Those of you who got your copy of XP from alt.binaries.cd.image need not apply. :-) (Although according to The Register, there’s a new corporate no-activation warez version with SP1 integrated… But plan on Microsoft blocking its key from Windows Update once it spreads a bit.)
I grabbed it (133MB!) but haven’t installed it yet.
At any rate, the initial buzz on the fixes is very positive. But given that games can have totally bizarre interactions with updates at times, I thought I’d create this here little topic so we could discuss any problems encountered, cool new tweaks, etc.
I am getting rid of all my PC games so I don’t really care about the gaming impact. Have you read anything about non-game related changes? I just updated my ATI Radeon AIW drivers this weekend and experienced a couple of hard locks/reboots when playing DVDs under Win XP. I suspect it is a driver issue but you never know.
I have been beta testing SP1 for the last few weeks. The most noticable change to the UI is the goverment mandated options to control desktop icons for IE and the like.
Heh, is it no wonder that XP has the new clean desktop look?
Even as a beta tester I haven’t noticed any really bad bugs. Of course, I don’t get to game at work, so there is that.
Tyjenks, if you do decide to upgrade your OS, do yourself a favor and wipe the drive and install a fresh copy. Migrations never seem to work that well.
DavidCPA, what is up with getting rid of all your games? Hate it when that happens.
Getting rid of all your PC games? I can’t imagine doing that. Yow. Atoning for a terrible sin or something? Or just :shudder: going console-only in your gaming?
THANKS. I had heard that from a couple of other folks and was planning to. Is there an option to empty the drive or am I to do it all one by one at the add/remove UTILITY?
And DavidCPA, every time I hear that an intelligent, well-spoken gamer gives it up, I die a little bit inside. PLease, say it ain’t so.
I managed to snag a copy of the release version of SP1 last week. Did a slipstream installation (copied my original XP disk to hard drive, slipstreamed SP1 onto that, and then burned a new XPSP1 CD), wiped my hard disk clean and did a fresh install.
Verdict so far is perfect. No weird bugs have cropped up. Performance is certainly snappier (yes, I know that tends to happen with a fresh install, but I’m hearing that from people who installed SP1 straight over their current installation as well).
Haven’t bothered to benchmark yet, but so far I’m happy. People argue that you don’t need SP1 because you can download all the security fixes seperately, but to me that’s a hassle. Not to mention, SP1 fixes hundreds of non-security issues, like the odd memory leak here or the incompatible hardware issue there, etc, etc. Certainly, a lot of people have noted that many of the odd interface bugs have now been addressed.
No, fresh installation means formatting the hard disk. That’s much different from adding/removing programs. It completely wipes the disk (or the target partition if you have multiple partitions), removing all files and directories at once, including those of the existing Windows version.
When you install a new operating system, you insert the CD-ROM and then restart the computer. The computer will now boot from the CD-ROM, the installation program will auto-start without loading your installed version of Windows, and the installation program will then offer you to format your hard drive before installing the new OS.
Obviously you should have backup copies of all your important data at this point. :)
Thanks for pointing me in the right direction Christoph. I can hold my own in some PC tech areas, but I am a total novice when it comes to this as it is not an area you can easily practice with and/or learn as you go. :)
I need to focus on some other things right now plus I can’t find enough time to really get into a groove with new games. I am angling for a manager’s position that would require a relocation plus my wife may be starting a new business that would require some of my time. Something had to go and it just seemed like a good time to get out of gaming.
Before I put the stuff on e-bay, I’ll probably post a list of items (games, periphials, etc) on this board to see if they interest anyone. Not looking to get much for them, but need the space in my house.
Back on topic, 133 MB download for the service pack :shock: Thank goodness for DSL :D
Man, when I add stress to my life, gaming helps keep me sane. I just avoid the stuff like Civ that can suddenly suck up 7 hours and stick to the quick-play games.
I’ve found Moonbase Commander wonderful for deadline week. I can play a quick 15-minute game and unload tons of stress through judicious destruction of evil opponents.
“I’ve found Iraq Invasion II wonderful for election week. I can play a quick 15-month game and unload tons of stress through judicious destruction of evil opponents.”
Let’s hope Adam At Sierra doesn’t find out about your Ebay auction. I am sure he will sift through it with a fine toothed comb looking for Sierra games to police.
To get this thread back on subject… here’s the list of SP1 fixes. Somewhere around 308 fixes. Now you know why most system admins wait until the first major service pack before they deploy an MS NT OS.
In addition, SP1 also includes IE6 SP1, which includes another whole ranges of fixes and security patches for the web browser. The list of IE6 fixes is below
