Is Windows XP SP2 worth it?

RZetlin · August 16th, 2004

Given the issues with broken software compatibility and P2P issues, is SP2 worth the upgrade for PC experts.

I can understand that the SP2 upgrade is good for PC noobs that doesn't even have a firewall.

But is a better firewall the only good feature SP2 has?

Toshiro · August 16th, 2004

Hard to say, it got mixed reviews about being good and bad. Right now I will be experimenting with it after I nLite the CD and clear off a few annoying stuff from the CD including some stuff from SP2. I will be trying it later this week.

**Kane** · August 16th, 2004

Well it's got other fixes in it. The only real issues are with half-open connections which is easily fixed. I've had no compatibility issues myself, and my overall system speed has increased a little (although by how much I'm unsure given the amount of new h/w my machine has seen recently).

Guyver2K6 · August 16th, 2004

i havent installed sp2 and i dont plan on doing so, damn microsoft..i havent evan installed sp1 :P

**Katsuya** · August 16th, 2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kane-Sama

Well it's got other fixes in it. The only real issues are with half-open connections which is easily fixed. I've had no compatibility issues myself, and my overall system speed has increased a little (although by how much I'm unsure given the amount of new h/w my machine has seen recently).

Could you elaborate a little more for me on half-open connections?. (What they are and how to fix them) and anything else that might be an issue. (When it’s available I’m thinking of getting it on my home computer.)

**Kane** · August 16th, 2004

Half-open connections are something hax0r5 use in trojans and crap like that (IIRC), and they are also used in certain file-sharing apps like eMule (bittorrent appears to be unnaffected). There is a fix out for it on the net, and hte new version of nLite allows you to automaticaly install the fix.
I've had no other real issues, other than the bootscreen one whci hshouldn't be an issue unless you do something stupid like me.

**Katsuya** · August 16th, 2004

I see... well then it sounds good.

**hushypushy** · August 16th, 2004

i installed SP2. i dont see much of a reason to install it on a current windows install....but on a new windows install, Nlite is the way to go. i reformatted my P3 yesterday with SP2...very nice. took out all the useless crap like windows messenger, screensavers, desktop pics, etc....and it came with the TCP/IP and uxtheme.dll patches AND since i installed SP2 as well it's automatically up-to-date, including DX9c. awesome

Jldnr77 · August 17th, 2004

Well, if your trying to get windows ICS to work while sharing a dial up connection...be wary....I couldn't get it to work....

Seta-San · August 17th, 2004

i give it two thumbs up. Definately worth it. Burn it on a disc and you'll never have to download it again

**hushypushy** · August 17th, 2004

best of all, slipstream it to your XP install CD...it's awesome. comes iwth DX9c as well

Noxious Ninja · August 17th, 2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kane-Sama

Half-open connections are something hax0r5 use in trojans and crap like that (IIRC), and they are also used in certain file-sharing apps like eMule (bittorrent appears to be unnaffected). There is a fix out for it on the net, and hte new version of nLite allows you to automaticaly install the fix.
I've had no other real issues, other than the bootscreen one whci hshouldn't be an issue unless you do something stupid like me.

Incomplete connections are basially connections in progress... so things like BitTorrent, which try to connect to a whole bunch of machines at once, will be affected. The limit is 10 incomplete connections, I'm not sure if it is per-program or system-wide.

scottlc · August 17th, 2004

But the connections are not dropped, they will eventually all be dealt with.

**Razor Blade** · August 18th, 2004

The Fixes that occur when SP2 is installed seem to be impressive!

Check em out here

**hushypushy** · August 18th, 2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by Razor Blade

The Fixes that occur when SP2 is installed seem to be impressive!

Check em out here

take that with a grain of salt---remember, that's every fix given to XP since it came out in 2002.

**Razor Blade** · August 18th, 2004

True, but for those who didn't install SP1 this fixes problems that SP1 did too.

**hushypushy** · August 18th, 2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by Razor Blade

True, but for those who didn't install SP1 this fixes problems that SP1 did too.

oh, yes, that's quite true. and when you put it that way, there have been a lot of XP fixes. i just wanted to clarify it so that people didnt think that ALL of those things were new for SP2. in fact, not that many of them are "new for SP2" since a lot of those things have been released in automatic updates for a while now

August 16th, 2004	#1 (permalink)
RZetlin General of Tangerines Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Defending the Sea Posts: 3,885	Is Windows XP SP2 worth it? Given the issues with broken software compatibility and P2P issues, is SP2 worth the upgrade for PC experts. I can understand that the SP2 upgrade is good for PC noobs that doesn't even have a firewall. But is a better firewall the only good feature SP2 has? __________________ AMD Athlon 64 3700+ \| 2 GB RAM \| XFX Nvidia 6800 GS 256 MB XXX Edition \| Win XP Pro SP2

August 16th, 2004	#3 (permalink)
Kane 邪魔ゎ指せない Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Gosport, England Posts: 26,255	Well it's got other fixes in it. The only real issues are with half-open connections which is easily fixed. I've had no compatibility issues myself, and my overall system speed has increased a little (although by how much I'm unsure given the amount of new h/w my machine has seen recently). __________________ >Site Live< Pop over to my site for help with setting up PSX emulators. Help for the Final Fantasies and other RPGs avalaible Celes: (Desktop) Athlon 64 X2 4200+, 2Gb 400MHz DDR Ram, MSI K8N Platinum, GeForce 8800 GTS 320Mb, 500Gb RAID HDD, Vista Business Erika: (MCPC) Athlon XP 2400+, 1Gb 400MHz DDR Ram, geForce 6800 256Mb, 80Gb Hdd, XP 2005 MCE Kimiko: (Desktop 2) Athlon 64 3000+, 512Mb 400MHz DDR Ram, Asus K8V, geForce 6800 128Mb

August 16th, 2004	#4 (permalink)
Guyver2K6 Graphic Designer Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: I AM CANADIAN! Posts: 857	i havent installed sp2 and i dont plan on doing so, damn microsoft..i havent evan installed sp1 :P __________________ •••Mary Jane is the only thing that makes the pain stop••• 360GamerTag - SteFanO420

August 16th, 2004	#6 (permalink)
Kane 邪魔ゎ指せない Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Gosport, England Posts: 26,255	Half-open connections are something hax0r5 use in trojans and crap like that (IIRC), and they are also used in certain file-sharing apps like eMule (bittorrent appears to be unnaffected). There is a fix out for it on the net, and hte new version of nLite allows you to automaticaly install the fix. I've had no other real issues, other than the bootscreen one whci hshouldn't be an issue unless you do something stupid like me. __________________ >Site Live< Pop over to my site for help with setting up PSX emulators. Help for the Final Fantasies and other RPGs avalaible Celes: (Desktop) Athlon 64 X2 4200+, 2Gb 400MHz DDR Ram, MSI K8N Platinum, GeForce 8800 GTS 320Mb, 500Gb RAID HDD, Vista Business Erika: (MCPC) Athlon XP 2400+, 1Gb 400MHz DDR Ram, geForce 6800 256Mb, 80Gb Hdd, XP 2005 MCE Kimiko: (Desktop 2) Athlon 64 3000+, 512Mb 400MHz DDR Ram, Asus K8V, geForce 6800 128Mb

August 16th, 2004	#8 (permalink)
hushypushy the only one you've ever SEEN Join Date: May 2003 Location: San Francisco Posts: 21,837	i installed SP2. i dont see much of a reason to install it on a current windows install....but on a new windows install, Nlite is the way to go. i reformatted my P3 yesterday with SP2...very nice. took out all the useless crap like windows messenger, screensavers, desktop pics, etc....and it came with the TCP/IP and uxtheme.dll patches AND since i installed SP2 as well it's automatically up-to-date, including DX9c. awesome __________________ Dedicated to mediocrity and repetition since 1994. 2008 "How Not to Post" guide

August 16th, 2004	#2 (permalink)
Toshiro Registered User Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Small island in Japan Posts: 819	Hard to say, it got mixed reviews about being good and bad. Right now I will be experimenting with it after I nLite the CD and clear off a few annoying stuff from the CD including some stuff from SP2. I will be trying it later this week.

August 16th, 2004	#7 (permalink)
Katsuya - Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: - Posts: 1,936	I see... well then it sounds good.

August 17th, 2004	#9 (permalink)
Jldnr77 Emulation Junkie Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 731	Well, if your trying to get windows ICS to work while sharing a dial up connection...be wary....I couldn't get it to work.... __________________ Current Specs: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Manchester/ 2 GB Corsair PC3200 Ram / DVD-RW DL Light Scribe / Lite-On SOHW-832S DVD+-RW DL / 200 Gig Samsung HD / 250 Gig Maxtor HD / Nvidia GeForce 7600GT 256 MB PCI-E / Creative SoundBlaster Audigy2 ZS Bruce Almighty: How do you make someone love you without affecting free will? God: Good Question. If you find the answer to that, let me know.

August 17th, 2004	#10 (permalink)
Seta-San PCSX2ベータテスター Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Nebraska Posts: 1,393	i give it two thumbs up. Definately worth it. Burn it on a disc and you'll never have to download it again __________________

August 17th, 2004	#11 (permalink)
hushypushy the only one you've ever SEEN Join Date: May 2003 Location: San Francisco Posts: 21,837	best of all, slipstream it to your XP install CD...it's awesome. comes iwth DX9c as well __________________ Dedicated to mediocrity and repetition since 1994. 2008 "How Not to Post" guide

August 17th, 2004	#13 (permalink)
scottlc Registered User Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: St Andrews, Scotland Posts: 1,575	But the connections are not dropped, they will eventually all be dealt with. __________________ OS: Arch Linux w/ Kernel 2.6.23.8 + GNOME 2.20.1 - CPU: Intel Pentium M 1.5GHz - Memory: 1280MB DDR PC2700 - Browser: Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.10

August 18th, 2004	#14 (permalink)
Razor Blade Locked and Loaded Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: I AM CANADIAN! Posts: 12,030	The Fixes that occur when SP2 is installed seem to be impressive! Check em out here __________________ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Core 2 Duo T7300 2.0 GHz ● NVIDIA GeForce 8400GS ● 2GB DDR2 RAM Hitachi 120GB HD ● Dual Layer DVD+/-RW Drive ● Windows Vista Home Premium ● Dell 2007WFP LCD ● Dell XPS M1330 Laptop ● 1TB Western Digital MyBook External HD ● Logitech Z10 Speakers ● PLAYSTATION 3 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

August 18th, 2004	#16 (permalink)
Razor Blade Locked and Loaded Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: I AM CANADIAN! Posts: 12,030	True, but for those who didn't install SP1 this fixes problems that SP1 did too. __________________ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Core 2 Duo T7300 2.0 GHz ● NVIDIA GeForce 8400GS ● 2GB DDR2 RAM Hitachi 120GB HD ● Dual Layer DVD+/-RW Drive ● Windows Vista Home Premium ● Dell 2007WFP LCD ● Dell XPS M1330 Laptop ● 1TB Western Digital MyBook External HD ● Logitech Z10 Speakers ● PLAYSTATION 3 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode