Should i install xp sp3

Windows Vista SP1 is better than vanilla Vista. But, like putting lipstick on a pig: while the pig may look a little better, it's still a pig. It has a hyperthreaded 2. Both computers used the Intel Azalia for audio support. Again, I used the PC with the kind of resources you're likely to have in your office. With that as a given, I didn't think either computer system would deliver outstanding performance. Still, these systems should run Vista decently.

Rather than try to upgrade either PC to Vista, I wiped the systems and started with a fresh foundation. Vista, in my experience, does not work and play well with upgrades from older versions of Windows XP, or even Vista for that matter.

Despite that precaution, I still ran into hardware incompatibly issues. The audio chipset, even though it's as common as dirt, also proved to be a problem. I finally got it to work by downgrading to an older Microsoft Vista driver for the chipset. All that done, while the Vista experience control assured me that both systems could run the Aero graphics interface, the only Aero feature that worked was translucency. Even then, I would sometimes get a completely black screen for a moment, when switching applications, before the new application would come to the foreground.

That nuisance aside, while applications ran sluggishly on the Vista SP1 systems, at least they performed better than they had with plain old Vista. Well, that is, if the applications didn't need to call on network resources. Finding the servers on my tiny system network running on Fast Ethernet took over a minute. And I hadn't seen file copying this slow since the days of 10Mbps Ethernet.

I also ran into several networking problems that required hands-on configuration changes. To fix that, you need to adjust a network login default, which is hiding in Vista's security policies. Do I really need to go on? Windows Vista is still a system resource hog that doesn't work well and requires far too much expert tweaking to deliver even decent, never mind good, performance.

For businesses, XP SP3 is clearly the better option in terms of stability, security, and hardware and software compatibility. For help while using Microsoft Office applications, press F1 or click the question mark on the upper right. For more, see Get help with Microsoft Office software. This is document awxx in the Knowledge Base. Last modified on Skip to: content search login. Knowledge Base Toggle local menu Menus About the team.

Click here and get The Ask Leo! Do you think SP3 will install IE7? Have the IE7 bugs been worked out? I need to clarify that this is an opinion piece. Become a Patron of Ask Leo! Wait until it has been officially released. It depends entirely on how Microsoft perceives the severity of the bug and the cost and risk to fixing it. Microsoft has a lot of incentive to move more people to IE7 and to stop diverting energy into maintaining IE6. Typically things that are installed with the service pack cannot be individually uninstalled.

Again, I could be wrong. I have almost MB of hot fixes, patches and updates … would SP3 be in addition to the MB already installed or would it automatically delete them and just install itself? SP3 will most likely contain all those patches and more. However it will either not install patches that you already have, or it will replace them. Subscribe to Confident Computing!

Like other users out there in cyber world, SP3 has been a tempting, tasty lollipop. But with your clear words of wisdom, I certainly will be patient and wait for the best Microsoft version. My laptop cost me big bucks—why should I mess it up with some cheap junk just because I just want a quick taste before anyone else? Thanks for your advise. One comment asks what is wrong with IE7. I have done this with Messanger…!

Having just got wired with a router, I intend to put her box on the net at her request — should I upgrade straight to SP3 when it arrives — or — should I upgrade to sp1 thru sp2 and then sp3…?