Someone reviewed v on Jul 5, 2022

Pros: 555

Cons: 555

Bottom Line: 555

GoodThings2Life reviewed vNetwork Installation Package on Aug 11, 2004

Service Pack 2 is a "must have" for Windows XP users who are serious about having a stable, secure, and most importantly WORKING computer system. The "complete fix list" documents over 783 improvements and fixes, and they are well worth the humongous download.

This *IS* the full network install, and despite another individual's review, it most certainly CAN be slipstreamed for those who know how and wish to do so. (It is not required, however).

For those with limited bandwidth or only installing it on one system, please follow Microsoft's advice and do not download the network install... wait until Automatic and Windows Updates lists the smaller release for you.

For those who really don't care whether their computer is stable, secure, and most importantly WORKING... SP2 probably isn't for you until after you've installed updates to many of your applications. As pointed out it WILL break a lot of older and/or poorly written applications-- ESPECIALLY ones that install malicious spyware/adware content since that type of behavior is frowned upon such as the P2P programs.

Bottom line though... if you want a decent computer setup and care more about stability and security- SP2 is a must have. If you have a lot of outdated software and/or care more for functionality-- you may want to hold off. I for one choose stability, performance and security hands down! :)

Sutro reviewed vNetwork Installation Package on Aug 11, 2004

I think all of you people that bag on Microsoft should just shut your faces as I can pretty much bet you are using their operating system (and some of you are using hacked versions) and it keeps your computer running day in and day out, obviously with a glitch here and a glitch there but no computer program is perfect especially when you have all of these hardware companies developing hardware that sometimes is inferior! So maybe its time you look at that 5 dollar sound card or 30 dollar video card or 50 dollar motherboard as your problem and stop blaming the operating system. Because in 10 years of IT work I have found that hardware imcompatiblity is more of a problem then the operating system. So as far as I am concerned you all need to shut up and deal with it because Microsoft is not going anywhere and you all are just a bunch of whiners!

nickpowers101 reviewed vNetwork Installation Package on Aug 11, 2004

Installed and working great. The new wireless connectivity features are particularly nice.

One thing that's weird (probably because I installed the network package and have no idea on how to customize it): The splash screen when Windows is loading no longer says "Windows XP Professional"... instead, it's been replaced by just "Windows XP"... I wish I knew how to make it normal, but oh well, the service pack's installed and runs quite well...

MMPD reviewed vNetwork Installation Package on Aug 10, 2004

Works absolutely perfictly, no problems.
Only thing I wish is that they would make it default to have the security center disabled.

graysky reviewed vNetwork Installation Package on Aug 10, 2004

What a waste of bandwidth the download. More bloat features most people don't want. That firewall is a joke and all the "security center" does is ensure that people who don't know any better keep the auto update feature switched on... Big brother is watching you. If you use any p2p client like edonkey or bittorrent, this service pack limits the amount of TCPIP connections in a time period to 10. That will break the back of these p2p networks. Get the patch to unlimited from here if you do install this and use p2p: http://www.lvllord.de/4226fix/4226fix.htm

Stephen_hazen reviewed vNetwork Installation Package on Aug 10, 2004

Works well with my computers. The main thing I like about the Windows Firewall other than passing Symantec's firewall check in all areas (no other firewall installed) is the ability to use applications in selected subnets. This file cannot be slipstreamed so it is not the full service pack so the full network version will be even bigger.

dustdevil reviewed vNetwork Installation Package on Aug 10, 2004

This program is a piece of crap be sure to set a restore point before installing. Could not get back on line after installing. SP 2 should be broken into parts so you could pick and choose the parts you wanted instead of having Microsoft shove unwanted features down our throats. There are some of us who take care of and protect our computers. Leave us alone Microsoft.

hte123 reviewed vNetwork Installation Package on Aug 10, 2004

doesnt work on my notebook. Now RCP service crashes at start and thats the end my friend...

asaenz reviewed vNetwork Installation Package on Aug 10, 2004

So far so good with the update/upgrade. No major problems with any important applications. The pop-up blocker and firewall is non-intrusive to my normal daily work. Seems just barely noticeably slower ... could be additional overhead. I would appreciate it if at least one of the next reviewers would post a MD5 checksum on the downloaded file so I can compare to mine without my having to download the file again to save valuable bandwidth.

Cellar Dweller reviewed vNetwork Installation Package on Aug 10, 2004

No real cosmetic changes...
Have been using since all the beta builds and thank god it's finally here, wasn't any thing great to me...

I never use firewalls and the like so none of that really helps and the pop up stopper - I simply use the google toolbar so that's no big help...

As far as the build being 2158 that is the SP2 build but the files if you check them will or are 2180 so the true version is 2180 for those wondering about the numbers...

I also use the ftp or IIS and depending on how you exit the MMC it will give you an exception error and have to close and this has been doing this since the first beta and still does it now...

Reap_r reviewed vNetwork Installation Package on Aug 10, 2004

this service pack broke my connection to a non-ms NAS device. It worked fine before, but now has some security subsystem error I have never before seen. The NAS runs Samba I think, and now has trouble connecting.

Youngy reviewed vNetwork Installation Package on Aug 10, 2004

2158 was the time the build was compliled. Dont know why they have moved away from standard version info string.

mattnotley reviewed vNetwork Installation Package on Aug 10, 2004

NO problems at all. My network seems to run faster when accessing files on my Windows XP Professional Server using Network Drives. What's with the build though, I downloading it from the Microsoft site today (Tuesday 10th) and it says 2158, I thought it was supposed to be 2180???

weehappypixie reviewed vNetwork Installation Package on Aug 10, 2004

No problems installing and everything appeared to be OK until I right clicked on the desktop and I got an explorer.exe crash. This happens all the time now whenever I right click. I even tried ctrl x to cut a file on the desktop instead of right clicking it but got same error.

I going to roll back now to pre SP2.

John

pjb reviewed vNetwork Installation Package on Aug 10, 2004

Easy to install, a good round-up of fixes and enhanced security. No Wi-Fi problems noted.

paulm reviewed vNetwork Installation Package on Aug 10, 2004

Hmmm,
Downloaded via the microsoft link through this download, and on install it says RTM build 2158.
I thought RTM was supposed to be build 2180???

trasixes reviewed vNetwork Installation Package on Aug 10, 2004

Despite what some are saying, this is more than just plugging holes. The new wireless support is much MUCH better than the old. Dropped connections while using the Wireless Zero configuration was a common problem that, as of SP2, is fixed. A user below stated they just turned on the firewall by default, which is grossly errant. The firewall has been revamped, and while it may not be the best, it is much BETTER. I'll sing Microsoft's praises, and I'm not afraid to admit it. I love Microsoft.

Dreimanis reviewed vNetwork Installation Package on Aug 10, 2004

a must have for everyone. stunning release. new features, security improvements and what i like at most - the new wireless network thingy.

fady-eg reviewed vNetwork Installation Package on Aug 10, 2004

does it differ much from the previous beta version on sp2? also, in a new system install, to get the best benefits, do i have to install both sp1 and sp2 or does sp2 contain all the patches in sp1?

serrebi101 reviewed vNetwork Installation Package on Aug 10, 2004

Xpsp2 is an upgrade but beware. It sets a max connections of 10 tcp outbound so programs like emule and any bit torrent program will suffer. Shareaza shows sources being dropped for no apparent reason. I asume it has something to do with the very limited connections. This was inplimented because I believe to prevent things like sasser spreading fast, but it has a negative effect on people using many different p2p programs wich use more then a few tcp connections.
See this thred for a registry file fix. This file just sets max tcp connections to unlimited, nothing else, use at your own risk, etc.
http://www.zeropaid.com/...read.php?threadid=22293

kronix2 reviewed vNetwork Installation Package on Aug 10, 2004

Need I point out that the "changes" in Service Pack 2 amount to nothing more than a change in default settings, and some token features? Let's not be too quick to send Microsoft praise.

This is a service pack, not a product upgrade. Microsoft would like its users to think SP2 will further enrich their Windows experience...it's somewhat pathetic that things like the firewall being turned on by default are promoted as features.

This is a Service Pack, and it does what it's supposed to: plug the holes in the perpetually sinking ship that is Windows. Therefore, it gets a high rating from me.

fightback reviewed vNetwork Installation Package on Aug 10, 2004

Oh so bad... DO NOT INSTALL THIS ON A LAPTOP!!! First off it killed my wireless connection. I played around with that for hours trying to get it working. It found the signal but had some kinda error where it wouldn't connect (disabled firewalls and everything). When I tried to "repair" it gave me a BSOD. Other than that it messed up a lot of function keys for my laptop causing them to not work or crash the system. I uninstalled this pice of crap and at least that went well.

alt-nick reviewed vNetwork Installation Package on Aug 10, 2004

Will SP2 install onto a pirated copy of XP Pro?

scriptee reviewed vNetwork Installation Package on Aug 9, 2004

Meh, it installed fine, has more features, apparently its more stable. As long as its doing more good than bad thats ok. (Goody, an OS patch)

Davader reviewed vNetwork Installation Package on Aug 9, 2004

I'v have install this on at least ten systems today, all differnt types of systems and software
and the install went perfect on all ten.To my amazement all ten rebooted and ran slick as @#!
well you know. It all worked, a little bumed on all the security #@! that dose little more than remind you dont have something.Found to be quite
stable on all ten so far, I'm installing it on
my owne at home and will dig alittle deeper into SP2 #%!@ later.

alienvenom reviewed vNetwork Installation Package on Aug 9, 2004

Are you high? The features included in this release should have been in Windows XP from the beginning. Sounds like you have little to no *NIX experience, that said, your claim that UNIX and LINUX sucks is your opinion and without fact your opinino is useless. Yes, it is nice that Microsoft released this "update" for free, but anyone who knows anything about opperating system security also knows that Microsoft has a bad reputation for making insecure products. This update proves that Microsoft does not know what they are doing.

Black-Wolf reviewed vNetwork Installation Package on Aug 9, 2004

Excellent release!
Fixed all bugs and less vulnerable to attacks!
Gotta thank Microsoft for giving everyone this great product for FREE! :P

Linux & UNIX sucks even more now!

I think all of you should install a SP2 integrated copy of WinXP.

Just slipstream it so you get the best out of a clean & pure installation.

You are risking corruption by upgrading to it.

TechSys reviewed vNetwork Installation Package on Aug 9, 2004

Installed it about an hour ago without any problems at all. At first I didn't like the firewall thing, but it's alright.. coulda activated it without SP2 though. I still do not have automatic updates turn on, and will never do that, especially since I check for updates on a weekly basis.
System seems stable. The pop-uo blocker is working very nicely and compliments google toolbar. I went to a site that was getting past google toolbar, and didnt see one pop-up.
I haven't tried playing my games yet to see if there are any problems there, but I doubt there will be. All in all, good show so far Microsoft.

Neoprimal reviewed vNetwork Installation Package on Aug 9, 2004

People who don't use their PCs a whole lot, venture online or maybe just use their PC for wordprocessing and such may not require this update but for the rest of us - it's pretty much validated.
I don't mean to sound dramatic but it really is like a complete overhaul of XP; almost like a different OS if you really look at it. Many, many things have been changed that *I* can notice. I have a regular PC ... an Athlon XP 1800 (1.55) with 512 DDR PC 2700 Ram ... I DO use just about every feature of the security center, as I find it works PERFECTLY when coupled with my DSL routers' FW capabilities. Now I don't need any third party FW appz messing with my PC. Automatic updates works just as great as it did before. 1 considerable change was my Outlook 2003 having some 'internet graphics' viewing problems with RC2, seems to work fine now under SP2. WMPlayer also starts at least 70 percent quicker (because it doesnt completely unload from Mem when you exit) *some people like this, some don't* - I don't mind it cuz I have the ram to spare and I'm an audiophile. WMP would randomly crash XP if it was loaded into the taskbar mode, that never happens now...I can't wait until security center is able to 'monitor' norton and other AV products. Also the wireless net wizard is a Godsend for those who actually LIKE wizards (since I know many self-proclaimed PC Gods absolutely hate them) I know my XP, but I actually don't mind wizards. What else? Lemme see. I've purposely gone through several forums to see what issues people are having and I can honestly say that I'm just not seeing any whatsoever...and my PC is just as 'loaded' as the next persons.

My recommendation to those experiencing problems is to re-evaluate on the thought that SP2 is to blame. I suspect their PCs were just as messed up to begin with and hanging on 'luck' and SP2 maybe pushed the envelope some. In any case, I have virtual PC and tested it there first; so I guess I have some heads up since it worked flawlessly on my XP Pro Virtual Install.

Also, to those people that claim to have formatted and then install SP2 and have all these issues (BECAUSE OF SP2)? Sorry but you're lying, and those issues HAD to have been there before.

I recommend this update for anyone who likes to keep up to date and truly secure their PC without having to resort to 30 different 3rd party programs; and also those with an open mind that realize that when it comes to programs, sometimes luck has a part - something you have installed may interfere with your post SP2 PC - don't blame SP2.
I DO NOT recommend this update to those who want last minute security or those who've had 1001 spy/adware programs on their PC and supposedly cleaned it...that just almost never happens, there will be remnants. People who use kazaa, and other adware filled programs also need to beware and definately those who click on any popup that has to do with porn/casinos/fake PC security - I recommend you format and start over. You won't regret it.

To doomsayers and such - what can I say? I don't agree with you or the fact that you cast doubt on those that could benefit. I DO agree that if you don't know anything about PCs and are timid about programs you should wait...
But if you're 'prepared' then there's really nothing to lose and alot to gain.

JEdwardP reviewed vNetwork Installation Package on Aug 9, 2004

Since I rarely use IE for anything but Windows Update, and never use OE, WMP, the XP Firewall, or Automatic Updates, I can't claim to have noticed a huge difference.

I did however make a point of using IE today, just to test the pop-up blocker, and found it to work well.

The "Security Center" concept seems a bit overdone and pretentious to me, but it'll probably be helpful for novice users, and it's good to see MS do SOMETHING in which security is even a nominal focus.

I also have to credit this package for a completely trouble free installation, which is something I couldn't have done for SP1.

Mark Gillespie reviewed vNetwork Installation Package on Aug 9, 2004

Top notch. Installed it over the weekend, and my PC is running sweeter than ever. Popup blocker is pretty effective, and everything works as advertised. 100% satisfied.

Well done MS...

silvrcloud03 reviewed vNetwork Installation Package on Aug 9, 2004

I've been using SP2 since RC1...Contrary to Scot Finnie's comments, I have not found anything to be "broken" by or with SP2 save a small issue with Windows Installer that was fixed in RC2.

Microsoft absolutely got it right this time!

patmc7 reviewed vNetwork Installation Package on Aug 9, 2004

It would seem someone has forgotten what forum this is.

I haven't had any noticeable problems, with the beta service packs, so I think it's safe to download this one.

There is a registry backup built into WinXP which (as I recall from the beta 2) the install invokes automatically.

zridling reviewed vNetwork Installation Package on Aug 9, 2004

From Scot Finnie [www.scotsnewsletter.com/60.htm]: "Unless you're evaluating Windows XP Service Pack 2 for your company or you're installing it on a second or third PC that's not relied upon for daily use by anyone, you should hold off on installing Windows XP Service Pack 2. I guarantee you that there will be howls about problems installing it, using it, issues on some PC makes or models, with some important applications, etc., etc. There are *always* issues with operating system service packs. This one, which is far more significant than most, is even more likely to cause problems. Web-based applications and network-related software is what's most likely to be broken by this release. But there will be unanticipated problems. Lot's of them. You don't want to discover these problems for Microsoft."

"The smart people know to do this: Hang back, let other people be the guinea pigs. Don't be one of them. Your computer isn't going to keel over and die if you wait for a few weeks to hear what people like me — who will be installing right away — will say and write about the new release. So long as you have a firewall in place and you're running up-to-date antivirus software, you're already doing your bit to save the world. Not to make light of the security issues, which are quite real, but a lot of what's new in XP SP2 is aimed at inexperienced computer users. If your machine is protected already and are at least moderately experienced, take the wait-and-see approach."

irdepesca572 reviewed vNetwork Installation Package on Aug 9, 2004

I'm downloading SP2 right now!
I heard that you have to backup your registry. Is this true?
Here are some links:
List of features: http://www.microsoft.com...owsxp/sp2/features.mspx
Release notes:
http://support.microsoft...px?scid=kb;en-us;835935

-irdepesca572

nickpowers101 reviewed vRelease Candidate 2 Preview on Jul 28, 2004

This is a most excellent service pack. The security features alone are well worth the upgrade. I've installed it and my Windows XP Professinal based computer's been running rock solid. No complaints over here.

Raimondas reviewed vRelease Candidate 2 Preview on Jul 12, 2004

I am using WinXP Home OEM edition. After install of Win XP SP2 RC2 (over 260MB) my computer did not started up in normall mode. I tried to start in safe mode to uninstall this update, but i failed. So i had to delete my Windows from my hard disk and install a fresh copy of Windows Xp home from original CD.

So don't even try to download and/or install this update (SP2 RC2 2149).

asaenz reviewed vRelease Candidate 2 Preview on Jul 6, 2004

SP2 will be welcome for those needing extra security features. Like so many other things in life, you don't get something for nothing ... it seems to run noticeably slower probably from the extra security features processing it has to do. A problem that surfaces occasionally is my losing the ability to invoke new instances of windows ... doesn't matter if Windows Explorer or Internet Explorer and that is a bug that needs to be addressed. I've had to use Task Manager to kill an iexplore processs to get things back to normal.

distinguished reviewed vRelease Candidate 2 Preview on Jun 20, 2004

too little, too late.

mybetanews reviewed vRelease Candidate 2 Preview on Jun 18, 2004

I'm giving the service pack high marks, not for the content, because it crashed my computer and made it unusuable.

I'm just very happy that I was able to use the uninstall provided by MS and roll back to my pre-Xsp2rc2 computer.
That was a nice surprise....

However, here's what happened when I installed:
briefly: my wmi namespace was damaged, so the SP2 install crashed when it had to refer to it.
Then, based on that, the service pack deleted my global user interface to windows, ie, I had no access to IE or explorer... bummer. So I used TaskManager to run the uninstall...

After installing SP2rc2, my computer slowed to a crawl and was unusuable. The lesson is:
only install a beta on a computer you don't care about and be sure to have backups! Otherwise, you are toast...

I have no idea how to fix my WMI namespace and believe me, I've tried (prior to sp2) all suggestions. Nothing worked. I'm loath to reinstall XPHome, because it's been a couple years since I bought the computer. NOw, Ive realized that, yes, I have to wipe my computer, and reinstall from scratch... ugh... if I ever want to use sp2 (I' betting the official version of sp2 will do the same thing... )
-------here's the error log----------
(Thu Jun 17 09:08:50 2004.1707109) : An error occurred while opening the namespace for object 1 defined on lines 1 - 1:
(Thu Jun 17 09:08:50 2004.1707125) : Error Number: 0x8004100e, Facility: WMI
Description: Invalid namespace
(Thu Jun 17 09:09:00 2004.1716953) : File 'c:\81ae1d1f0f4f9aaa489e\i386\\TsCfgWmi.mof' not found!
(Thu Jun 17 09:09:01 2004.1717750) : Parsing MOF file: c:\81ae1d1f0f4f9aaa489e\i386\\licwmi.mof
(Thu Jun 17 09:09:01 2004.1717812) : An error occurred while opening the namespace for object 1:
(Thu Jun 17 09:09:01 2004.1717812) : Error Number: 0x8004100e, Facility: WMI
Description: Invalid namespace
(Thu Jun 17 09:09:01 2004.1717812) : Compiler returned error 0x8004100e(Thu Jun 17 09:09:01 2004.1717828) : File 'C:\WINDOWS\system32\wbem\cimwin32.mof' not found!
(Thu Jun 17 09:09:01 2004.1717859) : Parsing MOF file: C:\WINDOWS\system32\wbem\wscenter.mof
(Thu Jun 17 09:09:01 2004.1718093) : Finished compiling file:C:\WINDOWS\system32\wbem\wscenter.mof
(Thu Jun 17 09:09:01 2004.1718093) : Done!
(Thu Jun 17 11:37:40 2004.1142296) : File 'C:\WINDOWS\system32\wbem\TsCfgWmi.mof' not found!
(Thu Jun 17 11:37:41 2004.1143265) : File 'C:\WINDOWS\system32\wbem\licwmi.mof' not found!
(Thu Jun 17 11:37:41 2004.1143359) : File 'C:\WINDOWS\system32\wbem\cimwin32.mof' not found!
(Thu Jun 17 11:37:42 2004.1143625) : File 'C:\WINDOWS\system32\wbem\rsop.mof' not found!
---end error log---
So, be aware, it might work for you OR
it might crash your computer and slow it to a crawl.

Noldster reviewed vRelease Candidate 2 Preview on Jun 16, 2004

This is the biggest step in computer security since Automatic Updates. Automatically monitering your antivirus program as well as seeing if Automatic Updates is on (I dont, cause I manually do it, =)) and has an updated Firewall program. As well as IE with the popup blocker. Very nice job Microsoft, can't wait for the final.

Richardky reviewed vRelease Candidate 2 Preview on Jun 16, 2004

Runs Great alot of XP Needed Improvements system runs faster IE finialy has popup blocker option ..about time ..DirectX is updated the firewall is useable now many driver updates only can get thru sp2 almost like geting a new operating system i think there about out of beta stage with this build..good job indeed

utomo reviewed vRelease Candidate 2 Preview on Jun 16, 2004

I hope most anonying problems are fixed in this release.

I have questions regarding Java vm, do this Rc2 include the Java vm ?
If not yet microsoft need to add it (to reduce problems that user facing after sp1). including all update things needed by many people such as .net framework, xml parser, MDAC, Windows XP PowerToys, etc
, MS jet

and the most important is Microsoft need to work with antivirus software so antivirus can clean the virus without problems with system restore like now which we are facing.
It must block spyware which is installed automatically when we visit some site, etc.

and why Microsoft did not release new IE with popoup blocker and active x things to public download ? I believe people will love it, if they can install it for other windows version

annmariet30 reviewed vRelease Candidate 2 Preview on Jun 15, 2004

hey.....it finally worked for me!!!..nice build everything installed right and my check-up disk utility in windows finally works!!!. it doesn't freeze up when its doing a scan check after my computer or program crashes. And the computer reboots again. Finally!!..read how some people had the issac.exe problem....didn't have that problem at all. installed with no prob...and my computer actually runs smoother and faster now.......

pohlman reviewed vRelease Candidate 2 Preview on Jun 15, 2004

Knocking on wood with the five rating, but...
The previous RC toasted my machine - it acted exactly like it had the Blaster worm or one of its variants and nothing would stop it from going into the reboot cycle.

I then did a fresh install and did all the stuff a good boy does (firewall - don't recall if it was ZA or Sygate; antivirus - tried it with Norton; installed SP1 and every single update there was before installing SP2 and finally connecting to the internet) and the same thing still happened. Everyone else it happened to posted on forums around the world, only to have people tell them that they were idiots and had Blaster. I didn't, and I bet a lot of them didn't either. Did a fresh install and did not try SP2 again.

This time, everything's fine. I've rebooted a few times and tried every program on my computer and it's solid as a rock. So far. Don't know what's changed and I still wouldn't try it on a machine that I couldn't afford to wipe and reinstall on, but I have no complaints at all.

It isn't recognizing Sygate Pro or PC-Cillin, but that's to be expected, I'm sure. Just turn off all the alerts and do business as usual.

The extra security features in IE are great, but to be honest this is the first time I've used IE for anything but Windows Update in a couple years anyway and it wouldn't convince me to switch (from Opera). But for those who don't know any better or for God-knows-what reason actually PREFER that monster, I'm sure life will be safer. Hell, I may spend less time "fixing" people's "broken" computers someday...

Lokheed reviewed vRelease Candidate 2 Preview on Jun 15, 2004

aburton261,

Here is a comprehensive breakdown of the core windows prcoess known as LSASS.EXE

lsass - lsass.exe - Process Information

Process Name: Local Security Authority Service
Description: Windows Local Security Authority Server Process handles Windows security mechanisms. It verifies the validity of user logons to your computer or server. Technically, the software generates the process that is responsible for authenticating users for the Winlogon service.

Is it safe to install again? That depends on your system. It is in beta stages, nowhere near final so it is left up to you. If you feel comfortable installing a beta Service Pack and understand what an SP does, then go for it.

aburton261 reviewed vRelease Candidate 2 Preview on Jun 15, 2004

I have a question. Last time i installed SP2 with the tech. Preview during installing it i was getting an error about it couldn't shut down Isass.exe since it couldn't turn it off it aborted the installation and when i restarted my system it messed up everything, i had to format to get everything working again. Now does anyone know what is the Isass.exe and is it now safe to install?

Mark Gillespie reviewed vRelease Candidate 2 Preview on Jun 15, 2004

Working well, much more secure, slightly faster.

huero420, make sure you uninstall Dameon Tools, Alcohol 120% or anything else that provides fakeCD drive letters, SP2 will then install without the atapi.sys error. You can re-install again afterwards...

slks reviewed vRelease Candidate 2 Preview on Jun 15, 2004

Nice one, fixed a few problems ive got

Yinchie reviewed vRelease Candidate 2 Preview on Jun 15, 2004

@huero420
Unplug your CD/DVD drives at the installation of SP2.

@SP2 Preview.
Simply nice :)

deadmonkey reviewed vRelease Candidate 2 Preview on Jun 15, 2004

As a sysadmin I needed to test my setup with SP2 and I have been following its development with a magnifying glass since day one and I have to say Microsoft have been outstanding. I wont say I haven't had any problems because I have, but the excellent documentation from Microsoft has made updating my programs very simple. People moan about Microsoft but they really did everything like clock work this time and I am very impressed. I hope this is the new standard for all of there updates for clint and server software.

Because of the HUGE number of changes in this release (it is almots like a new OS!) I would HIGHLY recommend making a slipstreamed cd when SP2 goes final and reformat your system. Don't worry about activation as, if you have a legal copy, it will probably activate over the internet just fine, if it doesn't it is just a very simple and painless (Free) call to Microsoft that takes 1 minute. Don't be scared of windows activation it isn't there to stop you using windows!

huero420 reviewed vRelease Candidate 2 Preview on Jun 15, 2004

I am having some trouble getting this release to work. All passed ones have installed fine. This one keeps stopping saying that atapi.sys is in use by another program or application. I have done my best to make sure nothing else is active but still no luck. Hopefully this will be fixed or I will figure what's wrong..

UPDATE:

After uninstalling Alcohol 120% all works well! To bad just disabling virtual devices wouldn't do it took a uninstall. Thanks for the advice everyone!

greg.douglas reviewed vTechnical Preview on Jun 6, 2004

@BonnieD- Please write a informative review. Crash means nothing. Besides, this is beta software. What do you expect from it? There are going to be bugs. If you want a bug free release please wait til the final version.

bryhhh reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 23, 2004

Looks like it will be a good improvement to XP when the final version is released. Until then I'd suggest resisting the temptation to try it out on a machine you care about, as it has just totally screwed the filesystem on my machine. I'm basing my score on the features rather than the problems I've had, because this isn't the finished product and you would be foolish to expect it to work perfectly.

jessshaun623 reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 23, 2004

It says not to install it on a production environment. Judging from everything that will be changed in SP2, I welcome it when it's ready.

BonnieD reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 23, 2004

Crash!

alcvanamelsvoort reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 23, 2004

I took a deep breath and installed Windows XP Service Pack 2 Beta. It took 1 hour 48 minutes to download and well over a hour to install plus several more hours of tweaking were involved. I think it's worth the time spent on this enormous update which has so far been free of any bugs or problems of any sort. The Security Centre (a new innovation) does not recognise my anti-virus programme, avast! and firewall, Kerio, however this is only a minor glitch. I'm very impressed - many thanks Microsoft.

AndyTheDude reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 22, 2004

A very good update. The ones here claiming that MS betas are bad clearly don't know what they are talking about. I've been involved in several beta programs over the years and I have concluded that nothing comes close to how professionally MS betas are run. They actually listen to the testers and offer support and advice along the way.

ricsal reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 22, 2004

worked fine for me.
The windows update is now much easier.
To bad that after i update it all i used a security scanner and it told me that i have 2 holes in my system and that the updates are in microsoft page (what is the use of sp2 then?)

pohlman reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 22, 2004

Killed my machine too. It acted like it had the Blaster worm with the RPC problems - shut down as soon as it booted up and wouldn't start in Safe mode at all. Looking at message boards here and there I see other people having the same problem. Usually their answer is "you have Blaster, dumba**" but that's not it. I guess if you've been tweaking your settings already, it doesn't play well with your system. May try it on a clean install and see how that works but I can't recommend trying it on a system you've been tweaking and modifying for some time unless you're prepared to clean up a mess.

geekz reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 22, 2004

Quite a few of the reviews for this have disappeared. Anyone know why???

CyberDoc999 reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 22, 2004

I Installed this crap now XP does not start!
Good thing I made a backup... Service Pack 2 did not work
for me.

toxicthunder reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 21, 2004

installed without a hitch and works great. running winxp pro retail AND i'm using reset5 to bypass activation. i love the popup blocker =D

tony976 reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 21, 2004

yes doc605 there is, try format c:

iguanas reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 21, 2004

nice refresh to XP.

finalcut reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 21, 2004

doc605: havent you read to not install on a production pc?
kids will never learn....

rxg reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 21, 2004

Installation was without incident and runs flawlessly. Check out the release notes at: http://www.microsoft.com...pro/deploy/relnsp2.mspx

doc605 reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 21, 2004

Anyone know if there is a way to uninstall this beast that crashed my os (winxp home) from the dos prompt??????????

apg88 reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 21, 2004

Its great, I havent had any problems. Im running XP Pro Multiprocessor and its been nothing but better.

bsr500 reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 21, 2004

Works fine for me, this release still doesnt have all the stuff the final will though.

tannman1 reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 21, 2004

I too am unable to install this. It states I have an open file called lsass.exe in win 32. I attempted to end that process but was denied as it staes it is a required file. Regarding the system now being seen as Media edition, this has occured as well but I also have the option of using xp prof so it didnt seem to hose my system. The uninstall seemed to work ok. I will hit the MS newsgroups to see if anyone else is having this same issue. If you guys have any useful suggestions feel free to let me know. I may not be an expert but I can understand the in and outs. Also tried a clean boot ...I wonder if a command line install may work

xtool reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 21, 2004

I love the new features and all...but it broke my AOL. Don't bash AOL please, my family still use it for their email and and it's perfect for the kids but anyway... it broke my AOL. The errors: The instruction at "0x773c34b0" referebced memory at "0x773c34b0". The memory could not be "written".

leveck reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 21, 2004

Ogman, I cannot complete installation becuase Windows says it cannot find uxtheme.dll file (even though it is there). I am unable to get it to accept the file so I had to abort the installation and go back to SP1 (which it did, fortunately). How did you get around this problem?

urbanriot reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 21, 2004

Awesome awesome awesome! The popup blocker works amazingly well... smart enough to let "proper" popups come in, but blocked porn with default configuration (unlike many other learned popup programs). The packet filtering "firewall" is now considerably easier to use, acting somewhat like Zone Alarm.

Installed on my end with zero problems.

Treize reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 20, 2004

It killed my OS after it identified itself as Microsoft Windows Media Edition, wouldn't boot right, the uninstall program broke, restore broke, and it kept on trying to reboot. I wasted an entire day fixing the PC.

cakePie reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 20, 2004

Installed without a hitch. Not too useful unless you need the features provided by the security center. The new version of IE is pretty much equivilent now to every other browser on the market.

conan1873 reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 20, 2004

I'm actually pleasantly surprised I haven't run into any major problems. I almost expected the wheels to come off my system installing a Microsoft pre-release product. Installed smoothly and all seems well. The only thing I've noticed so far is PowerStrip 3.49 has trouble loading with SP2 installed. Once it's loaded it functions fine though. I've been running every app on my system and so far only the one problem with PowerStrip. Haven't tried any games yet though.

Alex T. reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 20, 2004

Working great so far. I noticed some people have problems so make sure everybody files bug reports to MS. There is a link on the desktop to file reports, use it to your advantage.

Mark Gillespie reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 20, 2004

Working well so far on my Dell Inspiron 8200 laptop with XP Home.

Not much visible to the eye (apart from the Security Centre, enhanced firewall), but massive amounts of bugs fixed under the hood. I did hear that large parts of the OS have been recompiled with newer compilers, giving better memory protection, and less chances of buffer overruns, for that alone, the security this provides is a good reason to get it, and for me to give it a 5*

Hopefully the final release will not be too far behind...

madmike reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 20, 2004

Well, ok I did install on a working enviroment, but trusting Microsoft to a degree I gave this SP2 a whirl. I rebooted and hey p[resto! it tried to boot instead off win xp home I came up as Win XP Media Centre and would not boot.. sorry its pants for that reason and I had to reinstall all my stuff

rdburke reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 20, 2004

I have a new eMachine and running XP Pro. After installing, my CD-RW drive would not show up in recorder properties when trying to use the built-in cd burning in XP. Hope they fix this because no cd burning is not an option. Also it recognized that I had Norton Antivirus installed but could not determine the status of the program.

mbiefeni reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 20, 2004

I think it is quite good overall...but I now have a problem where BOOMBox Internet Radio Player can no longer get any information. Anyone else? Testing on a machine without SP2 it seems to work fine. That is the only one I noticed so far.

Propeller reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 20, 2004

I am using it in a production environment and had no problems so far. I was unde Just make sure to have system restore on to make you wont have any complications.

emtp563 reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 20, 2004

Keep in mind, if you have customized your system with modded system files (ie msgina.dll, explorer.exe, Pack's system files, Flyakite's system files, etc.), SP2 will overwrite your modded files (ie replacing your modded icons with the standard Windows XP icons). Other than that, SP2 is excellent.

homiebrah reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 20, 2004

If you have a legitimately purchased key from an earlier release, it will not cause you any trouble. It works completely with XP SP1 VLKs.

M3wThr33 reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 20, 2004

Does anyone know how tolerant this is of not-so-legitmate cd keys or reset5? I remember there was a big buzz surrounding SP1 and wondered if MS toned it down this time.

grturne reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 20, 2004

A move in the right direction, works well on my computer.

Black-Wolf reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 20, 2004

Excellent Service Pack 2!!
Microsoft is the best....... Linux sucks!!

weblyvickers reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 20, 2004

I have to agree with roj... I have a firewall I like, popup control I'm happy with and a download manager that has done me well for 3 years. Instead of fixing a few security problems and updating compatability, Microsoft is slowly tightening its grip on us on every level. If it aint broke... dont fix it! At this rate... 10 years from now we wont have a choice anymore. Dont be a lemming!

roj reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 20, 2004

Uh phantam, I am a Windows proponent. I've been using it for a VERY long time, quite likely from before you knew how to turn on a computer (remember Windows 286? I thought not). However, only the most blind would ignore the fact that Microsoft is slowly and insidiously integrating their idea of DRM into Windows and given that they are most definitely in bed with the MPAA and RIAA (this is based on their public statements of support) and the demonstable inconvenience of what their idea of security means (XP "registration") coupled with their "commitment" to "security", as a CORPORATE user I am concerned. Their firewall incidentally is a joke - don't kid yourself. I like my PC to do what *I* want it to do and not what a vendor tells me it should or should not. If I wanted the opposite I would have bought a Mac years ago. Vigilance on the part of customers (who rule - not the vendors) is never wasted - however the lemming attitude your sadly shortsighted post typifies will only allow a vendor - any vendor - to own you to the point that you never ever have a say in what you can and cannot do with your own property (the PC). As an example of of the so-called "Critical Updates" to Windows Media Player 9 that will doubtless be included in SP-2 *breaks* DVD Xcopy Platinum. Coincidence? Are there truly any coincidences in this business? I'm just a little too intelligent to let the aforementioned fate befall me - your mileage may of course vary.

express15_99 reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 20, 2004

Works very nicely and is a big improvement over build 2082 from a month ago. Keep up the good work Msoft and I am now waiting for an official SP2 RC2 release! My games never played this good on SP1.

Logistix reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 20, 2004

Not a bad service pack I guess.. Its nothing really of interest to me since I use third party firewall and antivirus programs. Plus ive found a few bugs in the internet explorer so far.. And programs have decided not to be compatible as well..

Nonetheless, not bad..

ogman reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 19, 2004

Messes up the uxtheme.dll file. Firewall is not as good as ZA. Not really much to get excited about.

phantam reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 19, 2004

Give me a break, will the idiocricy ever end, at some point you guys can get u're head out of the clouds and just relize the facts, YOUR USING WINDOWS, not linux so stop b****ing otherwise u wouldnt be thinking of downloading a service pack there not forcing you to use it, its an option u dont have to use windows, you can go use many other platforms freely, if you choose to use windows and DONT UPGRADE when it goes final, then your part of the problem plaguing microsoft, customers that refuse to stay up to date with there software leaving the holes open for hack attempts and other malicious acts. Get a life and get the facts before u guys rant on MS please, it gets very tiring hearing it everytime i read a revew on betanews pertaining to a MS product.

GiZiM reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 19, 2004

Like it not bad the firewall is nice.

DivineDark reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 19, 2004

avg. download time 666.1 min @ 56k/s. sign of the beast!!!!!!

donpacman reviewed vTechnical Preview on Mar 19, 2004

For Beta it's not bad!