Rajbir Singh | 
Microsoft, on Tuesday, finally released Windows XP Service Pack 3 to its customers. The Service Pack contains all the previous updates released for Windows XP as well as some new updates. As per speculations, the Service Pack 3 does not include any new functionalities which significantly change the user experience.
What’s new in the Service Pack:
It has all the previously released updates, hot fixes and a small number of new updates. Following are some of the important updates in the Service Pack(SP)3:
- Updates for Internet Explorer 6 & 7. However if you’ve Internet Explorer installed on your system, the SP will not upgrade Internet Explorer 6 to Internet Explorer 7.
- Enhanced security for Administrator & Service policy settings.
- Microsoft Cryptographic Module.
- New Windows Product Activation- Users can now complete the installation of Windows XP without providing a Product key during setup. The user will be prompted for key as part of Genuine Advantage. This feature is similar to Windows Vista & Windows Server 2003 SP2.
Download:
You can download SP3 from Windows Update as well as standalone packages for the 32bit versions. Windows XP x64 users need to download the Service Packs for Windows Server 2003 x64.
There are three standalone packages available for download:
Standalone Installer 32-bit(EXE):
windowsxp-kb936929-sp3-x86-debug-enu.exe 342.9 MB 5/6/2008
Standalone Package 32-bit(ISO):
xpsp3_5512.080413-2113_usa_x86fre_spcd.iso 544.9 MB 5/6/2008
Includes .Net Framework
Network Installation Package for IT Professionals & Developers 32-bit(EXE):
WindowsXP-KB936929-SP3-x86-ENU.exe 316.4 MB 5/6/2008
Windows XP Service Pack 3 Overview:
The information in this post is obtained from Microsoft’s Knowledge Base by the author.
The Microsoft Download Center site is your only authorized web source for downloading a licensed copy of Windows XP Service Pack 3. To report a website offering unlicensed copies of Windows XP SP3 for download, please send e-mail to: piracy@microsoft.com or visit http://www.microsoft.com/piracy/ReportingUs.mspx.
I just hope the problems with XP are reduced after the service pack. Thanks for the update and the links.
By Goobimama on May 7th, 2008 at 8:55 amI dont think XP has many problems.. even without SP3.
By Pallab on June 15th, 2008 at 4:04 pmAnyway, will download it in a couple of weeks when I would be creating my new slipstreamed unattended install disk.