Articles about Windows XP

The April 12, 2005 deadline passed Tuesday and Microsoft has followed through with its pledge to revoke the grace period that provided enterprise customers the option to postpone the adoption of Windows XP Service Pack 2. The update, which fortifies Windows with a variety of new security enhancements, will now be pushed to customers and has become a requirement to receive future upgrades.

In response to a chorus of widespread customer feedback insisting that SP2 could prove disruptive to mission critical applications, Microsoft made several support tools available that temporarily blocked the delivery of SP2 via Automatic Updates and forestalled Windows Update installations.

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Microsoft says it will bring Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 to 20 new markets this year, broadening the company's digital media experience to a total of 33 countries and 17 languages. Currently, 90 of the top computer manufacturers and over 7,000 system builders are shipping Windows Media Center based PCs.

"We're continuing to see unprecedented demand for Windows XP Media Center Edition worldwide," said Will Poole, senior vice president the Windows Client. "Now, together with our partners, we are answering that demand by delivering our best version of Windows ever with new ways to experience digital photos, music, TV and more."

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A Serbian systems engineer alerted users of the Web site Security Focus over the weekend to a possible denial of service attack using MS-DOS. The problem affects those using Windows Server 2003 or Windows XP SP2 without a firewall activated.

Called a LAND attack, the 8 year-old denial of service involves a packet of information being sent to a computer where the source computer makes it look like the origin of the packet is the destination computer itself.

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Microsoft has given notice to Service Pack 2 laggards that "time is running out." A notice is now emblazoned on a Knowledge Base article for a tool that temporarily blocks the delivery of SP2, reminding customers that the April 12 deadline is approaching.

After the deadline passes, the service pack will be delivered to all Windows XP systems through the automatic updates mechanism.

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Closing in on a scheduled April release, Microsoft has delivered to beta testers Release Candidate 2 of Windows XP x64 Edition, along with RC2 of Windows Server 2003 SP1. A new addition to the Windows family, x64 is designed to operate with the AMD Athlon 64 and Opteron processors, as well as the Intel processors with EM64T.

"This is our second major milestone and highest quality release to date
for the beta," Microsoft beta coordinators wrote in an e-mail to testers. "However, please keep in mind that it is not final release quality and you should limit your installations to test machines."

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A full two years after the last major update to Microsoft's embedded version of Windows XP was released, Service Pack 2 is available to developers wishing to embed features of Windows into their electronic devices, such as point-of-sale terminals, medical systems and thin-client devices.

Windows XP Embedded SP2 has much in common with its desktop counterpart released earlier this year, such as improved security and bug fixes. However, new features in this embedded update include support for Bluetooth devices, as well as a reworked version of the original Windows Firewall.

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Microsoft has confirmed that it will deliver Windows XP Service Pack 2 to users via Automatic Update starting tomorrow. The company previously delayed including SP2 as an automatic update due to concerns from businesses that their infrastructures were not prepared for the significant operating system changes. Users who cannot download the hefty 100MB service pack will be able to find the update on CD bundled with numerous computer magazines, according to Microsoft. An official SP2 end-user Web site will also launch tomorrow.

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Security firm Secunia has detailed a new flaw in Internet Explorer that affects users running Windows XP Service Pack 2. The vulnerability involves drag-and-drop, which can be used within a Web page to place a malicious program in the Windows startup folder.

Secunia has branded the issue "highly critical" and says it comes from "insufficient validation of drag and drop events issued from the 'Internet' zone." Users are advised to disable Active Scripting, or use a Web browser other than Internet Explorer.

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On Friday, Microsoft announced the release of Windows XP Service Pack 2 to manufacturing. The RTM build, 2180, is available now for testers, with a general release next week. Users with Automatic Updates turned on will begin to receive the service pack starting Tuesday.

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Windows enthusiast site Neowin.net has posted what it claims to be the release schedule for Windows XP Service Pack 2. According to sources, the service pack will be released to manufacturing August 4, with a release to the web the following day. A general public release is due August 25.

Despite Neowin's specificity, credible rumors have emerged that the service pack is once again delayed – making the exact release dates anyone's guess.

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BetaNews has confirmation that despite published reports, Microsoft is not preparing a major release of an entry level version of Windows dubbed Windows XP Starter Edition.

Windows enthusiasts speculated that Windows XP Starter Edition was a realignment of the software giant's Office and Windows releases with Office 2003 Service Pack 1 and Windows XP Service Pack 2 that would effectively re-launch both products; however, Windows XP Starter Edition is merely the formal name given to a no-thrills version of the operating system that will be distributed exclusively in Thailand and Malaysia.

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Microsoft has finalized the second release candidate of Windows XP Service Pack 2, signifying the long-awaited upgrade is nearly complete. Numbered build 2149, RC2 is currently available to testers and will soon be offered for public download.

Although a final release of SP2 could be months away, RC2 is a significant milestone that Microsoft hopes will correct numerous bugs and software incompatibilities discovered after the preview release of RC1 in March.

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The industry is inching one step closer to the broad adoption of 64-bit computing. 

Computer graphics giant NVIDIA is delivering 64-bit beta drivers for motherboards and systems based upon its nForce3 media and communications processors (MCPs). The drivers are designed for Microsoft's Windows XP 64-bit Edition for Extended Systems operating system, also currently in beta.

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To encourage broad consumer testing and forestall incidents of "broken" applications due to the bevy of changes integrated in the update, Microsoft is launching a Windows XP Service Pack 2 technical preview program.

Under the preview, Windows XP SP2 Release Candidate 1 will be made available to customers through a new TechNet portal beginning Friday, March 19.

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Microsoft is busy laying the groundwork for an interim release of Windows XP which would arrive before the Longhorn wave hits store shelves. Known internally as XP 'Reloaded', the interim release is expected to include the functionality of the upcoming Service Pack 2 revision, as well as some extras exclusive to the upgrade.

When asked for comment, a company spokesperson told BetaNews, "Microsoft is examining ways to continue to add value to the current Windows XP platform. We look forward to outlining all the details, but at this time we don't have anything to announce."

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