XP SP2 conflicts

[francis]

Microsoft have issued a list of over 200 applications that "behave differently" under XP SP2 (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=884130). There are some on there that people on this message board have said they use, so look carefully. Apps include Norton AV 2003, several Kazaa progs, the eBay toolbar, versions of MusicMatch, Zonealarm and more (including things such as Office XP and several versions of Outlook). Automatic update is still due any day now (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3571110.stm).

[James]

I'm not going to download it straight away. It's bound to have problems and I would rather download it later when bugs have been fixed.

I keep my computer virus-free and use a firewall. I already have a pop up blocker. I don't feel the urge to download this on the day of release.

[francis]

You might want to disable auto update if it isn't already, otherwise it'll just come down. MS are allowing corporates to do it (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/08/13/sp2_update_deferred/), not sure how you'd go about it if you're just a punter. There's probably something on the web that shows how.

[James]

I've disabled auto-updates.

Has anyone installed it yet? Any problems?

Cheers

[Tom]

My son has installed it - and thinks the improvements are worthwhile.

[francis]

Interesting that since my original post, MS have drastically reduced that list of apps - there's a last reviewed date of 19th August at the bottom of the page. XP SP2 for XP Pro is still meant to be a few days away so I've still got a bit of a wait. It's somewhat annoying that, now it's here, another security flaw has been found (http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5318358.html) that affects IE5.0, 5.5 and 6 and isn's stopped by SP2. Oh well...

[David]

I think James has the right idea. Although I keep my XP up-to-date, I'll give it a few weeks before going to SP2. There are issues with AutoCAD that need sorting. Most of the problems seem to be related to the firewall. All ports are closed by default but some apps use specific ports. Since I already have a hardware and software firewall installed, I'm hoping that I'll simply be able to disable the XP firewall after I install SP2.

[francis]

Got it! I checked at about 5:45 this evening and it wasn't there. Checked again 2 hours later and it was available. 97.5meg download for XP Pro, takes about 1.5 hours including install, but went in fine (although for some reason it removed my IE6 icon from my desktop). It's always nervous waiting for the first re-boot after installing something so massive (like it was with SP1), but seems fine - iTunes and Thunderbird seem to be a much faster startup than previously as well, so here's hoping the entire thing is faster.

[francis]

Order your free SP2 CD (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/sp2/cdorder/en_us/default.mspx) - handy for those not on broadband.

[David]

I couldn't stand it. Every time I turned on my PC, there it was - "new updates ready to download".

Download and installation went very well and I was particularly impressed by the way that SP2 recommended that I continue to use Norton Internet Security rather than it's own and automatically configured security setting accordingly. So, no program glitches since all my original security rules remain unchanged :) .

[francis]

There's a conflict with NAV 2003, but Norton are claiming to release a patch "just after SP2 is released". There were a few NAV2004 updates last week that seem to have something to SP2. It is good that the new XP security centre plays nicely with Norton - it'll be interesting to see if their firewall becomes the object of hacking and intrusion attempts be people trying to make a point...

[francis]

For those still undecided on installing SP2, here's a couple of links:

1: Enhancements to IE6 (http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/ie/6/all/reskit/en-us/appendix.mspx). Most are security based

2: Changes to functionality in XP (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/sp2chngs.mspx) (8 pages). Again, large chunks of this is soley security and PC protection

[David]

:( Spoke too soon. Since installing XP SP2, Dreamweaver crashes when I try to create a new site or edit an existing one using the Site Manager. A quick search revealed a couple of other similar instances, all unresolved. Just what I need...

[James]

I nearly gave in an downloaded it last night - glad I didn't now. In fact I'm going to turn off the nag bubble and forget about it.

Is there any way of uninstalling it I wonder?

[David]

It can be uninstalled as it does an automatic backup before installation but I'm wary of making another dramatic change. I have to say that other than this glitch, I have been very impressed. The new features in IE and Outlook Express are very good - all security related.

Currently, I'm using Dreamweaver without the aid of the site manager - a bit of a bore but it can be done. Still looking for a fix.

Francis, are you having problems with Dreamweaver Site Manager?

[francis]

Haven't tried, but Macromedia have this XP SP2 page (http://www.macromedia.com/support/dreamweaver/ts/documents/dw_xp_sp2.htm), although your issue doesn't seem to be listed. Hopefully there will be another DW SP soon to resolve this. I'll try your problem at home tonight.

+++++++++

Later:

Nope, all working fine for me. Sorry.

[francis]

I've spent the morning working my Net Art glaaery project. I was looking to implement a footer via CSS and was using Alistapart's article (http://www.alistapart.com/articles/footers/) (a good example of poor browser support leading to a sledgehammer/nut scenario). All was good until I tried it in IE6 XP2 when, seeminlgy just because there's a JavaScript onload event, the stupid thing gives me a 'we've blocked this content' warning because it 'might be unsafe'.

http://www.websitearchitecture.co.uk/storr/forumimgs/ie6sp2-script-alert.gif

Wonderful work MS - how is any user supposed to know whether something is unsafe or not? Oh well, I guess I'll just produce a crap site for IE and something sweet for script-aware, PNG supporting browsers.

[francis]

Actually, erh, mea culpa.

The script works fine when it's online, it was just when it was viewed from my C drive. This is actually a good thing as previously MS' local zone security was the cause of many an exploit. So, well done MS!

[David]

I recently discovered the same thing myself. Even the simplest of Dreamweaver rollovers gives a warning when previewed on your local PC but everything works fine online - it gave me a bit of a shock when it first happened.