Pros or cons to upgrading XP SP2 to SP3?

[AlanHK]

My X24 has Win XP SP2.

Any good reasons to upgrade to SP3; or problems if I do?

I'm not terribly concerned with security issues; I use Firefox and never IE, and have a good firewall. I'm hoping just for OS bug fixes.

I've recently had issues with the dreaded yellow !/"code 10" driver problems with the wifi card. Uninstalled and reinstalled the driver about 6 times before it finally started working again -- too much to hope that whatever causes this is fixed.

[dr_st]

I've upgraded all my XP machines to SP3 during the past year, and haven't noticed any issues. Then again, it's not like I was having issues with SP2 either.

Generally, I wait for a few months before installing a new service pack, hoping that any potential issues will be figured out by then. XP SP3 has been out long enough now, you should be fine.

Here is a list of features included in SP3, you can judge for yourself whether it's worth it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_XP#Service_Pack_3

[A31]

I think that support for XP w/SP2 has now ended, so to continue getting new updates, you need to upgrade to XP SP3. That is one big 'Pro'

Cons? There are no new features added in Service Pack 3 for Windows XP.

As for your WiFi card and the drivers for it, you should have no problems upgrading from SP2 to SP3.

[Mike Blake]

Like the others here, I tend to wait a while on service packs; I just got around to SP3 a few weeks ago and noticed no issues since. And it's definitely true that support for XP with SP2 has been terminated by Microsoft.

[AlanHK]

Like the others here, I tend to wait a while on service packs; I just got around to SP3 a few weeks ago and noticed no issues since. And it's definitely true that support for XP with SP2 has been terminated by Microsoft.

I've never called Microsoft Support and can't think why I would. I doubt they'd offer any advice beyond "reinstall" anyway.
(I'm still running Win2k on a desktop...)

But I'll probably go ahead with it.

Thanks everyone for the input.

[pianowizard]

I've never called Microsoft Support and can't think why I would.

"Support" has nothing to do with customer service, but instead refers to the security updates that Microsoft releases for Windows and other products. Microsoft has stopped releasing updates for XP SP2, Windows 2000 and older versions of Windows, and so it is no longer safe to use them to go online. So yes, you should update from XP SP2 to SP3 (plus all post-SP3 updates) right away.

[AlanHK]

"Support" has nothing to do with customer service, but instead refers to the security updates that Microsoft releases for Windows and other products. Microsoft has stopped releasing updates for XP SP2, Windows 2000 and older versions of Windows, and so it is no longer safe to use them to go online. So yes, you should update from XP SP2 to SP3 (plus all post-SP3 updates) right away.

I don't agree about the "safety" argument. I don't use IE, or Outlook; I have a third party firewall.
I've never trusted Microsoft to keep me safe.

I've been using Win2k on my desktop for about 6 years, and XPSP2 on the laptop for three years. My daughter is online on the Thinkpad all day recently. Never had any "issues" .

As I said, I'm only concerned to have it working better, I keep it safe without MS's help.

[pianowizard]

As I said, I'm only concerned to have it working better

Then you should stay with SP2, because SP3 will slow down your computer a little bit.

I keep it safe without MS's help.

Then, I wish you luck -- you will need it.

[AlanHK]

Then, I wish you luck -- you will need it.

Scoff if you like, but really, I've been online one way or another for about 30 years. On this new-fangled Internet for over 15. And no problems so far.

One thing I've learned is that Microsoft puts the user last, behind marketing, behind their corporate buddies' interests. They've often left, or even created, gaping holes in security because it makes some proprietary technology easier to implement, or because they don't want to admit any fault. So I don't trust my security to them, I try to keep any MS application insulated from the outside world, and whenever I can substitute an alternative, I do. (To be philosophically consistent I really should ditch MS and run Linux, but sadly I'm dependent on several Windows based programs for my work.)

[pianowizard]

They've often left, or even created, gaping holes in security

And THAT is precisely why you need the security patches, in addition to the other security programs you are already running!

[AlanHK]

"They've often left, or even created, gaping holes in security"

And THAT is precisely why you need the security patches, in addition to the other security programs you are already running!

If you believe that a "security patch" is always for the user's benefit and not say, to impose some kind of DRM restriction, or to lock me out of my own system with some inane "Genuine advantage" flummery when I change some hardware. Or to break third-party software that gets up MS's nose.

Anyway, as I've said, I've survived 30 years online doing it my way. I'm sure if some Russian uber-hacker put his mind to it he could zombify my system in a minute, but I've dodged all the bullets so far. You may call it dumb luck, but it works for me.