Win XP: Is Service Pack 2 necessary..?

[Fozzer]

Hi Lads, Lasses, and other various species.... ...!

Having finally managed to install Win XP on my second hard drive, (in addition to my original Win '98SE... ...)*,
I am left wondering if I really should download and install Service Pack 2 as well**.

What are the benefits of SP2, (if any), bearing in mind that I seem to be getting much more crap spam, etc, on Win XP than ever I did in Win '98... ...!

Thanks all... ...!

Paul.... ...!

* I select the required operating system in the Bios boot-up options... ...!

** Via 56k Dial-Up... ... ...!

[Craig.]

its not worth it with your 56k modem. Its something like 70mb i believe.

[Fozzer]

its not worth it with your 56k modem. Its something like 70mb i believe.

Hi Craig...!

So....
If I were to row over to Seattle to collect the disk from Uncle Bill would there be any benefits in installing it...?

...and if so, what are they...?

Paul The Confused.... ... ...!

[Woodlouse2002]

SP2 downloaded itself onto my computer over the course of god knows how long. But then all it did for me was make me turn off automatic updates. So it wouldn't happen again. Don't bother with it.

[Fozzer]

Hi Woody...!

I hear, on the grape-vine, that SP2 includes some add-on security programs to prevent arsoles toe-rags from infecting our computer with pop-ups, spy-ware, viruses, etc....
...or am I being too optimistic... ...!

LOL...!

Paul.... ...!

[ATI_7500]

Don't bother about it. Service Pack 2 is as unnecessary as nude pics of the Queen.

[Fozzer]

Don't bother about it. Service Pack 2 is as unnecessary as nude pics of the Queen.

....Victoria...?
...Freddy Mercury...?

LOL...!

Paul... ...!

[WebbPA]

I installed SP2 at the same time I installed XP so I didn't have any problems with it messing with other programs.

Here are some of the things that MS says are fixed in SP2 http://support.microsoft.com/kb/811113/

I would also recommend against installing it from a 56k modem.  MS will send you CD free http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/down ... fault.mspx

[Fozzer]

I installed SP2 at the same time I installed XP so I didn't have any problems with it messing with other programs.

Here are some of the things that MS says are fixed in SP2 http://support.microsoft.com/kb/811113/

Blimey...!
...just read through that lot and wondering why I bothered installed XP to replace my Windows '98SE, which didn't have all those problems in the first place... ...!
LOL...!

Paul...Dual Boot... ...!

[Woodlouse2002]

The whole protection bit is the part that annoyed me most. I've got Norton to do all that and I don't want them conflicting.

[the_autopilot]

The whole protection bit is the part that annoyed me most. I've got Norton to do all that and I don't want them conflicting.

Wrong, protection bit works seperately from your anti-virus software. Anti-virus, prevents and removes viruses from your comp.

Protection bit is hardware support (NX disable bit on AMD and intel processors). It litterally prevents certain types of malicious program code from being run on the processor.

Trust me, SP2 is worth the download. It also comes with some great optimizations and A LOT of security fixes. I don't know where some of these people are getting their info, but SP2 is a must have for XP.

BTW, Microsoft will ship you a free versian of SP2 CD. Go here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/sp2/cdorder/en_us/default.mspx

[the_autopilot]

Blimey...!
...just read through that lot and wondering why I bothered installed XP to replace my Windows '98SE, which didn't have all those problems in the first place... ...!
LOL...!

Paul...Dual Boot... ...!

XP has a lot more security than 98. It is a lot more stable. It has more features and more support for applications. In addition, many apps today (like games like doom 3or fs2004) are optimized for XP.

Plus, here is the number one reason why win98 sucks and you shouldn't regreat your upgrade to XP:
http://www.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9804/20/gates.comdex/gates.30.240.mov

[Stormtropper]

Don't bother with it, SP2 is a security nightmare :-/

I personally think it caused more problems than it fixed

[the_autopilot]

Don't bother with it, SP2 is a security nightmare :-/

I personally think it caused more problems than it fixed

Please provide proof to back up your claim.

SP2 is a slew of security updates. It patches many holes in XP as well adding preventive security measures such as a firewall and the abovementioned bit protection. Of course, don't rely on SP2 as your only source of protection; however, it does aid quite a bit in protecting your computer.

[Woodlouse2002]

I still don't want it downloading any more crap onto my pc. So I've turned automatic updates off. Though for some reason XP feels the need to tell me that everytime I boot up the system.