XP SP3 notes beginning to trickle out

Now that XP SP3 has been out for a couple weeks, some details are starting to trickle out regarding some of the bumps in the road associated with the deployment.

The first issue is related to AMD-powered HP desktops that are running the HP image of Windows XP. Like many of us, HP uses a single image across all their hardware, both AMD and Intel PCs. The image loads a driver for Intel power management, which is fine right up until SP3 is installed on an AMD-powered PC and the system reboots. At that point the system tries to use Intel codes on the AMD motherboard and things do not end well. Disabling the driver in advance of the SP3 install will solve the issue, but not knowing that in advance is a recipe for a very unhappy upgrade.

Another issue is related to a change in the Internet Explorer security zones. Of course, the effect has absolutely nothing to do with Internet browsing and everything to do with copying files from a network location to a local PC. The issue is similar to the effect of running menu links from a shared network location, where a security prompt would come up if the network location isn't in your trusted sites list. There are some steps for a workaround, and they can be managed via GPOs, but it is annoying.

There are some other fun improvements that XP SP3 offers, including for Microsoft's implementation of Network Access Protection, so it is definitely worth installing. But, like everything else, make sure to test it well before deploying to users.