SP2 hazard warning
p2pnet.net News:- “Some programs seem to stop working after you install Windows XP Service Pack 2″.
“Seem to stop working,” eh? That’s right and it’s the What ME? headline on the Microsoft page listing the many and various apps that don’t like the patch to end all patches.
The list of software that won’t work properly with Microsoft’s Windows XP Service Pack 2 is huge and on it are several of Microsoft’s own applications such as SQL, Visual Studio .Net and SMS 2003 Server.
Bottom line, “After you install Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), some programs may seem not to work,” say Bill and the Boyz. “By default, Windows Firewall is enabled and blocks unsolicited connections to your computer. This article discusses how to make an exception and enable a program to run by adding it to the list of exceptions. This procedure permits the program to work as it did before the service pack was installed.”
You hope.
In the meanwhile, as a p2p reader wrote recently, think twice about even bothering to download SP2. If you haven’t decided to follow Munich’s lead by migrating to Linux, you’ll probably be better off waiting for Longhorn – if Bill and the Boyz ever release it, that is.
August 16th, 2004 at 6:35 pm
I disagree, you should not avoid SP2 just because the default settings enable XP’s firewall. A firewall is a good thing. If your PC is currently protected by a firewall, you have already had to unlock some ports if you use these apps. If you do NOT have a firewall between XP and the Internet, it’s unlikely your PC will remain healthy until Longhorn arrives. If you migrate to Linux, you still need a firewall, and you still need to unlock some ports if your apps run as servers.
One nice thing about the XP firewall is that if an app wants to be a server, XP pops-up a dialog where you can choose to unblock the port. If you choose to wait a while before installing SP2, it should not be because of the firewall.
August 16th, 2004 at 6:48 pm
I have to disagree. I installed it, am running about 25% of the progras on the list of “Programs that may not Work”. The installer was intuitive enough that in my box at least, everything came back up working just fine including all of the stuff needed for my company network.
Its about time Microsoft released something of this nature. It is too bad though it is only addressing Incomming and not Outgoing as well. Is incomplete.
August 16th, 2004 at 8:11 pm
People should be running a firewall; it’s simply not safe otherwise. Everyone’s been saying since XP was launched that the firewall should have been switched on by default. People will have to learn how to use them.
I’ts hardly news that you’ll have to open a hole in the firewall if you’re running an FTP server, is it?
August 18th, 2004 at 4:42 am
Much ado about NOTHING. This piece suggests that there’s tons of application incompatibilites with SP2, and that’s simply not the case. The firewall is turned on by default… Things expecting inbound connections stop working. So (*&^%$#!-ing what?
Install ZoneAlarm, and you’ll find a lot of OUTBOUND connecting software doesn’t work either (in addition to blocking all the same applications expecting inbound connections). It’s the nature of a firewall. This is a user education issue — not some mass conspiracy on the part of Microsoft.
September 20th, 2005 at 3:56 pm
It’s much more than just the inclusion of a firewall. SP2 goes bonkers and severely restricts the number of connections an application may open. Now if they had of allowed for an opt out for specific programs as they did with the firewall then it wouldn’t have been as much of a problem but as it is any program that needs more that a half dozen connections will be constantly bouncing back and forth between starting and stopping every few minutes as it’s TCP/IP access is turned on then off then on the off again.