Topic: XP SP3

[DoctorDave]

SP3 is out, it seems. It just popped up in my Windows Update.

Have fun with it, and post your impressions.

[DAwG]

if it has anything important like dx10 or soemthing lemme know

[anomaly]

im waiting for the lab mice to finish before i end up having to reformatting my system. 

[mephisto_kur]

I'm grabbing it from Windows Update now.  The network installer is not up yet.

[mephisto_kur]

Grrr, i am SOOOOO sick and tired of Microsoft reinstalling Outlook Express every time I do an damn update.

[DAwG]

Outlook express? people still use that?

[GeNe]

No, I think that's the whole reason behind Meph's frustration. That nobody uses it, and yet MS forces it on you after every update.

[DoctorDave]

Well, crap. Crap crap crap. If you think you have it bad, Meph...

When I installed SP3, i got a bluescreen on reboot saying that some invalid function call was made. Wouldn't even boot in safemode or after using chkdsk /r. So I tried to do an in-place reinstall on it. The only problem with that is that Windows Geniuine Headache thought something was wrong, and wouldn't let me log on without activating the product first. Of course, there was no network connection because the LAN drivers had to be properly reinstalled before this could happen, and I couldn't install them in safe mode, so I was stuck in an infinite loop of stupid activation screens. So most likely that installation is completely lost. Thanks a freakin' lot Microsoft! 

Oh well, I'm getting my two new Seagate Barracudas this week to put in a RAID 0 array with my new mobo and processor, so I guess it could've happened at a worse time.

[mephisto_kur]

The main download package is finally up and working for those that want the exe installer for slipstreaming or just dumping to CD.

Get it here.

[kerchief]

Should I get it and if so... will I have to reinstall my games?

[mephisto_kur]

Back everything important up, Choo.  If you can Ghost your machine (dupe the whole boot drive) do that.  I have had no issues with anything I have tried to run since I loaded it yesterday.  I just updated my wife's machine and she's running fine as far as I can see.  You should not have to reload any of your games or apps.

[DoctorDave]

I'm a living testament to the fact that you should back things up (I did too, I'm just sayin'.  )

[DAwG]

anyone know of a good ghosting program? I wanted to backup my OS partition

[bad easy]

could i ghost to my laptop?  i think i've got the room.

[mephisto_kur]

For those of you without ghost access, please explore the use of your Backup utility - it comes with all versions of Windows.  Start\All Programs\Accessories\System Tools\Backup.  The software will walk you through scheduling a backup - you can do anything from just your documents folder and settings, to creating a full backup of your entire drive with a bootable restore disk.

Yes, bad easy - you can ghost ANY computer as long as you have the room.  If you actually have Ghost or one of the similar competing softwares, they will even create a boot disk for you so that you can get every last scrap of data - even with network capability so you can dump it to a networked machine.  It depends on the software, tho.