A little good news for Windows XP users....
By Ray on February 23, 2008 - 9:44pm
I found this announcement last week, and volunteered to give it my best shot, so this morning, along came a really big download from Automatic Updates, with this new Service Pack. Maybe I should explain: this isn't the final version of SP3, but rather Release Candidate 2, which is more or less like a beta. If we find it OK, then the 'Carved In Stone' version will be released a bit later on.
If you're wondering what happens if you agree to accept this version now, here's the poop -
Automatic Updates will download a rather large file onto your computer. Then, your computer will be scanned to verify its contents, the space available on it, and your key codes. Next, it will take an inventory of everything related to Windows on your machine. Then it creates a back-up of all that. Then, it chooses a conveniently empty part of your drive on which to unpack and install this service pack. Only then does it actually begin to install files, and that process will go on for the best part of three-quarters of an hour. After that, it will do a clean-up of its work, update the Registry, and register the new installation. After all that, you are invited to reboot, and your new Service Pack 3 begins life on your machine.
