XP SP3 Why Me?
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So far, it's been a bad year for Windows Service Pack updates. Vista users might remember the endless reboot cycles that came with the initial release of its Service Pack 1. Well, the same issues have been cropping up since Microsoft released Service Pack 3 for Windows XP. This article will go over what's causing this problem, how to avoid it, and how to fix it if it happens to you.
Windows XP Service Pack 3 was knee deep in problems before it even became available to the general public. It had been delayed a week, after needing to fix a compatibility issue between Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System and XP SP3 and Vista SP1. But after a week's worth of waiting, it was finally released on May 6 through Windows Update with the message, “After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.”
Indeed. You may have to restart; you may also have to buy some new pants, after the endless series of reboots following installation causes you to soil yourself. Here's what's happening: after installing XP SP3, users' PCs reboot, just like they're supposed to, only they're not starting up again. Instead, they reboot again and again...and again and again and again. Basically, the computer boots, displays a message saying it cannot boot properly, asks if you want to run in safe mode, and defaults back to the normal boot process before you can do anything. Whatever the reason, SP3 is causing the computer to crash when it boots, and XP is programmed to automatically reboot when it crashes.
When it came to identifying the causes, a lot of users found that they were having problems if they had computers running on AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) processors, and yet there were also Intel-based computers having issues as well. Which processor your computer uses will obviously affect how you treat this problem, so make sure you don't choose your workaround as you would choose a pair of pants. The tips I will be giving came from a blog post by Jesper Johansson, a Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) in Windows Security, who, after having this problem happen to him, collaborated with other users to develop a solution.
The first problem that I'm going to discuss has to do with AMD-based computers sold by Hewlett-Packard (HP). This will be discussed in detail on the next page.
Next: The Intel Driver >>
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