Win XP question

[whitelightening]

I know that very few people actually buy Windows operating systems because they are buggy pieces of junk for the most part, but is there any way of downloading Service Pack 1 from a second-hand copy of XP Pro? I remembered seeing how to do this on G4-Tech TV one time, but it went by to fast for me to get it all down. Any help would be GREAT! Thanks.

[Eric Zane]

SP1 can either be downloaded from the Internet or ordered from Microsoft on CD. Totally free (woo!).

[maJ estY]

At first, you should of course NOT register your copy. Everyone who has got a copy of WinXp (no matter if you bought it, burnt it or whatever) can update it on www.windowsupdate.com
The site will check your current version of Windows and afterwards tell you which patches and Service Packs you should/can download and install.

Note that Service Pack1 and Service Pack2 are pretty big, so you should take plenty of time if you decide to download that.

[whitelightening]

Sorry, I guess I should be more specific. Tons of people have a burnt copy of XP. From an old copy of it, when trying to download SP1 it says to insert the Win XP cd, then says that it has an invalid product key. I know there are ways to get around this, but what steps are necessary?

Hypothetical Scenario:

I found a burned copy of XP with a product key written on it. I just want to put it on a new hard drive as the first and only installed OS on a newly built PC. In order for certain features (such as USB 2.0) to work, SP1 is required. How do you *NOT* register windows and still be able to download these Service Packs? Then, suppose it asks for the XP CD anyway and gives the "invalid product key" message. What does it take to get around this?

If none of this makes sense, just tell me I'm an idiot and I'll get along with my sad computer-problem-plagued life.

[Wizard]

You can get a Win XP serial number generator (too many on the Internet), it will generate a serial that's not blacklisted by Microsoft. Then you'll be able to download whatever thing from the Windows Update service.

Marco

[Spacehog]

The file you need is called XPKey (or just google for XP Corporate serial numbers or something) - the burnt copy of XP Pro that every one has is the supposed "corporate" edition that doesn't need activating. You don't need to register it, but the serial number that everyone has is not permitted by Windows Update. I have something like 25 different valid serial numbers for XP Pro Corporate, although all my current machines use XP Home (legit)

Martin

[ChrisMcCoy]

Be careful about XP service pack instatllation
SP1 is ok, however, SP2 has problems.
The worst is that it implements MS Personal Firewall on your Ethernet Connection. If you're not aware of it, you'll be surprised that your internet connection behind an existing firewall router no longer works.
So, if you go to sp2, make sure you go to your network settings and disable the personal firewall. (Uncheck the box).
Chris

[Spacehog]

In my experience, the SP2 firewall is superb, a great improvement over the version in earlier Windows, and it works fine, even behind my hardware firewall router. I've had it installed on a number of machines, never once had a problem with installation or anything, albeit I held off on upgrading my music machine until M-Audio released drivers that were certified to work with SP2.

It seems to be a bit picky about activation though (I have four legit copies of WinXP Home, 3 at SP2, and due to various reasons have had to rebuild machines quite a bit recently), the activation crack I have doesn't seem to work with it and I'd not come across the Neowin slipstreaming article here (http://www.neowin.net/articles.php?action=more&id=94) about backing up your activation file until recently. So in many ways the corporate edition is easier cos it doesn't need activating, however it also contains a lot of flaws (and needs to be updated immediately to at least SP1a, if not SP2).

Martin