Nearly four years after Microsoft released the previous service pack for Windows XP, the company released Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3)...now available via the Microsoft Downloads Center and soon as a automatic update from the Windows Update website. Windows XP SP3 is the final service pack for the aging operating system as it is being slowly phased out. Service Pack 3 was delayed for almost four years, to provide sufficient time to incorporate feedback from beta testers and because of developers working on Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 after XP SP2 was completed. The company even had to temporarily halt development on Windows Vista in order to complete SP2 in the first place.

Most recently, the latest service pack was supposed to go live on the 29th of April, but it had to be delayed by more than a week, because of a compatibility issue involving a data corruption involving the Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System (RMS). Microsoft Windows Vista Service Pack 1 distribution had to be halted until the bug was fixed as well.

The software giant still recommends that neither XP SP3 nor Vista SP1 should be applied to computers using the Microsoft Dynamics RMS until the hotfix is available.

Windows XP Service Pack 3 was released to manufacturing and made available to MSDN subscribers on the 21st of April and a link to the download was leaked in various articles prior to general availability. It contains 1,174 fixes (including updates and security-related issues) that were released since between Windows XP SP1 through Windows XP SP2c and also includes an expanded set of product keys for Windows XP Professional that were originally introduced in Windows XP SP2c. According to the release notes, Microsoft is not adding and significant functionally from newer versions of Windows (including Windows Vista) through XP SP3. Windows XP SP3 does not include Windows Internet Explorer 7 even though the latest service pack includes updates to both Internet Explorer 6 and Internet Explorer 7 and depending on whichever version is installed on the computer, it'll be updated.


Windows XP Service Pack 3 has the following new features that were not available in the previous service pack. Some of the features have been borrowed from Windows Vista:

Improved Windows Product Activation - With the new Windows Product Activation system, you won't need to enter the product key when retail and OEM providers can install Windows XP SP3. For up to 30 days, the Windows XP with the latest service pack can be run without a product key and after which the time has expired, the user will be prompted to enter a valid key and activate the installation before further continual use.

Network Access Protection (NAP) - A new platform and solution that controls access to network resources based on a client computer's identity and compliance with corporate governance policy. This platform is also built into Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. You can read more about the frequently asked questions regarding NAP in this Microsoft Technet article.

Windows XP SP3 also includes the Microsoft Kernel Mode Cryptographic Module that provides easy access to multiple cryptographic algorithms making it available for use in kernel-mode drivers and services.

In the System Center Essentials for Windows XP SP3, the Enhanced security for Administrator and Service policy entries will be present by default on any new instance of policy. The user interface for the Impersonate Client After Authentication user right will not be able to remove these settings.

The Descriptive Security Options User Interface has this new function in the Security Options control panel where it contains descriptive text to explains settings and prevent incorrect settings configuration.

"Black Hole Router" detection - With Windows XP SP3, the "black hole router" detection can protect against rouge routers that are discarding data.

Other previously released functionality that is only available as a Windows XP SP3 stand-alone update include, MMC 3.0, MSXML6, the Microsoft Windows Installer 3.1 v2 (3.1.4000.2435), Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) 2.5, IPsec Simple Policy Update, Digital Identity Management Service (DIMS), Peer Name Resolution Protocol (PNRP) 2.1 and Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2).


For the complete list of changes in Microsft Windows XP Service Pack 3, read the release notes: [link]


To install Service Pack 3 on your computer, you need to have the following system requirements:

A 233 MHz Pentium processor
64 MB of available memory
900 MB of available disk space
Windows XP Service Pack 1/1a

The latest service pack is already available in seven languages and as a part of Wave 2 it will also be available in 18 more languages on the 5th of May. Windows XP SP3 will hit Automatic Updates on the 10th of June.

Windows XP SP3 will also be a optional suppliment for OEM providers. However, the software giant has stated that there will not be any integrated SP3 release for Windows XP Media Center Edition nor Windows XP Tablet PC Edition...and anyone using Windows XP Media Center Edition or Windows XP Tablet PC Edition will only be able to update to SP3 through the Windows Update website. And if you install SP3 onto a computer running Windows XP Table PC Edition, the OS is automatically upgraded to Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005.


Now that Windows XP SP3 is out, time on the other hand is running short. Licensing for Windows XP to OEMs and retail sales of the operating system will be terminated on the 30th of June as the company has no plans to extend the deadline for Windows XP's stay of execution. However, as recently announced by Microsoft on 3 April 2008, OEMs installing Windows XP Starter Edition or Home Edition on subnotebooks or Ultra Mobile PCs (UMPCs) have been granted an extension to 30 June 2010 or one year after the availability of Windows 7 - whichever date comes later.

Support for Windows XP Service Pack 2 is projected to end at least a year after the release of Windows XP SP3 or on 14 July 2009.

If you have any questions or comments regarding Windows XP Service Pack 3, please let me know.


Download Windows XP SP3: [link]

The official download size of Windows XP SP3 is 316.4 MB through the Microsoft Downloads Center for those who would want to deploy a stand-alone installation and it will take no less than 29 minutes to complete the download through on a DSL connection and up to 13 hours on a dialup modem. Through the Windows Update website, the download size is about 70 MB and it will vary depending computer configuration.

Windows XP SP3 is available for 32-bit versions of Windows XP only. Service Pack 3 cannot be installed on Windows XP Professional x64 Edition as is based on Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 and Windows XP Embedded.