Planet Lowyat

Microsoft will add Windows XP Service Pack 3 to Windows Update on Thursday at 10 a.m. Pacific time.

A Microsoft spokeswoman confirmed that July 10 is, in fact, XP SP3’s automatic update debut, but cautioned that not all users would see it immediately. “As with all service pack releases, Microsoft will carefully monitor the release to ensure that all customers have a good experience,” she said in an instant message reply to queries. “Once Windows XP SP3 is posted to AU Automatic Updates, some users may see it right away; others may not see it for awhile.”

The announcement that Microsoft would release XP SP3 to Automatic Updates came just a week after the company started Windows XP on its road to retirement by halting sales of the operating system to retail outlets and barring major computer makers from installing it on most new PCs.

People who want to block the automatic deployment of Windows XP SP3 can either modify the Windows Update settings or download and use the Windows Service Pack Blocker Tool Kit, which provides several tools for stopping the service pack from reaching client PCs until at least April 2009.

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Attention! Attention! We posted about Windows XP Service Pack 3 released date in mid of April are wrong.

Windows XP service pack 3 is available for download now via Windows Update and the Microsoft Download Center!

For those that haven’t been keeping up with the latest SP3 updates, the service pack includes roughly 1,100 hotfixes/patches and new features like Network Access Protection and Black Hole Router Detection.

SP3 will also give users even more incentive to stick with the venerable operating system which has soldiered on since late 2001. Many consumers and businesses have clung to the operating system despite the fact that Microsoft has heavily pushed its newer Windows Vista operating system.

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According to close source, Microsoft Windows XP SP3 Release Dates will be:

• April 14, 2008: Support is available for the release version of Service Pack 3 for Windows XP
• April 21, 2008: Original Equipment Manufacturers, Volume License, Connect, and MSDN and TechNet subscribers
• April 29, 2008: Microsoft Update, Windows Update, Download Center
• June 10, 2008: Automatic Updates

The automatic updates won’t land until June. I believed his delay should give system administrators an ample amount of time to prepare for the upgrade or simply come up with an excuse for when things go awry.

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The Windows Serviceability team is pleased to make available Windows XP Service Pack 3, Release Candidate 2 Refresh (XP SP3 RC2 Refresh).

The purpose of RC2 Refresh is to validate improvements to the Windows Update experience with Service Pack 3. Therefore, this beta release will be available only on Windows Update, in English, German and Japanese. Beyond fixes for common Windows Update issues and the inclusion of support for HD Audio, there are no substantial differences between this beta release (build 5508) and XP SP3 RC2 (build 3311).

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Windows XP Service Pack 3 is coming soon!

Windows XP Service Pack 3 includes all previously released updates for the operating system. This update also includes a small number of new functionalities, which do not significantly change customers’ experience with the operating system.

Date Published: March 21 2008

Download Size: 428 KB - 1.0 MB*

*Download size depends on selected download components.

System Requirements

• Supported Operating Systems: Windows XP; Windows XP Home Edition ; Windows XP Home Edition N; Windows XP Media Center Edition; Windows XP Professional Edition ; Windows XP Professional N; Windows XP Service Pack 1; Windows XP Service Pack 2; Windows XP Starter Edition; Windows XP Tablet PC Edition.

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