SP4 for XP...

[tcsenter]

We may well see one yet, if the registry is any indication.

Open Regedit and drill down to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Updates\Windows XP

Expand the Windows XP key and look at the very last sub-key.

 

[corkyg]

What you have are the updates that have occurred since SP3 was released. IOW, they are not included in SP3. Calling them SP4 is simply a convenient folder name. Don't read too much into it.

 

[tcsenter]

Originally posted by: corkyg
What you have are the updates that have occurred since SP3 was released. IOW, they are not included in SP3. Calling them SP4 is simply a convenient folder name. Don't read too much into it.

I wasn't implying Microsoft had somehow already released SP4 for XP without anyone's knowledge. Merely speculating about its significance to a future release plan.

 

[Smilin]

There are two types of updates that occur: QFE and GDR. QFE are hotfixes that represent a fix for a particular bug. QFEs are sometimes akin to a fork in the code tree. GDRs stay in the same path in the code tree that leads to service packs.

For major bugs or security bugs you may sometimes find both a QFE and GDR version of the fix that both address the issue. The two versions are required to "keep you on the path" that you were currently on. The two paths reconverge with every service pack.

Internally (not really NDA stuff here) our hotfix website shows the service pack of every hotfix. This SP number will be the next service pack where the QFE and GDR trees will converge. To oversimplify it means every fix released post sp3 will show as a sp4 fix regardless if sp4 ever sees the light of day. You can find Windows 2000 sp5 fixes out there and there is pretty much 0 chance we'll see an sp5.

I'm pretty sure there will never be an XP sp4. I've not seen one way or the other though, that's just my guess.

More info about qfe/gdr/service packs..
824994 Description of the contents of Windows XP Service Pack 2 and Windows Server 2003 software update packages
http://support.microsoft.com/d...x?scid=kb;EN-US;824994



Ramble over... just read what Corky said 😛

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: Smilin
You can find Windows 2000 sp5 fixes out there and there is pretty much 0 chance we'll see an sp5.

There was that post-SP4 "rollup". Sort of a mini-SP5, as it were.

 

[Smilin]

Originally posted by: VirtualLarry

Originally posted by: Smilin
You can find Windows 2000 sp5 fixes out there and there is pretty much 0 chance we'll see an sp5.

There was that post-SP4 "rollup". Sort of a mini-SP5, as it were.

Although they get additional regression testing beyond their individual hotfixes, rollups are not the same as service packs at all. See the above links regarding QFE and GDR. Rollups do not recombine the code tree.