# Do Not install WindowsXP - SP1



## Guest (Sep 27, 2002)

It's up to you !!! XP has a serious bug which SP1 fixes. But, SP1 contains other "features" you really don't want any part of. Read the quote below, take the link, and seriously consider what's going on here. The only problem I foresee with this solution is that SP2 may require the installation of SP1 or it may have the same crap imbedded in it (and we're talking XP here - there will probably be a ton of SP's in its future)



> Fortunately, veteran computer whiz Steve Gibson, author of the Spinrite disk fixing utility, has come up with a THIRD-PARTY PATCH that deals with the bug without requiring the installation of XP SP1. "We have received many horror stories from users who have had their Windows XP systems badly damaged by the installation of Service Pack 1," says Gibson. He also reports having found Web pages that attempt to delete users' files -- including their entire Windows directories -- on the Net.


Source: http://www.extremetech.com/article2/1,3973,558825,00.asp


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## itsmeitsmeitsme (Apr 29, 2002)

ST.....I have already downloaded the service pack and installed.....what would you suggest....leave it alone or get rid of it....


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## Guest (Sep 27, 2002)

If it were me I would get rid of it. But, the choice is yours. There's always the very valid concept of not fixing something that isn't broken.


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## tantap (Mar 7, 2002)

Slithy,

Thanks for the "heads up". As coincidence would have it, I attempted to download the pack last night. A call came in and I terminated my connection figuring that I would download it today.

I'll leave it be. I am not overly thrilled with XP, but with 1.54G of RAM and no other OS that I know of that will recognize it, I either forget about one 'G' and only use 512, or put up with the frustrations of XP.

Have a great day,
Nat


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## Brooks (Oct 31, 2001)

tantap--Windows 2000 pro will handle that. A lot of high-end workstations are loaded with up to 2 gigs of memory and windows 2000 on P4 systems and I have seen stations with 4 gigs running Windows 2000 also.

From what I have seen from here and at other sites, SP1 is hit or miss. Either it works or it trashes your system requiring a reinstall.

The only bad thing, is that Microsoft officials say future Win XP updates will require that SP1 be installed.

In addition, it has introduced a slew of bugs that Microsoft has already acknowledge. And from my net wanderings, there are a bunch out there that they do not acknowledge. Danged if you do, danged if you don't.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q324722


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## tantap (Mar 7, 2002)

Originally posted by Brooks



> tantap--Windows 2000 pro will handle that. A lot of high-end workstations are loaded with up to 2 gigs of memory and windows 2000 on P4 systems and I have seen stations with 4 gigs running Windows 2000 also.


Thank you for the info. I was under the impression that XP was the only one that would recognize it.

Are you certain that it will be recognized? W98 will "run" with the RAM I have but only recognize 512.

If it will, I have no qualms about switching.

I'm also not thrilled with the "block" that XP has that will not allow me to install it on more than one machine. I have 4 and I'm expected to purchase 4 copies.

Perhaps I should clarify that. It will install, but in a given period of time rumor has it that it may no longer allow one to access files or some such nonsense.

Here are my specs....

P IV 2,42GHz
ASUS P4S333 MOBO
60GB HDD (Primary)
6.4GB HDD (Secondary)
1.57G DDR RAM
32MB Video AGP ATI Expert 2000Ultra
1.44MB Floppy
CDRW LG 24x10x40
16x DVD Rom
ETH-PCI-DLINK 10/100 Base T PCI
Mid Tower Case 300 Watts
Altec Lansing AVS500 Sub
Samsung 19" 950B SyncMaster

Before I lay out a few hundred loonies for 2000......... as above, if you are certain it will be "recognized" as opposed to just "run" with it, I'll wait for a response.

Have a great day,
Nat


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## Brooks (Oct 31, 2001)

Direct from Microsoft:

http://www.microsoft.com/hwdev/platform/server/PAE/PAEmem.asp



> Operating systems based on Microsoft® Windows NT® technologies have always provided applications with a flat 32-bit virtual address space that describes 4 gigabytes (GB) of virtual memory. The address space is usually split so that 2 GB of address space is directly accessible to the application and the other 2 GB is only accessible to the Windows executive software.


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## Edmund Tan (Sep 4, 1999)

I installed XP SP1 this morning, and apart from this "ServicePackFile" directory which was left in the Windows folder (Approx 275Mb !!!!) the machine does not suffer from any ill effects after its installation.


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## Guest (Sep 27, 2002)

If you have read the references on this problem your "ill effects" may be yet to come... maybe, maybe not... just be prepared for MS to install updates to whatever they want and whenever they want, and shut you off from things *they* decide you should not do.


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## Edmund Tan (Sep 4, 1999)

OK, how do you get rid of the damned thing??? I tried looking at the add/remove program in Control Panel but can't find anything relating to SP1.


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## Guest (Sep 27, 2002)

I am not currently running XP so I am not sure how that is handled. I recently installed W2K-SP3 and there is an uninstall folder (hidden, etc). If I do a search on... *spun*.** the results show the uninstall program and the folder with all the uninstall files. I have not tried it, but I assume you just start the uninstall program. It appears to be a non-windows (DOS-type) program so it must have to be started after booting to a command prompt (makes sense since modules which Windows is currently using may have to be replaced).

I am just not sure at this point. Browse around in your machine and see if you can find anything like the above.

Finally, if your machine is working okay you may not want to run the risk of messing it up - especially if you do not have ALL YOUR DATA properly backed up.


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## Tact (Sep 9, 2002)

> If you have read the references on this problem your "ill effects" may be yet to come... maybe, maybe not... just be prepared for MS to install updates to whatever they want and whenever they want, and shut you off from things they decide you should not do.


OMG! are you reffering to ULA that no one reads? i heard something on tech tv about record companys wanting to HACK yoru comp and they decide waht you do with the software or not. well..you know. that thing leo was talking about with that guy and stuff. 

but it made me wonder about other ula's i never read and what i'm agreeing to. and if sp1 has something like that, then what you said about "ms [installing] updates to whatever they want and whenever they want" that just freaked me out.

i'm gonna read all ula's from now on.


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## Guest (Sep 27, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Tact:_
> *
> OMG! are you reffering to ULA that no one reads?*


Read THIS THREAD


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## Tact (Sep 9, 2002)

> And, what will this do to the options that already exist (Mac, Unix/variants, Lindows, etc.) ? It could be the best thing that could ever happen to them.


hey. i think your right! that's looking a the bright side! cool. wow i feel better now. /me less worried. thanks. 

can't wait to try out linux one day. i hear so much about it.

and i completely forgot about bypassing such evils.

/me will still read all eulas now.


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## tantap (Mar 7, 2002)

Originally posted by Brooks



> Operating systems based on Microsoft® Windows NT® technologies have always provided applications with a flat 32-bit virtual address space that describes 4 gigabytes (GB) of virtual memory. The address space is usually split so that 2 GB of address space is directly accessible to the application and the other 2 GB is only accessible to the Windows executive software.


Thanks Brooks,

Checked it all out. Rather "dry" reading but interesting.

My decision to get rid of XP Pro has nothing to do with SP 1. I just don't particularily like the system.

Actually there are at least six reasons for getting rid of it, however none have any bearing on this post.

I will give 2000 a go and see what happens.

Have a great evening,
Nat


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## terryxp (Mar 30, 2002)

Steve Gibsom is a friggen paranoid putz... 99.9% of users updating to SP1 will have no trouble... Its the .1% he focuses his rants on.... If you want to be up to date and protected from all the hacks and cracks out there, Update to SP1, otherwise leave your sys as is and never return to M$ update site again... OOOOHHHHH, theres boogey viruses out there... OOOOOHHHHHHHH


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## jnibori (Jul 21, 2002)

Edmund Tan -

I checked my Add/Remove and SP1 does show up. (Windows XP Service Pack 1) If you don't see it, perhaps you can go to your update link and confirm though you update history that it in fact installed.


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## Edmund Tan (Sep 4, 1999)

I definitely got SP1 on my system, but no uninstall in "Add/Remove programs", I guess I am stuck with it.


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## Guest (Sep 28, 2002)

Edmund- Again, start paying more attention to alternatives. What MS has just done is part a strategic direction in that company, and you will see more and more of it. Look at what tantap is doing (above)... not right for everyone... but a very viable option for many.

Here's a little self-test for anyone who's interested... 
*Q:* Should you believe what a VERY HIGHLY RESPECTED, very successful, very up-to-date and leading-edge businessman/author/industry leader says... *OR*... should you believe the drivel of some anonymous "voice" from cyber-space ?

*A:* If you have to choose between Steve Gibson or me - go with Gibson. If you have to choose between Gibson or terryxp - go with Gibson. If there weren't "watchdogs" and activists like Gibson there is absolutely no telling what MS would be doing to all of us right now.


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## brendandonhu (Jul 8, 2002)

i heard them talk about SP1 on tv.It fixes the bug in Help And Support that allows a link to delete files. You can manually fix this by deleting a file from your hard drive. It cant be used to delete the Windows Directory. The important sytem files are protected from it, but it can still delete your documents or pictures folders.


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## napoliandynamite (Nov 12, 2000)

This debate has gone way beyond tiresome.. 

If you've done the incremental updates, than I wouldn't download the SP1 (besides it's too damn big if you have a dialup anyway). 

If you like using Windows, use Windows 

If you like OSX - use it

If you like Linux, use IT.. 

Everyone has an opnion, and no one will switch anyway..


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## terryxp (Mar 30, 2002)

Its obvious slimy toad is against M$... probably a flaming liberal as well. ( M$ should feed the world!) SP1 is not some communist attempt, spearheaded by Billy Gates, to corrupt cyber spaceand make it its own. It is simply and, as a matter of fact, an upgrade to XP designed soley to address vulnerabilities and security issues, as well as minor compatibility issues. If you regularly run M$ update, there may be no reason to update to SP1, as ALL of the fixes have been realeased in update, but keep in mind, all future service packs rely on the previous one being installed first.

Steve Gibson IS a paranoid putz... check it out yourself...

www.grc.com


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## terryxp (Mar 30, 2002)

If you have a crack key go here: OOOhhh ...

http://www.tweaktown.com/document.php?dType=guide&dId=350

My thought on this is if your already running cracked XP, what the hell is the difference if you update???????????? I, personally own a purchased copy of XP pro... but hey, if your broke, sitting at home all day, unemployed, eating government cheese, knock yourself out.


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## Bryan (Jul 3, 1999)

As I suspected, this is turning towards personal attacks and isn't going anywhere but down. There's enough info posted here to allow anyone to make a decision on whether they want to install XP SP1 or not and the topic of SP1 has been covered in this forum at nauseam, so I'm going to summarize the discussion and move it to the Reviews forum where it belongs. It's not a user posting a specific problem with NT, 2000 or XP that they need resolved, which is the intention of the individual forums. If the personal attacks continue, then it will be closed in the Reviews forum.

To summarize this, I understand the concerns some have but the reality of it is, the vast majority of users install it without any problems but a minority have major problems with it. That's completely normal with any software. So my suggestion is, if you don't want to install SP1, then don't install it.

And on the Microsoft topic which has been done way beyond nauseam here and at other sites. If you don't like Microsoft, you have alternatives, buy a MAC or install Linux. That's not intended to be a smart comment, it's reality. You do have alternatives, so if you feel that negatively about MS software, I suggest you exercise your other options.


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