CB1CCD463C&displaylang=en

Funny thing with this is that they provide an email-template, which exactly looks like the mails one always tells the users not to open...