Print
1. Microsoft should stop assuming that vendors listen to its advice. The advice given by KB888372 - that vendors should not create XP images on Intel hardware and expect them to work on AMD hardware - was ignored by HP - and possibly by other vendors. When Microsoft re-releases Windows XP SP3 to Windows Update, it should improve its hardware-detection features and override the 'time bomb' lurking in some OEM images.
2. Vendors should start paying attention to Microsoft. KB888372 is now in version 4.1, so it's obvious that Microsoft's been telling vendors for quite a while to be more careful about how they create Windows XP images. So, if you're a hardware vendor that builds Windows XP images on both AMD and Intel-based platforms, get your imaging act together if you've been cutting corners. And, to those of you who are already building different images for Intel and AMD platforms - thank you, thank you very much.
3. Users should build their own images instead of relying on a possibly-fouled up OEM image. If you don't want to (or can't) install a fresh Windows XP installation on your AMD-based laptop of any brand, follow the advice in KB888372 to remove the Intelppm registry key if it exists on your system - then use a program like Ghost or Acronis True Image to create an image of your OS and installed applications before installing an upgrade.
So let it be written - so let it be done.
(article updated 5-28-2008)
Comments are closed on this article
Cassandra Morrison
May 28, 2008 at 9:19am
What the article says is not precisely accurate. If you happen to have Windows Live OneCare installed (as I did) then it kept trying to shove the upgrade on me even after I had had to reformat back to SP2 because of the "problem" (this was pre-patch). But I kept seeing it right up until the patch was issued and I was finally able to let SP3 install again. Then OneCare was happy, I was Happy, HP and Microsoft were happy and all the little birdies were singing.
Cassandra Morrison
Marcus_Soperus
June 01, 2008 at 5:52pm
It sounds as if WLOneCare hasn't 'gotten the memo' yet. We appreciate hearing about how it works - and does't work.
----------------------------------------
It's amazing how illogical a business built on binary logic can be.
Cassandra Morrison
May 28, 2008 at 1:00am
Yes, they do. I downloaded and installed the SP37394 patch just two days ago..went to the Microsoft Update site and downloaded and installed Service Pack 3 without problems. Don't know where you got the idea they weren't letting people with AMD processors download SP3 because they ARE. (Wouldn't do it without the fix, though).
Cassandra Morrison
Marcus_Soperus
May 28, 2008 at 8:19am
Glad to hear that MS is providing SP3 via WU if your system is patched. However, if you hadn't installed the patch or run the VB script, you wouldn't have seen SP3 offered (see http://blogs.technet.com/mu/archive/2008/05/15/more-on-windows-xp-service-pack-3.aspx for details).
---------------------------------------------
It's amazing how illogical a business built on binary logic can be.
