Windows XP Service Pack 3 - To install or not?

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There is a common rule of thumb when it comes to updating or upgrading your PC operating system, "If it works don't fix it" or at least if your keen on upgrading to the latest service pack 3 for Windows XP, give it a few months to iron out the software incompatibilities. Its no secret that with any major release of a service pack comes some form of pain, hence the saying "no pain no gain". But enough with the puns, what should you do at this point in time you ask?
SP3 has been out for a few months now, it is more of a traditional service pack rolling up previous hot-fixes than about new functionality. So the overall claim that it adds 10% Performance Boost is a nice bonus.

Lets start with some precautions before you do the install of SP3.
  • Exit all Spyware and Ad-Aware programs temporarily.
  • Disable temporarily all Antivirus Softwares
  • Exit any programs that hav estarted automatically in your startup that are running in the system tray.
  • Exit all DVD related softwares in order to avoid .dll crash
The not so good stories about SP3:
- System Keeps Rebooting after Installing Windows Service Pack 3
- XP SP3 triggers false positives in security apps
- Windows Update got corrupted or broke.

The final shipping version of Windows XP SP3 is available for download from Microsoft here:

XP SP3 standalone version
XP SP3 CD Image

More information about XP SP3 downloads is available on the Microsoft TechNet Web site.

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