Windows XP SP3 Beta (Build 3205) - Overclock.net

**Miki** · 10-29-07

Following our coverage of the Windows XP SP3 beta leak almost a month ago in August, here’s some more info on the official beta, which just had its first authorized distributable released earlier today. Say hello to Windows XP SP3, build 3205.

While the newly-released build and the one leaked a month ago (Build 3180) may share the same name, we can exclusively reveal that they are not identical releases. This release, also shipped as windowsxp-kb936929-sp3-x86-enu.exe, is 334.2 megabytes and has been made available to tier-one Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista SP1 beta testers. Hashes are as follows:

CRC: 56e08837
MD5: c8c24ec004332198c47b9ac2b3d400f7

Along with the standalone installer redistributables (in English, Japanese, and German), Microsoft also provided the usual release notes and a list of all the hotfixes included in this release. Contrary to popular belief, Windows XP SP3 does ship with all-new features - not just patches and hotfixes, most of them backported from Windows Vista:

New Windows Product Activation model: no need to enter product key during setup. Thank God for that!

Network Access Protection modules and policies have been brought to XP after being one of the more-well-received features in Windows Vista. You can read more about NAP here.

New Microsoft Kernel Mode Cryptographic Module - the Windows XP SP3 kernel now includes an entire module that provides easy access to multiple cryptographic algorithms and is available for use in kernel-mode drivers and services.

New “Black Hole Router” detection - Windows XP SP3 can detect and protect against rogue routers that are discarding data.

Windows XP SP3 is compatible with all versions of Windows x86, included Embedded, Fundamentals, Start, Professional, Media Center, and Home Editions.

Windows XP SP3 now contains 1,073 patches/hotfixes, not including those in previous service packs. Of the 1,073 included updates, 114 are for security-related issues. The remainder are updates to performance & reliability, bugfixes, improvements to kernel-mode driver modules, and many BSOD fixes.

As with Service Pack 2, these include both previously publicly-available updates (whether through support.microsoft.com or via Windows Update) as well as any and all privately-redistributed updates for select customers or partners with specific problems/scenarios.

The first included update: KB123456 (April 7, 2006). The last: KB942367 (September 29, 2007).

We’re checking with our MS contacts if we can provide you with the actual comprehensive list of updates included in Windows XP SP3, along with their descriptions and KB article links.

Source: Neosmart.net

Fishie36 · 10-29-07

Very nice. I still wonder what that black hole router detection thing is.

legoman786 · 10-29-07

This is beta right? Good find, but I'll wait for final release.

G|F.E.A.D|Killa · 10-29-07

too bad their not making it DX10. that would be great. and mybe this will make it so i dont have to reisntall windows EVERY MONTH!!!!!

Trippen Out · 10-29-07

The following is a list of functionality that is included with the service pack, which is not addressed by the included hotfixes and security updates.

The Security Options control panel in Windows XP Service Pack 3 now has more descriptive text to explain the settings and prevent incorrect configuration of settings.

In System Center Essentials for Windows XP Service Pack 3, Administrators and Service entries will be present by default on any new instance of policy.
Additionally, the UI for the "Impersonate Client After Authentication" user right will not be able to remove these settings.

Windows XP Service Pack 3 includes improvements to black hole router detection (i.e., detecting routers that are silently discarding packets), and turns it on by default.

Microsoft Kernel Mode Cryptographic Module (FIPS.SYS) is a FIPS 140-1 Level 1 compliant, general-purpose, software-based, cryptographic module residing at the Kernel Mode level of the Windows Operating System. It runs as a kernel mode export driver (a kernel-mode DLL) and encapsulates several different cryptographic algorithms in an easy-to-use cryptographic module accessible by other kernel mode drivers. It can be linked into other kernel mode services to permit the use of FIPS 140-1 Level 1 compliant cryptography. https://www.microsoft.com/technet/archive/s...p.mspx?mfr=true

NAP is a policy enforcement platform built into Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 (now in beta testing), and Windows XP Service Pack 3 (which includes the NAP Client for Windows XP, now in beta testing) that allows you to better protect network assets by enforcing compliance with system health requirements. With NAP, you can create customized health policies to validate computer health before allowing access or communication, automatically update compliant computers to ensure ongoing compliance, and optionally confine noncompliant computers to a restricted network until they become compliant. http://www.microsoft.com/technet/network/nap/napfaq.mspx

As in Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2, and Windows Vista, the user may now complete setup without having to provide their product key. They will be prompted for the product key as part of Genuine Advantage during subsequent use.

Current bugs:

After installing Windows XP Service Pack 3 Beta, the Address Bar feature will be removed from the Taskbar
The Address Bar feature will not be present in Windows XP Service Pack 3. This change is in response to a regulatory request and is present beginning with Windows XP Service Pack 3 Beta.

There is a bug related to the removal of the Address Bar in the Windows XP Service Pack 3 Beta. The user can return the Address Bar to the taskbar by unlocking the taskbar and choosing Toolbars > Links.
This is a known issue and will be specifically addressed in a later milestone of the Windows XP Service Pack 3 beta program, where the end user?s ability to restore the Address Bar feature will be eliminated.

Windows Media Center devices will not receive Media Center updates

Users of Windows 2005 Media Center systems that install Windows XP Service Pack 3, will not be able to receive the latest Media Center updates for those systems. There is no workaround in the Beta.

Installing Windows XP Service Pack 3 on Windows 2005 Media Center may affect the ability to connect to Media Center Extender devices such as the Windows Media Center Extender for Xbox. There is no workaround in the Beta.

Users of Windows XP Starter Edition should not install Windows XP Service Pack 3 Beta. When a user installs the Windows XP Service Pack 3 Beta on top of Windows XP Starter Edition, they will be unable to log in after the next reboot. Alternatives for upgrading these systems will be made available at a later time, and may be addressed as part of a separate beta program.

With IE7 installed, double clicking on the IE icon on the desktop creates a shortcut instead of launching IE
When double clicking on the desktop icon of IE, a new shortcut is created instead of opening a browser page. This is a known compatibility issue with IE7 and Windows XP Service Pack 3. There is no workaround in the Beta.

Using SFC with specific command line switches will cause IE7 to unsuccessfully attempt downgrade to IE6
On a machine with IE7 and the Windows XP Service Pack 3 Beta installed, if the user attempts to run the command ?sfc /scannow? from the command line, IE will unsuccessfully attempt to be downgraded to IE6. From that point on Internet Explorer will be unusable on that machine. This is a known compatibility issue with IE7 and Windows XP Service Pack 3. There is no workaround in the Beta.

IE7 version is reported as Version 6
On a machine with the Windows XP Service Pack 3 Beta installed, when viewing the About dialog via the IE7 Help menu, the IE version is reported as Version 6, even though it is IE7. This is a known compatibility issue with IE7 and Windows XP Service Pack 3. There is no workaround in the Beta.

Multilingual User Interface (MUI) Compatibility
MUI Language Packs specific to Service Pack 3
As of the Windows XP Service Pack 3 Beta, users may use the existing released MUI Language Packs. However, MUI Language Packs will be updated and re-released before the official Windows XP Service Pack 3 release. MUI Language Packs specific to Service Pack 3 will be available in a later milestone of the Windows XP Service Pack 3 beta program.
Issues with all MUI Language Packs
Users who have Multilingual User Interface (MUI) Packs installed, and then install Windows XP Service Pack 3, will find that some User Interface (UI) content is not localized. This unlocalized content instead is displayed in English. There is no workaround in the Beta.

The components that are affected are:

* Remote Desktop Connection (RDC)
* Microsoft Management Console 3.0 (MMC)

Windows XP Service Pack 3 users who install and enable Arabic, Hebrew or Japanese MUI packs will find that some UI content is not localized. This unlocalized content instead is displayed in English. There is no workaround in the Beta.

The components that are affected are:

* Run Dialog Box
* "Desktop" tab in the "Display Properties Window"
* "File and Folders" option in Start -> Search
* " Folder Options" Window under Start->Run->Control [Control Panel] -> Folder Options
* Start -> Programs->Accessories Node
* Control Panel
* Administrative Tools Window
* My Computer and My Documents icons on the desktop

Issues with German, Chinese Traditional, Swedish, or Turkish MUI Language Packs:
XP SP3 users who install and enable German, Japanese, Chinese Traditional, Swedish, Turkish MUI Language packs will find unlocalized content in some UI. This unlocalized content instead is displayed in English. There is no workaround in the Beta.

The components that are affected are:

* ?Display properties? dialog tab in desk.cpl
* ?Windows Script Host Settings? dialog window of wscript.exe

Issues with MUI Language Packs and Microsoft Terminal Services Commands (MSTSC) Version 6:
Users who have KB925877 (RDC6.0 MUI pack) installed and upgrade to XP SP3 will not be able to use RDC in any language other than English. The RDC client UI will not launch when the user switches to any MUI language other than English. The workarounds for the Beta are to uninstall KB925877 (RDC6.0 MUI pack) prior to upgrading to XP SP3, or to only use the English language version of the client if KB925877 is installed.

Issues with Windows Media Player when upgrading from original release of Windows XP:
In a specific upgrade scenario, Windows XP Service Pack 3 users will be unable to launch Windows Media Player.

That scenario is when a user starts from the original release of Windows XP, creates installation media using the SPCD CD image, and then upgrades to Windows XP Service Pack 3. After the installation, when attempting to launch Windows Media Player, they will see the following error message: "Windows Media Player is not installed properly and must be reinstalled. Do you want to install the Player from the Microsoft Web site?"

The workaround for this issue in the Beta is to first install Service Pack 1 or Service Pack 2, before installing Service Pack 3.

eureka · 10-31-07

Quote:

Originally Posted by G|F.E.A.D|Killa

too bad their not making it DX10. that would be great. and mybe this will make it so i dont have to reisntall windows EVERY MONTH!!!!!

What the hell are you doing...

SP3 will hopefully make XP perfect.

In which case I'll use it forever. :3

Pheatton · 10-31-07

Seems interseting. Wonder how the enterprise world will take it....?

Scarz · 10-31-07

Cant wait for final release! I hope it will have some sort of fix for the whole svchost thing and whatever it is that is making me lag all the time!

**bigvaL** · 10-31-07

I wonder if we can slipstream SP3 into an SP2 disk... Does SP3 include every update since SP2? If not, some updates which require previous updates will error.

sonicmat · 10-31-07

Quote:

Originally Posted by G|F.E.A.D|Killa

too bad their not making it DX10. that would be great. and mybe this will make it so i dont have to reisntall windows EVERY MONTH!!!!!

why do you reinstall everymonth? I havnt reinstalled for 6 month and still get the same 3dmark and performance in games, apart from a slight increase due to better drivers. And my windows speed is still the same.

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Windows XP SP3 Beta (Build 3205)

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