X31 New XP SP3 install: Success

[iamdmc]

Installed newest BIOS

Wiped drive, dual partitioned (one system, one data), installed XP Pro with SP1 included on the disc. Installed newest drivers. Then installed SP2. Then downloaded nearly all updates. Then installed most programs (ie. Office, Firefox, etc.). Then installed SP3.

Total size: around 5GB on an 80GB 5400RPM drive. It runs like a dream. Slightly better battery life too.

Boot time: less than one minute from power-up to fully-loaded.

[teetee]

After upgrading about 60 desktop/laptop computers to XP SP3 so far(most of them were upgraded by local WSUS), I would consider this service pack is generally harmless.
I doubt you have to do a incremental update though. My experience is that it saves considerable time, effort, reboots, and disk space if I do a fresh install by using XP SP3 CD. It takes about an hour for installation and only 2.x GB on the hard drive after the system is installed.

[mange_]

I simply slipstreamed sp3 into my sp1 oem cd and installed it along with all drivers and office xp. Total diskspace used was ~2.5gb. I totally agree with you teetee