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XP SP2 -- What are you thoughts?

I like XP SP2 as long as you strip out all the bloated junk it conatins and do a clean install of Windows XP with SP2 slipstreamed.
 
It keeps causing "OutOfMemoryException" on my computer when I try to reply!!! Damn that SP2
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Yet another problem being blamed on the evil "Microsoft" :roll: This is actally an issue with this forum, look in the "forum issues" section.

I like XP SP2 as long as you strip out all the bloated junk it conatins and do a clean install of Windows XP with SP2 slipstreamed.
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I hope people don't take that advice. You don't need to do a clean install of windows or have it slipstreamed for it to install without issues. 99% of the problems people are having with SP2 stem from having problems that were there before they tried the install. A lot of it is caused by the "tweaking" the user has done thinking they were making it "better, faster, cleaner". If your windows install is old, or full of crap then chances are you will have problems. IMO, if you can't install SP2 without a lot of issues, then you had windows so screwed up already that you needed a reinstall anyway.

So..... I like SP2, the built in firewall is actally pretty decent. I dumped Zone Alarm and use it now, most of the other stuff I don't use. But there are a lot of security upgrades that are needed that you don't see.
 
I tried the plunge and rolled back.
Firefox/internet aware apps were broken.. Clicking links didn't work the first time,
Plan to install SP2 in my lab when I wipe the machines and put them on the new domain.
 
It's good if you get rid of that stupid security center and turn off the firewall. 🙂 I trust my hardware firewall to do the job. Thanks anyway Microsoft.
 
Can't say I have any special feelings about it.
Provides needed patches and updates, I don't use the built in firewall, nor security center, so it doesn't really affect me directly, aside from the fact that WMP got a tad screwed up on the computers I installed it in, which isn't a biggie either since I don't use WMP much 🙂
 
I never had any problems except w/ the DEP thing...when I had it on it wouldn't let me access some SYSTEM TOOLS, such as "Services" and "User Accounts"... 😕

Other than that, it ran fine...of course make sure to turn off the stupid security center thing...yeah, SP2 is OK for me, no problems w/ games or anything.
 
I like it because I work on lots of computers for friends and family, and SP2 reminds them to update their virus definitions. If only it reminded them to update Adaware and run it!
 
Significant upgrade to XP SP1. Significant. This thread has only breezed through what SP2 does ie...firewall comments. DCOM, RPC's, IE security and pop up blocker, wireless connectivity improvements and yes, the firewall for those that don't have one, among other enhancements and improvements. And in the unlikely and uncommon event SP2 does break something the uninstall is also excellent. Those who bash SP2, well, lets just say they don't have a whole lot of technological credibility IMO.
 
I guess that it's good with security patches, all their extra security bloat stuff I could do without as I know how to protect my computer. It doesn't bother me though.
 
Reformatted HD twice due to conflicts with another Security Suite and the associated automatic updates. I kept getting the black screen dead computer after the installs (automatic) rebooted. If you turn off the security features (especially if you have another product...Mcaffee, Norton and whatever) and disable the automatic updates you may be ok. If you have automatic updates enabled, it will try to sneak SP2 onto your computer. I have the option to notify me but not install until I tell it to. In that way I was able to answer "Cancel" to the SP2 install attempt.

I don't like SP2 so much I'm studying Linux right now. One day I will be Microsoft-free, I hope.

jj
 
The only times I have seen people having problems with Sp2 is when there systems are filled with viruses and/or spyware. If you do a slipstreamed install you should have no problems at all.
 
cant stand it either. I installed it, and it broke my LAN network, no matter what I did, it would not connect to my router. I tried running the network wizard, turning off my router, then back on, resetting my router, etc. NOTHING...did a system restore, and all is fine. Firefox was also borked for me, would go NOWHERE!

as for the Windows firewall, it only monitors outbound traffic, Zone Alarm monitors inbound AND outbound, better stick with ZA
 
It has some worthwhile features. I like the integrated lightweight firewall, better virus prevention features and the Security Center.
 
it broke Adobe Acrobat and my Windows Installer service, but a simple restart of the service fixed that, and an upgrade to Acrobat 6.0. It seems to be all right I guess.
 
Only had trouble on one computer with it.(out of ~10) I also haven't had any real issues with it or really noticed it's been there after installing it.

Except for disabling the silly security center.
 
No problems at all with it. I don't use the firewall because I use BitDefender and can enable the integrated one if I want. I pretty much agree with boshuter on most problems being caused by users.
 
Since last April or May, I used SP2 on a Dell 4550 from the betas, release candidates and finally the official release without re-formatting and re-installing. No problems at all. I use a video tuner card, a breakout box and have some highly tweaked settings that make it extra tedious to do a clean install (this is before I started using imaging software). I've done the taxes two years in a row on this box and have upgraded, uninstalled and re-installed many programs. When things started to get "buggy" (long boot up times, long shutdown times, programs slow to load etc...) I was able to "bail" out the system with the beta versions of SP2, the rc's and finally the final ...and I'm quite impressed. The box is rock solid.

I reformat and reinstall on the other boxes frequently and often re-image every other day. I refrained from installing SP2 on my primary box until about a month ago and am now quite comfortable with it. I had been re-imaging with SP1 and the subsequent security updates, until I noticed that the SP2 box seemed faster on the internet ...I saw no good reason not to make the change now. I disable auto updates, system restore and the security center. I use Zone Alarm Pro and NAV 2003. I use IE6 and thoroughly enjoy the pop-up blocker and the enhanced browser security features that SP2 affords. My fallback images are now all fresh activated SP2 installs.

I use Acronis True Image and it takes about three minutes to restore the fresh image ...much faster than it takes to clean the internet cache, history, index.dat file, scan for spyware, scan for viruses, clean the registry and defrag etc...
 
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