Vista SP1 & XP SP3 Vista News Discuss Vista SP1 & XP SP3 in the Windows Vista forums; In-depth: inside Windows XP SP3 Posted by Outcast on 15 Aug 2007 - 03:43 0 comments << | >> There have been about as many rumours surrounding Windows ...

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In-depth: inside Windows XP SP3
Posted by Outcast on 15 Aug 2007 - 03:43 0 comments << | >>


There have been about as many rumours surrounding Windows XP Service Pack 3 as there have about Vista Service Pack 1. Well, it seems that nothing stays secret for very long, and while Microsoft has confirmed that XP SP3 is certainly in the pipeline, there hasn’t been very much in the way of detailed information.


However, hot on the heels of our in-depth examination of the private beta of Vista SP1, our reliable developer source came through with the goods once again, and we have the private beta of Windows XP SP3 in our hot little hands.

Unlike Vista SP1 which was a full DVD ISO with the service pack integrated, XP SP3 is a single 330MB download – basically the same format as SP1 and SP2. This particular build’s current KB number a KB936929 (windowsxp-kb936929-sp3-x86-enu), and the full version build is 5.1.2600.3180.

Like all Windows XP service packs and updates, you can extract the contents of the SP3 executable with WinRAR and slipstream it into an existing Windows XP distribution point (like a network share or bootable CD). To maximise the difference comparison, I tested the installation side-by-side on two Windows XP SP2 machines which have all system drivers installed, but no post-SP2 updates applied. For comparison, Windows XP SP2 has a version number of 5.1 (Build 2600.xpsp_sp2.rtm.040803-2158 : Service Pack 2) and an NTOSKRNL.EXE version of 5.1.2600.2180.

http://apcmag.com/6952/in_depth_windows_xp_sp3