Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) has published release candidate 2 (RC2) of Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3). New functionality includes, among others, black hole router detection, and more descriptive text in the Security options control panel. SP3 also bundles functionality previously available as standalone updates, such as MMC 3.0.
RC2 can be downloaded through Windows Update after a specific registry value (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\XPSP3, RCPreview, REG_SZ, 1c667073-b87f-4f52-a479-98c85711d869) has been set. Microsoft offers a script for this purpose. Without the registry change, SP3 will be applied only when the final release is available.
Microsoft recommends RC2 to be used in test environments only.
Have you tried installing this update? Please share your experiences by posting a comment!
External links:
- “Windows XP Service Pack 3 Resources for IT Professionals”
- “Release Notes for this Release Candidate of Windows XP Service Pack 3”
- Registry update script
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