[WriteLog] Problem with XP service pack2?

[Bob McCormick W1QA]

Rick N6XI wrote:

> Sorry about all that, Al. XP SP2 has a very bad rep.
> My company has directed employees not to install SP2.
> Microsoft announced at the very beginning that SP2 
> would create backward incompatibilities ...

YMMV ...
Windows XP SP2 probably has more bad press than its
actual reputation warrants.  In my shop we are deploying 
it without problem or fanfare; only a couple of non-critical
applications have been affected by it.

The installation of XP SP2 along with ensuring that users 
have only normal user privs (and are not members of the 
Power Users group, administrators, etc.) has significantly 
reduced the amount of issues related to unwanted things 
appearing on systems.

It has been extensively tested; it was in testing for a
*long* time - and any serious organisation developing
software had plenty of time to prepare its software 
for the changes that Windows XP SP2 would impose.


> It should never have been called a service pack upgrade;
> it's really a new OS release ...

This I will agree with.  All too often major functionality
releases are considered the same - as some minor or roll-up
bug fixes.  In this case, a service pack != a service pack.

With any update, service pack or upgrade, I would always
suggest checking out the release notes and other info
prior to installation.  Most of the big gotcha's with
Windows XP SP2 are widely known/published ... and many
have been resolved over the preceding months.


> If you can do it, consider deep sixing SP2. I don't know 
> how hard that is but visions of disk wiping and starting 
> from an old installation CD come to mind. Hopefully it's 
> not that bad.

If there's really an issue with Windows XP SP2 ...
one can easily remove it via the add/remove programs
control panel - and your system will be restored to 
its previous state.  I've successfully done this on
numerous occasions in various testing and troubleshooting
situations.

There are most certainly advantages for blowing everything
away and starting from scratch - clean installs are a good
way to ensure you're not inheriting problems and issues.
But you have to weigh the value of time to accomplish that ...
against other alternatives.


To get this back on track a bit ... I've had no problems
with using WriteLog (recent versions) on a number of
Windows XP Professional based systems with Service Pack 2
installed on them.  And no problems with any hardware 
support as well.

If you're considering installing XP SP2 (I would advocate it)
just make sure all your currently installed software and
hardware (drivers) are not affected by SP2.

73 Bob W1QA