How do I get Windows XP SP3 on CD?

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You can find the network install here Leo:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=5B33B5A8-5E76-401F-BE08-1E1555D4F3D4&displaylang=en

I had been waiting for it myself.
Robert...

Or you can pre-order the SP3 CD from Microsoft by calling 1-800-360-7561 (Mon-Fri, 5a-7p PDT.) Cost is around $10 depending on the shipping and handling and they estimate shipping will start at the end of this month (May 08.)

Thanks for the info. Leo. I'm not an IT Professional or Developer but I have three computers than will need SP3. Do I want the Windows XP SP3 Network Installation Package for IT Professionals and Developers download or something different? I do plan to wait a while before installing as I'm not keen to be their guinea pig.

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Network install is where I'd send you. :-) They call it for
"professionals and developers" but really it's for anyone
who wants to download once and install multiple times.

Leo

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SP3 down loaded on my notebook, by my auto update program.

Update to my 5/8/08 post. I ordered the SP3 CD and MS said it probably won't ship until early 6/08. I took a chance and downloaded SP3 from the Windows Update site. With DSL it took right at 45 minutes and added about a half a gig to my hard drive (even after doing a disk cleanup and getting rid of all the temp files it created.) Installation went without so much as a hiccup and, maybe it's my imagination but, start time and web page download times seem to be just a tad faster. It's been almost a week since I installed SP3 and everything (knock on wood, crossed-fingers, burning white candles, etc) is fine.

One more thing. I strongly suggest doing a defrag after installing SP3. My files were scattered all over the hard drive. Defrag usually takes 20 minutes but it took twice that long the first time after installing SP3. All is back to normal and my last defrag earlier today was right at 20 minutes again.

As with the SP2 hotfixes/updates, etc., I downloaded SP3, saving it to a temporary file, to be put on CD for later use if needed. Of all the updates that are, or were, available, only about 5 or so I had to downloaded directly from Microsoft. All the others I downloaded and put on CD. What I did was get the knowledge base (KB) article number from the MS updates. I then closed the updates and GOOGLE'd the article number. I looked for the support.microsoft.com or www.microsoft.com/technet/security ... URL to download the related fact sheet and download the update, fix, patch, whatever. I use Internet Download Manager (IDM) to assist me in downloading and saving to temp file. Afterwards, I would put all this "stuff" on CD for later use and also, install them manually to my computer (Windows XP Home - now with SP3). Feel free to email me if you have any question.

I down loaded SP3 for windows XP to day and my anti virus would not let me get my Outlook Express.So I am going to wait now to see if anybody else has problems.

Downloaded, run. Opening screen says, 'What to know before installing service pack 3.' Click on that..only to find:

More information about installing Service Pack 2

How long will it take to install Service Pack 2?

..and..

Where can I get more information about Service Pack 2?

How hilarious is that?

It doesn't lend just a tad of caution about the whole process, does it? (spoken tongue-in-cheekly).

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