FAQ: Windows XP SP3 ships -- finally

What's new in XP SP3?

Not much.

As befits a service pack, SP3 is mostly about patches and hotfixes and other updates that have been issued incrementally since 2004, when Microsoft pushed Windows XP SP2 out the door.

But there are some new features, which Microsoft spelled out in release notes that it's been tweaking for months. Probably the biggest, at least in the numbers of users it impacts, is the change in product activation.

New installations of Windows XP SP3 will give users the same 30-day grace period currently offered to Vista customers before they're required to enter a product activation key.

Microsoft made it plain that the change is only for new installations, and doesn't come into play when users upgrade from SP2 or an even earlier edition of XP. "As with previous service packs, no product key is requested or required when installing Windows XP SP3 using the update package available through Microsoft Update," the SP3 release notes read.

What versions of XP will I be able to update to SP3?

All, with the exception of Professional x64.

Every edition of Windows -- which includes Home, Media Center, Professional and Tablet PC -- can be updated using WU.

Is Microsoft finished with SP3 for all the Windows XP language packs?

We don't think so.

According to the Malaysian Web site TechARP.com, which has a good record of predicting such things, Microsoft planned to RTM the Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, Korean and Spanish versions today.

The remaining 18 languages should be available May 5, said TechARP.

Microsoft hasn't confirmed which language packs are completed, and which are not.

Do I need to install SP2 first?

No. We don't know how you managed not to update to SP2, but it' not a prerequisite for this upgrade. Microsoft puts it succinctly in the release notes it's prepared: "SP3 is cumulative, so users can install SP3 on top of Windows XP SP1 or SP2."

How long will it take to download SP3 when it reaches Windows Update?

That depends on the speed of your Internet connection, of course. The package, Microsoft says, will be about 70MB or so.

Ironically, that's slightly larger than the 65MB average for Vista SP1. Go figure.

I'll want to update several XP machines. Do I have to use Windows Update on each?

No. Microsoft will also post a standalone installer for XP SP3 to its Web site next week when it releases the service pack to WU.

The installer will be about 580MB in size, Microsoft says. Again, that's brawnier than the 32-bit Vista SP1 standalone.