Windows XP SP3 Released to Manufacturers

As anticipated by Neowin earlier, Windows XP SP3 has been released to manufacturers yesterday. OEM and enterprise customers have received SP3, and soon you’ll be able to buy computer pre-loaded with Windows XP SP3. However, that’s very unlikely because Microsoft is retiring Windows XP in June.

Existing users of the operating system will receive SP3 through Windows Update as an optional update starting from April 29th. Here’s an excerpt from the official announcement made on TechNet Forum:

"Today we are happy to announce that Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) has released to manufacturing (RTM). Windows XP SP3 bits are now working their way through our manufacturing channels to be available to OEM and Enterprise customers.

We are also in the final stages of preparing for release to the web (i.e. you!) on April 29th, via Windows Update and the Microsoft Download Center. Online documentation for Windows XP SP3, such as Microsoft Knowledge Base articles and the Microsoft TechNet Windows XP TechCenter, will be updated then. For customers who use Windows XP at home, Windows XP SP3 Automatic Update distribution for users at home will begin in early summer."

[Via: ZDNet]

This post was published by on April 22, 2008

About the Author: Thilak Rao works as a Social Media Expert. He is one of the first professional bloggers from India, and he loves to write, travel and click photos. Follow him on Twitter @thilak

  • http://www.greatpriceshere.com Nicole Price

    I dread the day that I will have to install Vista! Resistance to change? I tried out Vista and gave up. Perhaps a change to Apple Mac will be in order!

  • Darryl B

    According to open source pixels, this could be the last service pack.
    I wonder if we will have to upgrade to vista or stay with an operating system thats out of date.

  • http://www.discountwebdesign.co.uk Ralph

    I hope they are not going to give up on XP, I don’t feel ready yet to move to Vista

  • Robert Roehm

    I tried Vista, it totally killed my productivity scripts, so I had to switch back to XP after replacing the hard drive (boot sectors were locked to Vista’s)

    Vista is full of problems, too many for Microsoft to seriously consider sunsetting XP yet. If they insist on putting the sunset on XP right now, we should file a class action suit.

    “Sunset” in the software world means to discontinue support and disable certain functionalities in the program, if not access to the program in whole. Some sunset clauses prohibit resale of programs or CDs, even as collectibles.

    I had a hard time transitioning from Windows 98 to XP (still use Win98, but only for games that can run under it, even some games that supposedly only work with XP ) I still use Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 for certain DOS and classic Windows game collections. If they made base-level browser and networking upgrades, I’d use them. (adding functionality only – no need for security patches, I have a strong permission-based and sandboxing security program that works in those old OS’s)

  • http://www.discountwebdesign.co.uk/ Ralph

    I hope they are not going to give up on XP, I don't feel ready yet to move to Vista